Lazarus and Dives

Dives and Lazarus, also called Lazarus and Dives or The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus, is one of the stories told by Jesus. Recorded only in the Gospel of Luke (), it tells of the relationship (in life and in death) between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the text of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate, since the rich man is not named, he is referred to as Dives from dives, the Latin word for rich man. - "homo quidam erat dives et induebatur purpura et bysso et epulabatur cotidie splendide" The story has been a favorite for artists and theologians, as it is the most vivid account of an afterlife to be found in the New Testament.
The name Lazarus (from the Hebrew: אלעזר, Elʿāzār, Eleazar - "God (has) helped") is also given to a second, and arguably more famous, figure in the Bible: Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Lazarus of the Four Days. He is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death. While the two characters have sometimes been conflated historically, they are generally understood to be two separate characters. Many allusions to Lazarus (particularly those involving the idea of resurrection from the dead) should be understood as referring to the Lazarus described in John, rather than to the poor begger of this story.
==The story==
The story is as follows:
==Views of historicity==
There are different views on the historicity and origin of the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.Multiple sources summarized at Jesus Database The story is unique to Luke and does not appear to come from the putative Q document, and therefore there have been questions about sources.
===As a literal, historical event===
Some Christians view the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man as an actual event which was related by Jesus to his followers;e.g. Webpage which argues that Lazarus and the rich man is literally true. this was generally the view of the medieval Church. According to this view, this story is not a parable but literal biography. Supporters of this view point to the amount of detail in the story. For example, in no other parable does Jesus give a character's name.
===As a parable created by Jesus===
Other Christians consider that this is a parable created by Jesus and told to his followers.eg The IVP Bible Background Commentary, Tom Wright's Luke for Everyone and Joachim Jeremias's The Parables of Jesus all refers to it as a "Parable" Proponents of this view argue that the story of Lazarus and the rich man has much in common with other stories which are agreed upon parables, both in language and content (e.g. the reversal of fortunes, the use of antithesis, and concern for the poor).
O. Sellers holds this account as a satirical parable which represents a masterful expose of the Pharisees. Through satire, Jesus effectively strips the Pharisees of any pretense of righteousness and thoroughly discredits their justification for ignoring the poor in Israel. The thought here is that when examining Luke 16:19-31 in the light of history, we note a rather suspicious resemblance between Jesus’ story of The Rich Man and Lazarus, and the traditional teachings of the Pharisees. Sellers' concludes that Jesus was not setting out to confirm Pharisaic beliefs about Bosom of Abraham.Apocalypse of Zephaniah True, he told their story; the same story they had told a thousand times before, but with one important difference; a rather ironic twist you might say, that sees the Rich Man waking up in torment in Hades and being denied the slightest assistance by application of the same logic whereby he had regularly denied the poor and destitute while on earth. It would not take much imagination to visualize the headlines in the Jerusalem Gazette the morning after Jesus told His version of their story, humorously conveying how the Lord had turned the tables on the Pharisees in the afterlife.
An alternative explanation of the parable is a satirical parable against the Sadducees.Sepp, Johann Nepomuk. Thaten und Lehren Jesu: mit ihrer weltgeschichtlichen Beglaubigung 1864 The arguments in favour of identification of the Rich Man as the Sadducees are (1) the wearing of purple and fine linen, priesty dress,Whittaker, H.A. Studies in the gospels. Biblia, Staffordshire 1984, 2nd Ed. 1989 p495 (2) the reference to "five brothers in my father's house" as an allusion to Caiaphas' father in law Annas, and his five sons who also served as high priests according to Josephus,Friedrich Gustav Lisco, (trans. Patrick Fairbairn) The parables of Jesus: explained and illustrated‎ 1853 p343 "Many expositors have thought they discovered, in this story, a real history, and referred it to the family of Annas and his son-in-law, Caiaphas," (3) Abraham's statement in the parable that they would not believe even if he raised Lazarus, and then the fulfillment that when Jesus did raise Lazarus of Bethany the Sadducees not only did not believe, but attempted to have Lazarus killed again: "So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well" (John 12:10). This last interpretation had wide circulation in France during the 1860-90s as a result of having been included in the notes of the pictorial Bible of Claude-Joseph Drioux"et c'est cet endurcissement que Jésus prédit quand il dit que du moment qu'ils n'écoutent ni Moïse ni les prophètes ils n'écouteront pas d'avantage quelqu'un qui viendrait de l'autre monde" Drioux Claude-Joseph La Bible populaire: hist. illustrée de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament. Hachette, Paris 1864 p497
===As a mixture of Jesus and early Christian material===
A third view says that the bulk of the parable was told by Jesus but was supplemented with later additions of material composed by others after Jesus' crucifixion. In this view, the early part of the story (Luke 16:19-26) is a parable told by Jesus, while the concluding verses (27-31) represent material added to the story by early Christians. In these verses, the rich man requests Lazarus be raised from the dead so as to serve as warning to the rich man's living brothers. For proponents of interpolation, this is an allegorical reference to the rejection of early Christianity by mainstream Judaism.
