Two Lazurus-es, pt. 3

I was glancing over a little bit of celebrity fluff in the Sunday Newspaper, and found this small piece from the actor Javier Bardem. He's speaking about a character he plays and said this:

"I don’t know if I’ll get to heaven. I’m a bad boy,” jokes the actor, 41. “Heaven must be nice, but is it too boring? Maybe you can get an apartment there and then go to hell for the weekends."

I was immediately reminded of the recent studying and writing I have been doing regarding the bible passages on Lazarus (see here), particularly the parable Lazarus. In the parable, we are clearly taught that the gulf between heaven and hell is fixed and permanent. There is no reversal or change after death. The opportunity we have to secure our position in either place is before we die. That's easy enough to do, see here. Ok, I was being a little facetious, it's not "easy" for some people to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but it's where we all have to start. There is something about that there Jesus. Look into it, check Him out. You might be surprised at what you find.

Anyway, I realize that Mr. Bardem's quote was meant to be taken lightly. But it illustrates for me a notion that a great many people have in making spiritual matters work in their own mind. I have come across this frequently when discussions with all sorts of people turn to God, life and death. It seems a good many folks are blending various religions, teachings and traditions with their own sensibilities and opinions, and using a hazy version of it as their spiritual authority. So many people want to believe various things about heaven and hell. They think that hell will be somehow a fun party rather than a place of torment. Heaven will be boring because there will be no vice there and the pleasurable aspects of our vices seem to hold us tightly.

If we use the Bible as our guide, which would make sense since it is the place that introduced the concepts of heaven and hell, and is one of the oldest and most reliable ancient manuscripts on a variety of subjects, there is a clear picture. Heaven will be a place of paradise, hell will be torment. Heaven will have the banquet party, a wedding feast. Heaven will be a place where there is not pollution of any kind, there will be unspoiled an beautiful landscapes to behold and explore. Heaven will contain a magnificent city and amazing architecture. There will be no pain there from the slightest ache to the most serious of diseases - none of that in heaven. No injustice or unfairness, no tears or sorrow of any kind. What's not to like about that?

Photo by Fergal OP.

Two Lazarus-es, part 2

I am still studying about this subject. My previous post is Part 1 and you should read it before you read this one.

I recently was pointed in the direction of this article, which makes a case that the rich man in the parable with Lazarus was actually the High Priest Caiaphas. That adds another interesting dimension for me. That fact would contribute to a theory that Jesus was very clearly getting the attention of those who were following Him, both as enemies and friends, while the culmination of His earthly ministry and His true purpose was becoming clear as He walked this earth. It would have been well known that Jesus raised Lazarus of Bethany, Mary and Martha's brother. The religious leaders of the time had no true heart for God or their fellow man (the 2 great commandments) but they would have liked a powerful leader that would overthrow the Roman rule and thus give them more power. Jesus' Kingdom was not one of earthly power, He came to shake things up and show true love, the kind of love that sacrifices for the good of others, unselfish and kind, and puts even lowly beggars as equally beloved by God, as any king or rich man.

Up until now, I actually felt the rich man was pitiable, a tortured soul, who realized the TRUTH too late. I thought he was remorseful, and was actually trying to look out for his brothers by asking for a warning for them. I felt his torment was so great that even the thought of begging for a drop of water on his unimaginably parched tongue seemed a relief. (I can only liken this to a time when I had such a horrible stomach virus and flu, and was not able to eat or drink or keep anything down for 2 days. I was finally able to rouse myself from the sickbed, and found a room-temperature can of diet cola. I had a tiny, tentative drink of it, my thirst was great, but I feared I would not be able to keep even that down. I had been so sick that the little sip of this warm, generic soda was extremely refreshing. I can't fully explain how good it was - but in my head, I see the rich man in search of that kind of small relief.) And as for him asking for Lazarus' help, I'd always thought that might have been his own way of being finally humble - he was asking for help from someone who he didn't even want to acknowledge, let alone be touched by in his former life. With all the OT teachings on clean and unclean people, animals and things, and what to avoid and how to wash - surely a beggar was considered 'dirty.' To ask for Lazarus to so intimately and personally touch his tongue, the way a mother or physician would nurse someone who was ill, well that had to speak of his now helplessly low state. I thought this had showed how the rich man had changed his mind, and regarded Lazarus as a ministering angel of mercy. Now I'm not so sure.

