The parable of Lazarus and Dives is another passage in scripture that is often used to bolster the traditional view of hell. Here we see the sinner and the saint sent to separate destinies after death according to their deeds on earth. Dives is burning in agony in Hades and he looks away to where Lazarus is in bliss at Abraham’s side. It all seems pretty clear.

Parables

So is Jesus presenting us with an accurate picture of life after death here or is something else going on? The first thing to say is that it is a parable. Think of other famous parables that Jesus used. A sower didn’t actually go out to sow and a foolish man didn’t actually build his house on the sand; they are devices used to convey a certain truth. In this case, Jesus was picking up and utilising a parable that was already current in the culture and had originally developed from an Egyptian folk tale about Si-Osiris.

It’s the equivalent of a preacher today taking an episode from "The Lord of the Rings" and drawing a spiritual point from it: it wouldn’t mean that he believes Middle Earth to be real. ‘Dives’ is not even a name but just means ‘rich man’ whereas Lazarus means ‘God is my help’, which is probably why the name was chosen.

The message

We have to look then, at the message of the parable rather than trying to make it work as history or cosmology. The point seems to be that what we do on earth has a bearing on what happens hereafter, that the results are irrevocable and that, even if someone returned from the dead, we would still be inclined to follow our former inclinations.

Beyond this Jesus is subverting the assumptions of the time, which saw poverty and sickness as curses and resulting from sin (...who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? John 9:2), whereas wealth and status were seen as blessings from God and affirmation of an individuals righteousness. As always, we see Jesus uplifting the victim and having a bit of a dig at the Pharisees and rulers.

Dangers

If we go further than this we are in danger of going beyond the purpose of the parable. We could use it, for instance, to claim that our fate in the next life is meted out on the basis of how much pleasure or pain we experience in this one. Lazarus isn’t presented as holy, just miserable, and Dives is not told that his current agony results from his former indifference to Lazarus’ suffering, merely that he got his good things in life and now it’s Lazarus’ turn.

We could even use the parable to affirm that those in Hades can speak to Abraham (although we might want to say that Abraham’s shift finished at the resurrection and that St Peter has taken over now), or we could take it for what it is: a story told to make a point.

It’s worth mentioning that one thing that it says nothing about is the duration of Dive’s suffering.

What do you think - is this parable meant to be an accurate representation of the afterlife?

Does it help or hinder your understanding?