Instead of getting caught up in the details of the wrapping paper (what it looks like, how it’s wrapped, etc.), we should really be concerned with the gift inside. Instead, we must dig deeper to identify the core moral lesson Jesus was talking about-and not get lost in the details of the fictional story He used to deliver that lesson.Īs an analogy, we can think of a parable as the wrapping paper concealing a gift. This, by itself, should show us that we have to be careful about interpreting a parable through a mere superficial reading. Jesus designed His parables to be somewhat ambiguous on the surface (Luke 8:10). When Jesus wanted to teach something clearly, He didn’t use parables (as we see in His above clear statements about death, heaven and hell). He often had to explain the meaning of parables to His disciples. Many are surprised by Jesus’ comment that He did not use parables to make it easy for the crowds to understand, but so they wouldn’t understand (Matthew 13:11-15). A parable is a short, fictitious story designed to teach a moral or spiritual lesson. When examining a parable, we have to recognize what a parable is-and is not. Instead, they await a future time when they will be resurrected from the dead (Luke 14:14). After death people don’t immediately go to heaven or hell.
So these statements give us a clear understanding of Jesus’ teaching. You can learn more about this topic in our online article “ Eternal Torment?” This is consistent with how other biblical writers described the fate of the wicked (Malachi 4:3 Romans 6:23). Jesus described hell as a place of complete destruction rather than a place with conscious and tormented dead individuals. When something is destroyed, it ceases to exist. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said: “But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus associated hell with destruction. So it would be strange and inconsistent for Jesus to say in one situation that no one has gone to heaven and then later say that Lazarus the beggar went to heaven. The New English Translation is even clearer: “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven-the Son of Man.” Jesus made a clear statement about going to heaven: “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven” (John 3:13). What did Jesus teach about going to heaven? So it would be contradictory for Jesus to teach that the rich man and the beggar Lazarus were very much awake after they died. Jesus’ words harmonize with other scriptures that show the dead have no conscious thoughts (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Jesus likened death to sleep-a state of unconsciousness. When the disciples were confused about what He meant, Jesus clarified that He meant Lazarus was dead (verses 13-14). Before doing so, He told His disciples: “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (verse 11). In John 11, Jesus resurrected His friend Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha, not the character in the parable). Jesus made clear statements throughout His ministry about what does and doesn’t happen after a person dies. How should we understand this parable? Is it really about what happens to people right at the time they die? Or did Jesus intend for us to learn a completely different lesson? What did Jesus say about death? After all, a surface-level reading seems to show the beggar Lazarus dying and going to heaven while the selfish rich man dies and descends to hell.īut a problem with this explanation of the parable is that there are several scriptures-many of them from the mouth of Jesus Himself-that contradict the idea that people go to heaven or hell immediately after death. This parable is often interpreted as being about the immediate fate of the dead. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is one of Jesus’ most misunderstood parables.
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