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Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Interpretation

One of the interesting and frequently asked questions is the following: “How to understand the parable of the rich man and Lazarus”?

Since the relevance of this issue for our readers is very high, we decided to publish the interpretation of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus not in the “Question and Answer” section, but in the “Research” section and place the interpretation on the main page. So, the Rich Man and Lazarus.

Editorial Board "Borukh".

Let us first present the parable itself.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom and, crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us. Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, even if someone were raised from the dead, they will not believe it” (Luke 16:19-31).

Reading traditional Christian interpretations of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we can very clearly notice how concepts are substituted and how biblical texts are adjusted to fit traditional ideas.

According to a tradition particularly strong in Eastern Christianity, after a person dies, his body decomposes in the grave, and his soul goes either to hell or to heaven. The content of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus does not correspond to these ideas. So, in particular, the rich man, who is on fire, asks Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and anoint his tongue. If, according to traditional ideas, the soul of Lazarus is in heaven, and the soul of a rich man is in hell, then how does Lazarus have a finger and the rich man have a tongue?!

It is clearly evident that the rich man suffers both in soul and body. This corresponds to what is described in Matthew 10:28: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

It is also clear that physical and mental suffering is described elsewhere in the Gospel: “If your right eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast away.” to Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29,30).

According to what is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, we see that punishment in fiery Gehenna cannot occur immediately after the death of a person, for we know that the body of every deceased person is in the grave. Accordingly, in order for the body and soul to fall into fiery Gehenna, resurrection is necessary, as stated in the Gospel of John, chapter 6 and Daniel, chapter 12.

“Now this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I should lose nothing, but raise it all up at the last day” (John 6:39).

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to everlasting contempt and disgrace. And those who have understanding will shine like the lights of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever” (Dan. 12:2,3).

Exactly the same picture is presented to us by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, where the Son of Man, having come to earth with the angels, carries out judgment and divides humanity into two categories: he invites some to inherit the kingdom, and sends others into the fire. Reading these biblical texts, we can definitely say that reward for a person occurs not after his death, but when “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth awaken.” Then not only the souls of sinners, but also their bodies will be sent to fiery Gehenna - “others to eternal reproach and shame.” Reading the story about the rich man and Lazarus, we can definitely conclude that the rich man suffered in body, accordingly, this could only happen after the event that the Gospels call the Second Coming.

That is why Abraham tells the rich man that it is no longer possible to send Lazarus to preach the gospel to the brothers. And it cannot be any other way. In Luke 16, Abraham refuses to tell the rich man's relatives what fate was in store for their brother. If the rich man’s torment took place after his death, then Abraham’s refusal would look completely illogical. It turns out that, having realized his situation, the rich man wants to do everything for his brothers to repent, but Abraham does not give them any chance and no alternative. It turns out that God does not want sinners to repent. If, as we have justified, the rich man suffers in fiery Gehenna, which takes place after the “awakening of those who sleep,” then it becomes clear that in this situation it is too late to repent. And then Abraham is right: if someone has read the law and the prophets all his life and has not repented, then at the “end of time” about which Daniel writes, it will be too late to do this.

But the story of the rich man and Lazarus is not called a parable for nothing. In particular, the name Lazarus was not chosen by chance. The Gospel of John describes how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus, after which the chief priests first decided to eliminate Jesus; and in chapter 12 it says that they decided to kill Lazarus too. As in traditional rabbinic parables, the characters and images of Jesus' parable are symbols of some reality. Based on John chapters 11 and 12, we see who the rich man and the brothers symbolize. They symbolize the Sadducees and the temple elite, who were not affected by the sight of the Sunday of Lazarus.

The religious elite of Judea, depicted as a rich man, always spoke of their fate in the world to come. A poor working man who does not have the opportunity to devote his entire life to the study of the Torah, according to their understanding, must certainly burn in Gehinom (Gehenna). However, Jesus depicts the fate of his untimely dead friend, clearly not from a wealthy family, lying on the chest of his father Abraham. At the same time, all this proud, self-confident elite will be punished in fiery hell. Addressing the Sanhedrin and the high priest Caiaphas, who judged him, Jesus speaks about this absolutely directly. “But He was silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest asked Him and said to Him: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus said: I; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61,62).

The main mistake interpreters of the story of the rich man and Lazarus is that the rich man falls into the fire immediately after his death.

