The following is an excerpt from The Maker Versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics¸ by Jerry Bowyer (New York, Fidelis Books, Post Hill Press, 2020), release date Sept. 15th. The section below argues that the ‘Rich Man’ in the parable refers to the High Priest.
Is the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man aimed at the wealthy in general? That is how it was used during the Middle Ages when it was at peak popularity. This may have served a spiritual agenda with tendencies toward otherworldliness and deep ambivalence, at best, about the sacredness of non-clerical callings such as commerce.
But are such general interpretations the best ones? Up until modern times, texts in the original languages were either unavailable or difficult to find. The same was true of historical documents that could serve to put stories such as this in proper historical context, and Biblical archeology was nearly nonexistent. Now we have vast resources at our disposal, not just information that was not available before, but tools that help us analyze and access that information thousands of times more powerful than long form, hand-copied, inaccessible paper libraries in centuries past. So, of course, we should expect to learn new things, even about old books, like the Bible.
Let’s look at this parable. I’ve emphasized some words I think will provide careful readers with important interpretive clues as to the original intended meaning.
The Parable
Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day.
And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.”
But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.”
And he said, “Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”
But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.”
But he said, “No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!”
But he said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”—Luke 16:19–17:1 (emphases mine)
The Context
Five verses before the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man, we see religious leaders being identified with greed and interpreting the story of the Unjust Steward as hostile to them. Greed and religious status are linked.
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, [Parable of the Unjust Steward, JB] and they were scoffing at Him.—Luke 16:14 (emphases mine)
Interestingly the word used for “lovers of money” is virtually the same word used by Paul in his oft (mis)quoted maxim about the love of money:
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.—1 Timothy 6:10 (emphasis mine)
Now, let’s get into some of the details of the story, focusing first on what “the rich man” wore:
Purple and Fine Linen
Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. (Verse 19) (emphases mine)
If purple and fine linen seem familiar to you, it might be because those exact words are used to describe what the high priest was to wear according to the Torah:
And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.
And they shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen.
They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen,…—Exodus 28:4–6(emphases mine)
It’s not just that the ideas are the same in English translation, it’s actually that the same words were used. Of course, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek, so the way to match up the words is to look at the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament made by a group of seventy rabbis (known as the Septuagint). This translation was popular in Jesus’s time, and it is the version of the Bible used quite often when the New Testament quotes the Old. The words used to describe purple and fine linen in the Greek New Testament are exactly the same words used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament when describing the garments of the high priest. Listeners at the time would have noticed, especially given the extreme unpopularity of the high priest at the time and resentment against his, and his family’s, opulent wealth.
And what is this man, clothed in an outfit matching the description of the high priest’s garments, doing?
Feasted Joyfully
Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. (Verse 19) (emphases mine)
He is “living in splendor,” which is a highly interpretive translation. A more literal translation would be something like “rejoicing by lamp.” Again comparing the Greek word used by Jesus with the Greek translation of the Old Testament, we see another parallel with the religious rituals of the temple.
Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.—Leviticus 23:40 (emphasis mine)
Another example:
But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the LORD your God shall choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.
And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the first-born of your herd and of your flock.
There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.—Deuteronomy 12:5–7 (emphasis mine)
Even the New Testament uses the same word to describe religious rituals.
And at that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.—Acts 7:41 (emphasis mine)
It appears this rich man is not only wearing clothes that match the description of the high priest’s, he appears to be spending his time engaging in the same activities, “rejoicing” and doing it “by lamp.” Remember, the temple had intricately designed lampstands.
What about the sole architectural detail we are given, the gate at which Lazarus is laid?
Gate or Portico/Vestibule?
And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,… (Verse 20) (emphasis mine)
The Greek word there is twice used elsewhere in the New Testament for the entryway to a temple. First to the temple itself:
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a certain servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”
And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”—Matthew 26:69–71 (emphasis mine)
And second to a pagan temple:
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.—Acts 14:13 (emphasis mine)
So, the word used for the place where Lazarus, a sickly beggar, was laid matches the word used to describe the gate of the temple. This is especially noteworthy given that beggars frequented the general environs of the temple probably due to a belief that alms given near the temple were of greater religious credit and therefore more likely to be given.
My approach to evaluating interpretations is to favor those interpretations that explain the largest number of textual details, especially unusual details, and are not contradicted by any details of the text. Details such as the rich man’s “five brothers.”
Five Brothers
…for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment. (Verse 28) (emphasis mine)
Josephus tells us Ananus, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at the time of Jesus, had five sons.
And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator; but the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus.
Now the report goes, that this oldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests.1 (emphases mine)
Ananus’s five sons were Caiaphas’s “five brothers.”
Finally, the stories end the same way. A man named Lazarus rises from the dead and, nevertheless, neither were they persuaded.
If Someone Rises from the Dead
But he said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” (Verse 31) (emphasis mine)
Jesus raised His friend, Lazarus, from the dead.
And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”…
Many therefore…believed in Him.
But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done.
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
“If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
“nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.”—John 11:43–50 (emphases mine)
And not only did they not repent, but they ratcheted up their evil in order to avoid having to change their way of life.
And it came about on the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.
And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”—Acts 4:5–7 (emphasis mine)
Jesus, the Messiah and true High Priest, did exactly what was expected of Him according to Messianic expectation: He confronted the economically corrupt, apostate high priest, who was almost universally seen by communities of Messianic expectation as wealthy at the expense of the poor, which indeed, he was.
Jesus’s story would almost certainly have been interpreted that way by the people, given popular conceptions of the Messianic role, and since those are the people to whom Jesus delivered this message, that clearly appears to be its intended meaning.
Jerry Bowyer is Editor of Town Hall Finance, serves on the Editorial Board of Salem Communications, is Resident Economist with Kingdom Advisors and President of Bowyer Research. He holds a Sacred Theology Licentiate from the Collegium Augustinianum and a Bachelor’s degree from Robert Morris University.
- Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus (JOE), trans. William Whiston (Auburn and Buffalo, NY: John E. Beardsley, 1895), BibleWorks, vol. 10. ↩︎