Luke 16:19-21

Jesus began the parable by introducing its two main characters. He presented the rich man as living selfishly in luxury and rejoicing in his present earthly prosperity (cf. Luke 16:1; Luke 16:13). Only the very wealthy of Jesus’ day could afford to dress in the expensive purple garments that kings wore. The rich man also possessed the best undergarments made of fine linen. Lazarus on the other hand was poor, incapacitated, begging, diseased, hungry, unclean, and despised. These descriptions prepare for the dramatic reversal in the conditions of these two men that follows (Luke 16:22-24). Obviously the rich man had disregarded the Old Testament teaching that the Israelites should care for the poor among them (cf. Proverbs 14:21; Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 21:13; Proverbs 28:27).

The fact that Jesus named the beggar and not the rich man hints at the ultimate greater importance of Lazarus. He was not the brother of Mary and Martha (John 11). This is the only parable that Jesus taught in which He named one of the characters. The fact that Jesus mentioned his name does not necessarily mean that he was a real person. However he could have been. [Note: R. Summers, Commentary on Luke.] Everything else about this story indicates that this was a typical invented parable.

"The naming of the poor man as Lazarus and the failure to name the rich man personalizes the level of concern for the poor man, while making clear that the rich man is a representative figure. God cares for each poor person and is fully aware of their plight. The rich man could be any rich individual." [Note: Bock, Luke, p. 431.]

Lazarus was a common name, the equivalent of the Hebrew Eleazar, meaning "whom God has helped." Abraham, also mentioned in this parable, had a servant named Eleazar who was evidently a Gentile (Genesis 15:2). This fact has led some students of this passage to seek an interpretation that comes from Abraham’s experience. [Note: E.g., Derrett, Law in . . ., pp. 85-92; idem, "Fresh Light on St Luke xvi. II. Dives and Lazarus and the preceding Sayings," New Testament Studies, 7 (1960-61):364-80.] One such writer concluded that Jesus was teaching that severe judgment would come on the Jews if they failed to repent. [Note: C. H. Cave, "Lazarus and the Lucan Deuteronomy," New Testament Studies 15 (1968-67):319-25.] However the connections with Abraham’s history seem so obscure that Jesus’ hearers would have missed them. Tradition has given the name Dives, the Latin word for "rich," to the rich man, but there is no basis for this in the text. [Note: Marshall, The Gospel . . ., pp. 634-35.]

"Giving Lazarus a name helps to personalize him, and the description of his piteous condition encourages readers to sympathize with him and to condemn the rich man’s callousness. It is not simply being wealthy but this callousness toward the suffering poor which is condemned in the parable." [Note: Tannehill, The Narrative . . ., 1:131.]

That Lazarus lay among unclean dogs heightens his abject condition. The dogs that came and licked his sores would have aggravated them, not alleviated them. [Note: Edersheim, 2:279.]