Jesus compares death to sleep. “Having said this, he then said to them: Our friend Lazarus fell asleep; but I go to awaken him” (John 11:11). A person sleeping in the sleep of death has no sense of time. The rich man caught in the fire of retribution does not know how long he was in the grave. For him, the time between his death and retribution is an instant. Therefore, when he finds himself on fire, he thinks that his brothers are alive.

Many readers of the story of the rich man and Lazarus do not want to recognize it as a parable. However, there is clearly an element of parable here.

Firstly, the place where Lazarus ends up is not called paradise or the new earth, but is called the bosom of Abraham.

Secondly, nowhere is it said that, having found himself in the fire of retribution, the sinner will be able to conduct a conversation with Abraham. And in general, on what basis was Abraham given the right to resurrect from the dead and talk to sinners burning in fire?!

All this indicates that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable, the symbolism of which is explained above.

Alexander Bolotnikov,
Director of the Shalom Research Center,
Doctor of Divinity

Image: The Rich Man and Lazarus. Fragment of an engraving by Doré

Tags: The Rich Man and Lazarus, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus

Gospel of Luke

19 A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted magnificently every day.
20 There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with sores 21 And he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom 24 And he cried out and said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; 26 And besides all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, neither can they cross from there to us.
27 Then he said, “I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, 28 For I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment.
29 Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.
30 And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if one comes to them from the dead, they will repent.
31 Then Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it.”

The main idea of this parable is that the improper use of wealth deprives a person of the Kingdom of Heaven and relegates him to hell to eternal torment. One rich man dressed in purple and fine linen.

Porphyry is a Syrian outer garment made of expensive red material, and fine linen is a white, thin, delicate material made from Egyptian linen. This rich man, living luxuriously, feasted every day, living, therefore, for his own pleasure. At the gate of his house lay a beggar named Lazarus. The word “Lazarus” literally means “God’s help”, i.e. “poor” abandoned by everyone, who can only rely on God. The dogs caused him even more suffering by coming and licking his scabs, and he apparently did not have the strength to drive them away.

In this very beggar the rich man could gain a friend who would accept him after death into the eternal abodes, according to the idea of the previous parable, but the rich man, apparently, was a heartless man, merciless to the beggar, although not stingy, since he feasted every day. He did not spare money, but spent it only on his own pleasures. After the death of Lazarus, his soul was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. It does not say “to paradise,” because paradise was opened only by the suffering and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but only the thought is expressed that Lazarus, as the true son of Abraham, shared his posthumous lot with Abraham, having achieved a state full of comforting hopes for future bliss , awaiting all the righteous.

Lazarus deserved these “eternal shelters”, without a doubt, through his severe and resigned suffering. “The rich man also died and was buried.” The funeral is mentioned probably because it was luxurious, while the corpse of Lazarus was simply thrown out to be devoured by wild animals. But the rich man ended up in hell in torment. And then he sees Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom. Thus, the contemplation by sinners of the bliss of the righteous increases the suffering of sinners in hell and, perhaps, arouses in them the hope, albeit vain, of relief.

Just as before Lazarus wanted to be satisfied only with crumbs, so now the impoverished rich man asks only for a few drops of water to cool his sore tongue. The rich man, however, is denied this small consolation: just as Lazarus is consoled in full proportion to his former torment, so the rich man suffers in the same full proportion to his former careless and heartless joy.

In addition, Abraham gives another reason for his refusal: the immutability of God’s sentence, as a result of which an impassable abyss is established between the place of bliss of the righteous and the place of torment of sinners, in full accordance with the moral abyss separating both. Abraham also refuses the rich man's request to send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his brothers not to follow the example of his life. “They have Moses and the prophets,” i.e. the written Law of God, from which they can learn how to live so as not to end up in a place of torment.

The rich man admits that his brethren, like him, are deaf to the Law of God, and that only the extraordinary appearance of the deceased could bring them to their senses and force them to change their way of life for a better one. To this Abraham objected that if they had reached such a moral decline that they did not obey the voice of God expressed in the Word of God, then all other assurances would also be in vain. An unbeliever, even struck by the extraordinary nature of the appearance of the deceased, will then nevertheless begin to explain this phenomenon to himself in some other way and will again remain the same unbeliever and uncorrected.