I have since read a few opinions from others that don't give the rich man anything close to a noble intention from his hellish position. One person surmised that the rich man was actually scheming to get Lazarus to come to him that he might trick him and somehow even trade places. Another person thought the rich man continued to show the same selfishness and disdain for Lazarus that he showed him when they were both alive. He asks for Lazarus to fetch him water, and he shows no sorrow or repentance for how he treated him before. Nor does he give any acknowledgment of respect for Lazarus now in his privileged position in Abraham's bosom, from his deflated and tortured position.

Thanks to the folks over at ChristianBoard, who gave me all this to chew on, from here.

I am still focused on Lazarus being the key to all of this and that there is something important about his name and a connection with the other Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha.


image by Lawrence OP.

A Tale of Two Lazarus-es

The Bible, like our own circle of friends, family and acquaintances, often records people having the same name. At the pre-school where I worked we had three children named Aiden at one time, and a couple of Briannas. The New Testament of the Bible records several Marys. There are at least three other men named Judas in addition to the most notable one who betrayed Jesus. Today I am focused on two men named Lazarus, who were spoken of in the New Testament of the Bible.

One man named Lazarus, along with his two sisters Mary and Martha, were all good friends of Jesus. You can read their remarkable story in John Chapter 11. The other Lazarus is presumably fictional, a beggar character from one of the parables Jesus told. You can read about him in Luke Chapter 16. If you're not familiar with those passages you might take a moment to click on the links and read them, they are not very long.

Up until recently I thought it was unremarkable that these two men shared the same name. After all, that was common throughout the Bible. Then it hit me - one man was from a parable and the other was an actual person among Jesus' followers. I was even more interested to note Jesus told more than 50 parables, yet none but this one record a name. Jesus refers to the parable characters in general descriptive terms. They are called things like 'the unjust judge,' 'the widow' and 'the sower' and a 'certain' woman or man. Even in the parable with Lazarus, the other man is simply called 'the rich man.' I wonder why The Lord gave the beggar in this particular story a name, and what is the significance of that?

The name Lazarus itself means "God's assistance" or "God will help." And God surely did help him. I think Jesus also could have given a name to the parable Lazarus to further stress that the disenfranchised of the world are known and loved by God. As the parable tells, the rich man had his respect, ease and comfort in this world - but in the afterlife he suffered because He did not know and love God or his neighbor. The beggar Lazarus was ignored and despised by the world, yet in the afterlife, he was received with comfort and love.

First of all, this particular parable is not simply a learning tool of analogy, as many of the parables are. Parables such as The Woman and the Lost Coin and The Pearl of Great Price teach us that God's Kingdom is precious and to be highly valued, sought diligently and kept. The parable of the sower and the seed teach us about how people will respond to the Gospel message. This parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man does contain those types of principals but it also contains something prophetic at the end, therefore having a multilayer-ed meaning.

In the parable the rich man asks Father Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers. As Jesus tells it, Father Abraham responds with prophetic words that directly apply to Jesus Himself: If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead. Jesus is the one telling this story-parable and He is, or will be, the one who was raised from the dead, though that had obviously not yet happened at the time He told this story. I think it's quite notable then, that Jesus performed a miracle that raised an actual man named Lazarus from the dead. It's sort of like a double prophecy, isn't it? Just to be even more gracious and drive the point home even more, He sent His own friend, poor, four-days-dead Lazarus - like what the rich man requested the beggar Lazarus be allowed to do - back from the dead. I suppose He did this to further demonstrate to His contemporaries and all those around that He was who He said He was. When Jesus raised Lazarus, it was well known at the time it happened. It was what stirred up Jesus' enemies even more to plot against Him, and it preceded His own death an resurrection by a very short space of time. Could that be the reason for the name? I think there is a strong chance it could be.

I believe there must be some reason why Jesus chose to name the beggar in this parable and hope to continue to study further.

See Part 2 here.


picture from here.