MEMORY VERSE: ‘And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.’ Luke 16:31.
LESSON AIM: To study Christ’s parable about the rich man and Lazarus.
‘A clue to the proper interpretation of this parable is found in verses 29 and 31: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. . . . If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” This language directs the living to Moses and the prophets for instruction concerning man’s condition in hades [the grave]. In their testimony will be found adequate warning to the living wicked, and facts of great importance bearing upon the proper interpretation of this peculiar passage.’ J. N. Andrews: The Rich Man and Lazarus, page 5.
Compiler’s note: This parable comes in Luke 16:19-31. It comes at the end of five chapters which set out the sins of the Pharisees. The wider context, therefore, starts in Luke 11:37-12:2. In this passage Christ’s exposes the sins of the Pharisees, Christ states five woes against them beginning in verse 42 and accuses them of seven principal sins:
· Luke 11:39-41. They added to the Scriptures with their own traditions.
· Luke 11:42. They pass over judgement and the love of God.
· Luke 11:43. They display arrogance and display, seeking the praise of men.
· Luke 11:46. They load people down with burdens too heavy to be borne.
· Luke 11:47-51. They were no better than previous generations in rejecting God’s prophets.
· Luke 11:50-51. The blood of the rejected prophets would be required of that very generation.
· Luke 11:52. They had taken away the key of knowledge.
In these chapters, Jesus warns against:
· the attitudes of the Pharisees
· the behaviour of the Pharisees
· the teachings of the Pharisees
He condemned their covetousness, their attitude to riches, their despising the poor, the fact that they put the praise of men above the approval of God, their willingness to sacrifice honesty and integrity to achieve their purposes, and finally the fact that they put their own traditions above the teachings of Moses and the prophets.
1. What is the context of this parable? Luke 16:17, 29, 31.
NOTE: The immediate context of this parable:
· Luke 16:17. The immutability of God’s law. Immediately before the parable.
· Luke 16:29. The authority of Moses and the prophets. Within the parable.
· Luke 16:31. If they reject what Moses and the prophets say, not even a resurrection will convince them of the truth. Immediately after the parable.
The whole parable is set in the context of either accepting or rejecting what is written in Moses and the prophets, in other words, in the Old Testament writings. So the question we need to ask, in studying this parable, is: Does this story agree with Moses and the prophets, the Old Testament writings?
2. How did Christ emphasise the importance of the testimony of the Old Testament writings? Luke 24:25-27, 44-45.
NOTE: ‘Those who heed Moses and the prophets will require no greater light than God has given; but if men reject the light, and fail to appreciate the opportunities granted them, they would not hear if one from the dead should come to them with a message. They would not be convinced even by this evidence; for those who reject the law and the prophets so harden their hearts that they will reject all light.’ Christ’s Object Lessons, pages 265.