That this is so is evident from how stubbornly the unbelieving Jews were not at all convinced by the countless signs and wonders performed by the Lord Jesus Christ: they did not believe even when they saw the resurrection of Lazarus, and even thought of killing him. The whole point is that a heart corrupted by sin stubbornly refuses to believe in the future torment awaiting sinners, and no miracles can convince it of this.

About Lazarus and the Rich Man, conversation by St. John Chrysostom

The Church is the greatest school for us: here the rich are admonished and corrected, and the poor find peace and consolation. And now, beloved, we have to engage in the work of teaching. Following the instructions of the previous gospel, let us use what we have read now and try to extract from it what is useful for all of you. Today's Gospel reading depicted for us the life of a rich man and a poor man: the rich man drowned in bliss and pleasure, and the poor man spent his life in poverty.

This story, beloved, must be analyzed in detail so that, like sailors - from the experience of our predecessors, we too can learn from it to avoid underwater rocks that cause shipwreck, so that on the one hand the rich will come to their senses, seeing what punishment the rich man depicted here suffered, and on the other hand On the other hand, the poor, seeing in the example of Lazarus how brilliantly their hopes were justified, more willingly walked the path of life among the sorrows that befell them.

“Some man was rich. Some man“. He is not named, nor was he given the same honor as Job, about whom it was written: “ there was a man in the land of Uz, his name was Job” (Job 1:1). His name is silent: as barren, he is deprived of a name (after all, the names of the righteous are in the book of life, and the names of sinners will be blotted out without a trace), he is left with only a common generic name - man: this name, of course, is common to all people. Having no distinctive name of his own, he was distinguished for this by the special severity of his evil disposition. “ Some man was rich“.

Akin to poor Lazarus in physical nature, he was alien to him in terms of the inheritance of Christ due to his embittered will. “ Some man was“. He was human in appearance, but in character he was an animal that fed alone. “ Some man was rich“. Rich in acquisitions, rich in crimes, rich in copper, rich in sinful poison; illuminated by the shine of silver, but darkened by sins; rich in gold, but poor in Christ; He had many clothes, but his soul had no covering; precious clothes were kept with him, but only a lot of aphids fed on them. “ Some man was rich“.

Blooming with wealth, it did not have the color of truth: an autumn tree, barren, doubly dead. “ A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen“. He dressed in purple, but was rejected from the kingdom of God; His purple was not stained with the blood of Christ, it was stained with the blood of sea shells; It did not serve as a guarantee of the kingdom of heaven for him, but foreshadowed his terrible fire of Gehenna.

“A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day.“. He did not rejoice in the Lord, like the righteous (after all, for the righteous, joy is the memory of God, as David testifies, for example: “ I remembered God and had fun” - Ps. 76:4); his amusements consisted of drunkenness, debauchery, gluttony, and satiety; in a word, he was no better than pigs wallowing in the mud.

“There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus“. The Lord called the poor man by name, giving him honor by the designation of his name. “ There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate“, almost drowned by the waves of poverty, and a little later carried with honor by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. “ There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was lying at the gate"rich" in scabs” (v. 20).

Oh, what misfortunes the poor man was exposed to! He was crushed by the gravest poverty like a (ear of) strong hail; scorching boils corroded his body like sparkling coals; Streams of grief rushed at him from everywhere, destroying his body and tearing his heart; He found no relief, no relief in anything.

“Outside – attacks, inside – fears” (2 Cor. 7:5). On the outside, the body was exhausted by abscesses, and inside the heart was gnawing at persistent worries. Neither the fruitful field brought him grain seeds, nor the grapes brought him sweet bunches, nor the tree in the fall gave him its juicy fruits, nor any other product of the earth served as a consolation for him in his poverty.

And this man, who had neither an inch of cultivated land nor an cubit of roofing for housing, was thrown out into the open sky on a dung heap! The manure served as a cover for him both day and night, warming him somewhat in winter, and mercilessly burning him in summer. His body was covered with continuous wounds. The work of a farmer was beyond his strength, travel and commercial enterprises were impossible for him, and he was not capable of any other methods of dealing with need. He was lacking in everything, deprived in everything.

Moans before tears were born in his heart, like thorns; Streams of tears rushed down his cheeks, so that the constant flow of tears covered his cheeks with furrows. In a dream he looked for death and in reality called for it, but it did not appear. He waited for death as deliverance from all labors and worries, like the long-suffering Job. After all, he, too, having lost his wealth, herds, property, completely naked, eaten by worms, lay on the rot and wished for death.

This is what he said: “Why is light given to the sufferer, and life to those who are sad in soul, who wait for death, and it is not there, who would dig it up more willingly than a treasure, they would rejoice to the point of delight, they would be delighted that they have found the coffin” (Job 3: 20-23). “ And wished“, it is said, “ feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man's table”(Luke 16:21). Oh, the contradiction of life! The rich were drowned in a stormy stream of pleasures, and the poor were exhausted under the yoke of poverty, not having a single drop for refreshment. Why, in fact, did the course of life not lead them to mutual communication? From what? So that the poor man would receive crowns of light for his patience, and the rich man would have to gnaw unripe grapes with his teeth because he had driven his soul to brutality. “ And the dogs“, it is said, “ when they came, they licked his scabs“.

The dogs turned out to be more humane than the rich man and kinder than him. He never gave a drop of oil to the poor, and the dogs, taming the sharpness of their teeth with philanthropy, healed him with their soft tongue, removing from his wounds all uncleanness and dried blood; the smoothness of the tongue smoothed out his severe abscesses, they imperceptibly eased the severity of his wounds. The rich man never honored the poor man with a merciful glance or a word, even if it was useless; He didn’t throw him any rags, no leftover food, not a single penny covered in rust, not a piece of bread, not even a crust of bread touched by mold, but he sent it all down his throat into his womb, as if it were all-encompassing.

2. So what? What is the merit of each, such is the reward. “” (v. 22). Having barely escaped the burdens and worries of poverty, he arrived at the quiet haven of Abraham. “ The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom“. Do you see how, beyond the threshold of this life, poverty is surrounded by the care of angels? “ The rich man died and was buried” (v. 22).

Regarding the rich man, the coffin is immediately mentioned, in accordance with the words of David: “ and their graves are their dwellings forever” (Ps. 48:12). Therefore, it is said to you: poor man, do not be afraid, “when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases: for when he dies he takes nothing; his glory will not follow him” (Ps. 48:17,18). He will leave everything here - slaves, servants, saints, hangers-on, flatterers, chariots, golden-brided horses, baths, estates, houses with gilded ceilings and mosaic floors, kingdom, power, authority - he will leave all this here and leave here naked. And being in hell, “ he raised his eyes“, - notice at what depth the rich man was and at what height the poor man was, - “ raised" it says, " your eyes", rich " I saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom” (v. 23).

Why, however, did not Lazarus see the rich man? Because, of course, he who is in the midst of the light does not see what is in the darkness, but whoever is in the darkness can see him who is in the light. And said: " Father Abraham! have mercy on me“! You say: “ have mercy” now that the time for mercy has passed. Didn't you hear the one saying: “ judgment without mercy for those who show no mercy” (James 2:13)? You repent now when there is no room for confession; Didn’t you hear what David said: “ in hell who will praise you” (Ps. 6:6)? “ Have mercy on me and send Lazarus“. Do you know Lazarus? Did you recognize the one who was lying in the dung heap, and whom you never wanted to give equal honor to dogs? But you - in the days of your prosperity - closed your bowels to him; So now, on the day of punishment, I close the depths of mercy before you. Have you not heard how God called to you through all the prophets, saying: “ observe mercy and judgment and trust in your God always” (Hos. 12:6), because “ I want mercy, not sacrifice”(Hos. 6:6); “ blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7), and also: “ he who does good to the poor lends to the Lord” (Prov. 19:17)?

So where you sow, seek and reap; where you squander it, there you gather it. You never scattered the seeds of alms, you never lent anything to God through alms to the poor, but you collected everything and used it for your belly. And where your treasure was, there let your heart be also. “Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame” (v. 24). The tongue that served him to enjoy food suffers punishment; he asks for a drop of water, whereas during his lifetime he never gave even a cup of cold water to a thirsty person in the name of a student.

If during your life you had shared your goods with Lazarus, you would now share the kingdom with him; If he had been compassionate towards the poor then, he would now have avoided heavy condemnation, because “ Blessed is he who thinks about the poor! On the day of trouble the Lord will deliver him” (Ps. 40:2). Throw generously your wealth at the poor, so that they can level that fiery abyss; let your mercy flow in a rich stream to extinguish that flame; support the lives of orphans - and now you have killed the already vigilant worms; wipe away the widow's tear - and you have freed your soul from the oppression of sins.

