Luke 16:25

My Notes

What Does Luke 16:25 Mean?

Abraham speaks from the afterlife to the rich man in torment: but Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Son (teknon — child, a term of address that acknowledges the family connection) — Abraham addresses the rich man with paternal tenderness. The address is not hostile. It is sad — the acknowledgment of a relationship (descendant of Abraham) that did not prevent the outcome. Being Abraham's son did not guarantee Abraham's destiny.

Remember (mnestheti — call to mind, recall) — the command to remember is itself a torment. The rich man is told to recall the life he lived — and the recollection intensifies the suffering. Memory in the afterlife is intact. The rich man knows who he was, what he had, and what he failed to do. The remembering is part of the punishment.

Thou in thy lifetime receivedst (apolambano — to receive in full, to get what is owed, to collect completely) thy good things — the rich man received his good things during his earthly life. Receivedst in full — the word suggests complete payment. The good things were his allotment — and he collected them entirely during his lifetime. Nothing remains. The account is closed. The good things were temporal, and the temporal portion has been fully dispensed.

And likewise Lazarus evil things — Lazarus received the opposite: evil things (kaka — bad things, hardships, suffering). His earthly allotment was pain, poverty, sickness, and neglect. The distribution in life was unequal: the rich man received good. Lazarus received evil. The inequality was visible, documented, and — in the earthly economy — apparently permanent.

But now (nun de — but now, the turning point) — the two most important words in the verse. But now. The earthly distribution was one thing. The eternal distribution is the opposite. The reversal is complete: what was is not what is.

He is comforted (parakaleo — consoled, encouraged, given relief) — Lazarus, who received only evil things in life, now receives comfort. The comfort is present and ongoing — the consolation that his entire earthly life lacked.

And thou art tormented (odunao — to suffer anguish, to be in agony) — the rich man, who received only good things in life, now receives torment. The torment is the reverse of the comfort: as complete, as permanent, as total as the comfort Lazarus now enjoys.

The verse does not teach that wealth damns or poverty saves. It teaches that earthly distribution is not the final word. The now reverses the then. And what you do with your earthly portion determines your eternal one.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does Abraham's address 'Son' (acknowledging the family connection) communicate about ancestry not guaranteeing destiny?
• 2.How does 'receivedst thy good things' — collected in full during life — describe the temporal nature of earthly blessings?
• 3.What does 'but now' — the reversal — teach about the relationship between earthly distribution and eternal reality?
• 4.Who is the Lazarus at your gate — and what does this parable demand about what you do with your 'good things'?

Devotional

Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things. Remember. The worst word the rich man could hear. Because remembering means the life is over, the choices are made, the account is closed — and now the memory of how you lived is all that remains. You received your good things. Purple and fine linen (v.19). Fared sumptuously every day. The good things were real. And they are gone.

And likewise Lazarus evil things. Lazarus received the opposite: suffering. Sores. Hunger. Neglect. The dogs that licked his wounds were kinder than the rich man who stepped over him every day. The evil things were Lazarus's earthly portion — undeserved, unexplained, relentlessly painful. That was his lifetime.

But now. Two words that reverse everything. But now — the lifetime is over. The portions have changed. The distribution that seemed permanent has been inverted. What was is not what is. The now is the eternity that the then was building toward. And the now looks nothing like the then.

He is comforted, and thou art tormented. Lazarus — comforted. The suffering of a lifetime replaced by consolation that has no expiration. The rich man — tormented. The luxury of a lifetime replaced by anguish that has no relief. The reversal is total. The comfort is as complete as the torment. The torment is as permanent as the comfort.

The verse does not say wealth sends you to hell. It says the way you live with your wealth determines your eternity. The rich man did not go to torment because he was rich. He went because he received his good things and never once used them for Lazarus — the beggar at his gate, visible every day, ignored every day. The sin was not the having. It was the hoarding — the receiving of good things without the giving of any to the one who needed them.

What are your good things? And who is your Lazarus — the one at your gate, visible, in need, waiting for the crumbs? The but now is coming. The reversal is real. And the now that awaits you is determined by what you did with the then you are living right now.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture