Unvarnished Jesus: A Lenten JourneyEjemplo

Thursday, March 21

Luke 16:19–31

Jesus Gives the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus took a well-known Jewish folk tale about a rich man and a beggar who experience a reversal of fortunes upon death, and adds a new twist — the part about the rich man’s concern for his brothers. This parable is not a voyeurs’ view of the afterlife, but about how easy it is to miss the arrival of the kingdom of God if we overlook the Lazaruses who are all around us. In the previous chapter, Jesus was ridiculed by the Pharisees for befriending sinners. In response Jesus gave them the parable of the prodigal son — a story that ends with a dead brother coming back to life. But in the parable, the return of the dead brother did not lead the older brother to repent of his resentment. This is mostly what the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is about…and it’s worth pondering.