This is why this was read to you, so that you, following in the footsteps of the merciless rich man, would not be subjected to the same punishment in Gehenna. And you, poor one, don’t be discouraged and don’t lose heart, no matter how the waves of poverty weigh you down. Look at the most glorious Lazarus, direct your gaze here day and night, so that, steering your life with the rudder of patience, you reach the same saving haven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The strict guardians of the law were aware that each of them was violating the Sabbath rest to save or preserve their property, but they did not dare to openly admit it.

The Parable of Those Invited

At this time, the arriving guests took their places at the dining table, and each of them tried to take a seat closer to the owner, since the most honorable and noble guests always sat in these places.

Noticing such a desire to put themselves above others, Jesus gave them instructions not to arbitrarily sit in first place, not to exalt themselves, but to humbly wait for such an invitation from the host of the feast. With someone who considers himself superior to everyone, who, as a result of such conceit, strives to be the first everywhere, a big trouble can happen: someone more honorable than him will come, and the owner of the feast will ask the impostor to give him a place, and other better places will already be taken, and Then the proud man will stand up in shame and sit in the last place; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted().

How difficult, even almost impossible, for a sinful person to be an impartial judge of his life! Self-love will always find even false justifications for bad actions, and pride will extol and exaggerate the importance of seemingly good ones; and a person will dream about himself, and, like the Pharisee, will consider himself not like others, and such dreams blind, do not allow one to notice one’s shortcomings, do not give room for self-condemnation and prevent self-correction. And such a self-exalting person, who considers himself not like others, and therefore strives everywhere to take first place, will be ashamed and humiliated when, at the final Judgment of the human race, he is offered to take his own, that is, the last place. To prevent such a sad outcome, Christ commands us humility and self-abasement and promises us that those who do not exalt themselves will be exalted.

Noticing that those invited to this feast were all relatives, friends and rich neighbors of the owner, Jesus, turning to him, said: when you give lunch or dinner, do not invite such guests who can also treat you and thereby repay you for your hospitality, but call the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and the poor in general, who themselves cannot repay you in kind, but for whom they will reward you in the future eternal life.

Speaking - don't invite friends() – Christ does not thereby prohibit friendly and family relations with equals in status, expressed in hospitality and refreshments. However, with these words He warns that for good deeds towards those who do not remain in debt for it, the reward is received here on earth, and therefore one cannot count on a reward for such good deeds in the future life; doing so collects treasures for himself, and does not become rich in God(). He who does good to those from whom he cannot receive recompense, lends to God Which, of course, does not remain in the person’s debt.

On the necessity of self-effort to enter the kingdom of the Messiah

Having heard Jesus' words about the resurrection of the righteous, one of the dinner participants, probably also a Pharisee, said: Blessed is he who eats bread in the Kingdom of God!() By saying this, he obviously meant the Kingdom of God by the Kingdom of the Messiah and, moreover, in the exact meaning that the Pharisees gave it, and since the Pharisees in the kingdom of the Messiah believed that this Kingdom was prepared specifically for them, he who called him blessed whoever tastes bread in this Kingdom undoubtedly considers himself and his peers to be so blessed. But Christ, turning to him, explained to him in a parable that the Pharisees and similar imaginary righteous people would not be participants in the Kingdom of the Messiah.

One man threw a big dinner party, but when he sent his servant to tell those invited that everything was ready, they all, as if by agreement, began to refuse, coming up with various excuses. One excused himself by buying land, another by buying oxen, and the third by getting married. Then the owner of the house sent his servant to bring the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind from the same city, and when they reclined and there were still free places left, he sent the slave outside the city to call everyone he met, so that there would not be an empty place at dinner.

The meaning of this parable is this: under the guise of a large dinner, the Kingdom of the Messiah is presented, as the Kingdom of God on earth and the Kingdom of Heaven in the future eternal life. The organizer of this dinner, God, invited, through the Old Testament law and the prophets, all the Jewish people to enter the Kingdom prepared for them, and then, when this Kingdom approached, he again sent to those invited to repeat the invitation and, moreover, sent the Messiah Himself. In the parable, Jesus is called a servant because in some prophecies the Messiah was called the servant of the Lord, and also because he appeared in the form of a man, that is, a servant of God. The sent Messiah announced to the Jews: The Kingdom of Heaven has come near (); go, for everything is ready(). But those of the Jews to whom this call mainly applied, who, by their development and knowledge of Scripture, could most likely understand and accept this invitation, that is, the scribes, Pharisees and other leaders of the people, as if by agreement, began to refuse the invitation and didn't go to the dinner party. Then the Lord commanded the Messiah to call the publicans and sinners of the same city, that is, the same people; and when there were still many empty places left, he sent outside the city, that is, the Jewish people, to invite all the pagans to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah. Concluding this parable, the Lord said: none of those invited will taste my supper, for there are many there were them invited, everyone was invited, but not enough it turned out selected ().

The dinner ended and the guests left the Pharisee's house. Probably inspired by the parable he had just heard, someone asked Jesus: Are there really few people being saved?

(The Evangelist does not explain exactly when, where and by whom this question was proposed, but it seems to us that it is most appropriate to place a conversation about this question after the parable of those who are called).

Are there really few people being saved, that is? incoming or worthy to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah, the Kingdom of God and Heaven?

Without directly answering this question, Jesus said that without effort or special effort, it is indeed difficult to enter this Kingdom, the gates of which are narrow. Jesus spoke to the Apostles about the difficulty of entering the narrow path into the narrow gates of eternal life in the Sermon on the Mount (see above chapter 12, p. 373); giving instructions on the same matter now, He added that many would wish to enter this Kingdom, and they won't be able to(), that is, they will wish when it is already too late, when the doors of the Kingdom are closed. Then you who think that this Kingdom is exclusively for you, standing outside his, you'll start knocking on doors, asking you to open them. But the Lord will tell you: I don't know you, where are you from?(). And you will answer: “Why don’t you know, Lord? For we have lived governed by Your law and taught by You through the prophets.” But He will say to you: “Yes, I taught you, but you were deaf to My teaching; you did not want to know Me, and I do not know you; Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity! And you will see how other people will come from all over the world and lie down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, and you, the descendants of these righteous people, will be cast out; and behold, those whom you consider to be the last, whom you despise here, will be the first there, and you yourself, who consider yourself to be the first, will become the last.”

Interpreting this speech of Jesus broadly, one can derive from it an edification for all people in general: the narrow path to the narrow gates of the Kingdom of Heaven must be passed in this life, here on earth, through good deeds get rich in God and thereby prepare for yourself free entry into this Kingdom; after death it will be too late: those who did not care about this will find the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven closed in a timely manner and will hear the fatal sentence: “Depart from Me, you workers of unrighteousness!”

The Lord developed this idea even more clearly and vividly in the following parable about the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.

The Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus

One rich man lived his life in luxury, dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted daily, not noticing that the beggar Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with wounds and scabs. Always hungry, the sufferer Lazarus wanted to feed himself at least with the leftovers from the rich man’s table, which he saw being thrown to the dogs, but, apparently, even this was not available to him; no one took pity on his illness, no one bandaged his wounds, and the dogs licked them, thereby preventing their healing. The unfortunate man died, and the rich man died; after death, their positions changed, each received reward according to his deserts: Lazarus was transferred by angels to heaven, and the rich man was cast into hell. The rich man, in terrible torment, began to remember his dissolute life; and the beggar Lazarus appeared to him, suffering at his gate and thus constantly reminding him of his sufferings, to whom, however, he did not pay any attention and did not help him in any way. Thinking about where this sufferer was now, what had become of him, the rich man suddenly saw him standing in the distance with Abraham and prayed: “ Father Abraham! Send Lazarus to me to ease my suffering!” – “ Child! (Abraham answered). Remember your life! Everything that you considered the highest good, what you craved and strived for, you received in abundance; like a rich man, you spent all your days in luxury and bliss; you thought only about yourself and were deaf to the cries of the sufferer, whom you passed by every day, and never once threw him a piece of bread, but he endured all his torments with meekness and humility and did not murmur or complain that he was suffering undeservedly. Therefore, Lazarus, who received nothing from life and, at the same time, retained a pure heart and a soul unsullied by sin, here he is consoled, and you Having taken everything from life for yourself and done nothing good for others, you are now suffering, and you suffer well deserved. Moreover, none of us can either save you from your torment or even alleviate it, since there is a great gulf between us and you and communications are impossible: those who want to go from here to you cannot, and also from there they cannot go to us ()».

Having now realized all the madness of his life, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his surviving five brothers as a witness to the bitter fate that befell him, so that he could teach them how to live and how to get rid of this place of torment.

"They have Moses and the prophets, - Abraham answered, - let them listen to them(); they proclaimed the will of God, and whoever does it will be saved.” – “ No, Father Abraham(). My brothers are deaf to the voice of Moses and the prophets, they do not listen to them, just as I did not listen; but if any special the Omen, If one of the dead came to them and told them what was happening here in the afterlife, they would probably repent.”

If someone came from the other world and thereby proved its existence, then we would believe in the immortality of the soul and eternal life beyond the grave! This is what those who do not believe in Christ and, consequently, in the truth of His words say now. They, like the Pharisees, need a sign from heaven. But the sign is not given to them. Why? Yes, because if such signs were given to every unbeliever, at all times and everywhere where people live, then these signs would have to be continuous and ubiquitous; Moreover, if such a sign were given to any unbeliever, if his dead friend or relative appeared to him, then there is no doubt that he would explain such a phenomenon with his morbid imagination and still would not believe it.

If Moses and the Prophets are not listened to your brothers then, if someone were to rise from the dead, not only will not repent, but even they won't believe it ().

The Jews did not believe Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead, and for this they were expelled from the Kingdom of God, founded by Christ here on earth, and in the future life they will knock in vain on the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven, from the depths of which a voice will be heard: “Get away from Me, you workers of unrighteousness!” »

At the Feast of Renewal, Jesus openly declared Himself the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father. And this, in connection with the miracles performed by Jesus, should have convinced the Apostles that their Teacher was truly the Son of God, and not the Jewish Conqueror King. But, apparently, they too were seduced by the humanity of Jesus, and they could not understand how Jesus could be the Son of God who came down from heaven, when everyone knows that He is a carpenter from Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary? The secret of the birth of Jesus was hidden from them; They learned about it from the lips of the Mother of God much later, after the descent of the Holy Spirit on them. In addition, the Apostles became so accustomed to the false teaching of the scribes about the Kingdom of the Messiah that they looked at the teaching of Jesus Christ, so to speak, through glasses stained by this false teaching. The apostles, of course, more than once came to the conclusion that Jesus, who does with his own power what only God can do, must be believed unconditionally in everything; and they undoubtedly, at times, were ready to believe Him and did; but thoughts about the universal kingdom of the Jews, when faced with thoughts about Jesus, the Son of God, should have led the Apostles into complete bewilderment; and the more often they thought about the powerful universal kingdom of the Jews (and they, as true Jews, could not help but think about it), the more their faith in Jesus, the Son of God, should have weakened.

The apostles' request to increase their faith

They undoubtedly experienced a painful struggle between faith and doubt; but they could not emerge victorious from this struggle, dispel all doubts on their own, and therefore turned to Jesus with a prayer: increase our faith(), help our unbelief.

Jesus did not do anything now to increase the faith of the Apostles, but left time to complete the strengthening and strengthening of their faith; He repeated only what was said before about the strength and power of true, unshakable, never allowing doubt, faith (for details, see above, p. 514).

Parable of the Crazy Rich Man

Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world, was born in poverty. He often said that one should not be attached to earthly wealth, but should be concerned about acquiring eternal wealth. After death, our wealth will not help us, but good deeds and good feelings will remain with us in eternal life. It often happens that a person, having become attached with all his heart to his wealth, forgets God and His commandments and lives only to please himself. This is a great sin.

Jesus Christ warned His disciples against this, saying: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Once, in order to warn the people against covetousness and teach selflessness, Jesus Christ offered the following parable:

“One rich man had a good harvest in the field, and he reasoned with himself: “I have nowhere to gather my fruits, I will tear down my barns and build a larger one, and I will gather all my grain and all my goods there, and I will say to my soul: “Soul ! You have a lot of good things for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him: “You fool! Death will come to you this very night, who will get what you have prepared? This is what happens to those who store up treasures for themselves and do not grow rich in God.”

To be rich in God means to be rich in feelings and deeds pleasing to God. If the person described in the parable were rich in Christian virtues, then, having received a good income, he would not think only about himself, but would also remember about his neighbors who are in need.

Faith and love for God and neighbor are the wealth that would follow him after his death and would help him “to give a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ,” which, as you know, we pray for daily in the Church.

From the book The Holy Biblical History of the New Testament author Pushkar Boris (Bep Veniamin) Nikolaevich

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From the book Sunday Sermons author Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

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From the book Holy Scripture. Modern translation (CARS) author's Bible

Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus 19 Once upon a time there lived a rich man, he wore expensive clothes and held a luxurious feast every day. 20 And at his gate lay a beggar named Lazarus, covered with scabs. 21 He was glad to satisfy his hunger even with what fell from the rich man’s table.

From the book of the Bible. New Russian translation (NRT, RSJ, Biblica) author's Bible

Parable of the Crazy Rich Man 13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus answered: “Friend, who appointed Me as a judge or mediator between you?” 15 And He said to them: See, beware of greed. No matter how rich a person is,

From the book Interpretation of the Gospel author Gladkov Boris Ilyich

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From the book Fundamentals of Orthodoxy author Nikulina Elena Nikolaevna

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Week 26. Parable of the Crazy Rich Man And he told them a parable: A certain rich man had a good harvest in his field; and he reasoned with himself: what should I do? I have nowhere to gather my fruits. And he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will gather all my grain and

Gospel of Luke (Chapter 12, verses 16–21):

16 And he told them a parable: A certain rich man had a good harvest in his field;

17 And he reasoned with himself: What should I do? I have nowhere to gather my fruits?

18 And he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and all my goods,

19 And I will say to my soul: soul! you have a lot of good things lying around for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry.

20 But God said to him: You fool! this night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared?

21 This is what happens to those who store up treasures for themselves and are not rich toward God.

The parable that we just heard, I think, is especially close to our hearts. A huge amount of luck in life has befallen a man. Such luck, which rarely falls to anyone. It is quite understandable to us, we even rejoice for this competent, reasonable business executive who decides to destroy old dilapidated storage facilities, build new ones, thereby raising the level of his own existence, making his economic processes more efficient.

It would seem that everything is going like clockwork. And suddenly, in this parable, God turns to this good business executive with the words: “You fool, this night the angels will take your soul out of you in pain. Who will get all that you have accumulated?" Cruel? It would seem so.

But in fact, this parable is an explanation of other words of the Savior spoken earlier: a person’s life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions. If you think about these words, you would like to say – it’s bad that it doesn’t depend. It would be much easier for us if we knew that happiness of the first category is 100 thousand dollars, happiness of the second category is 20 thousand dollars, and the third, for those who are simpler, can be purchased for 5 thousand dollars.

But in fact, the Savior is right. Happiness cannot be measured by any material equivalents. Sometimes, in fact, it seems to people that a little something is missing to be happy. A person who is obsessed with the love of money always lacks a certain amount of money. A vain person always lacks some additional glory. A person puzzled by his problems always lacks some magical, miraculous solution to these problems.

And in this eternal languor, the eternal walking of a person in a circle, a person’s whole life flashes by. Isn't this cruel? In fact, cruelty here does not come from God’s attitude towards man, but from who we consider ourselves to be.

Is our life really not greater than all this money, connections, yachts, riches, millions and billions, when the Lord speaks about the value of just one human soul, that it is greater than the value of the entire created world. Are we not committing an essentially terrible crime, as if we are putting a sign of identity between ourselves and, no matter how great they are, material benefits.

At one time, Blessed Augustine said surprisingly simple and at the same time profound words in his prayer addressed to God: “You created us for yourself, and our heart is troubled until it rests in You.” The human heart is like a huge black hole. No matter how much you throw into it, it will swallow everything and nothing will remain on the surface. Only God, with his love, his strength, his omnipotence, can satisfy the need of the human heart.

As paradoxical as it may sound, the shortest path to happiness is to make others happy, to find someone who is now much worse off and much more difficult than you, to help him in what you can really help with.

Forget about yourself, forget about the painful search for your own happiness, and then in an amazing, invisible way, suddenly somewhere out of the corner of your eye you will notice that happiness exists, happiness has come, happiness is not somewhere just around the corner, beyond the millions , beyond the billions, it is here, in your heart, for God has come to your heart.

And human happiness is not measured in kilograms of gold, it has its own measurement system - spiritual joules of heartfelt warmth. And where there is this warmth, there is happiness. Where there is cold, alienation and detachment, there will be no happiness, it will not come into this house.

Help us, Lord, to remember every time that our works, our virtues, our prayers make sense only when a real process of accumulating Your kindness takes place in our hearts.

“Sunday Gospel Readings” is a series of weekly educational programs with commentaries on Sunday Gospel readings. Target