===As originated by Luke===
A fourth view holds that the story was not told by Jesus. Proponents of this view suggest that it is significant that only the Gospel of Luke mentions Jesus telling the story (see Synoptic Gospels). The story fits well with Luke's emphasis on care for the poor and therefore they suggest that it may be an authorial insertion.
==Interpretations==
The parable illustrates a theme common to several of Jesus' parables: the treatment of the least of society is the true measure of piety. The rich man's claims to external virtue and legal satisfaction could not compensate for his neglect of the poor man. Jesus taught, repeatedly, that the Kingdom of God is within the soul and not in the law, in contrast to the Pharisean understanding of the Messiah.
What makes this parable even more poignant is that the author of the Gospel is apparently also the author of the Acts of the Apostles, which relates the events after the Resurrection (or at very least, is aware of the resurrection). The readers are aware that not only do they have the words of Moses and the Prophets but that someone returned from death, too. Further, for early Christians, the parable answers the question of why, after the resurrection, Jesus did not preach and give new warnings to the living.
The parable is unique in that, unlike others where Jesus referred to the characters as "a certain man", "a sower", etc., one of the characters was referred to by name. There is a minority view which holds that, because of this, the story isn't a parable, but a reference to a real beggar named Lazarus and a real wealthy individual. There is also a third view that both are true, that the parallel between Luke 16:26 and John 12:10 indicates that it was a parable told about a real Lazarus, possibly when news came to Jesus that Lazarus had died.
===Afterlife doctrine===
Christians debate what the story says about the afterlife: 
Most Christians believe in the immortality of the soul and particular judgment and see the story as consistent with it. Eastern Orthodox Christians see the story as consistent with their belief in Hades, where the righteous and unrighteous alike await the resurrection of the dead. Western Christians usually interpret Lazarus as being in Heaven or Limbo and the rich man in Hell.
Some Christians believe in the mortality of the soul ("soul sleep") and general judgment ("Last Judgement") only. This view is held by some Anglicans such as E. W. Bullinger.E.W. Bullinger on Luke 16:19-31 Proponents of the mortality of the soul, and general judgement, for example Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, and Christian Universalists, argue that this is a parable using the framework of Jewish views of the Bosom of Abraham. Other advocates of general judgment simply say that it is a parable that is devoted to morality, not the afterlife.
In the secular view{refneeded}, and in the views of some Jews{refneeded}, the story represents the 1st-century Jewish belief in Sheol.{refneeded} Sheol is where all the dead go. In Old Testament Judaism, in Sheol the dead are unaware of their situation. Some among the Jews believed in the hope of the resurrection from the dead, others believed death was final. In Sheol there is no pleasure or pain as the dead can experience neither. 
:"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten" (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
:"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
== References in Early Christianity and Medieval tradition ==
Hippolytus of Rome (ca. AD 200) describes Hades with similar details: the bosom of Abraham for the souls of the righteous, fiery torment for the souls of wicked, and a chasm between them.Against Plato, On the Cause of the Universe He equates the fires of Hades with the lake of fire described in the Book of Revelation, but specifies that no one will actually be cast into the fire until the end times.
The story was frequently told in an elaborated form in the Medieval period, and, as the story was believed to be factual rather than a parable, Lazarus was venerated as a patron saint of lepers by the Roman Catholic Church.Lazarus on the Catholic Community Forum. In the twelfth century, crusaders in the Kingdom of Jerusalem founded the Order of Saint Lazarus.
It was often shown in art, especially carved at the portals of churches, at the foot of which beggars would sit (for example at Moissac and Saint-Sernin, Toulouse), promoting their cause. There is a surviving stained-glass window at Bourges Cathedral.Emile Male, The Gothic Image , Religious Art in France of the Thirteen Century, p 200, English trans of 3rd edn, 1913, Collins, London (and many other editions)
Chaucer's Summoner observes that "Dives and Lazarus lived differently, and their rewards were different." The Summoners's Prologue and Tale , line 1877 - "Lazar and Dives lyveden diversly, And divers gerdon hadden they therby."
==In literature==
In his novel, Moby-Dick, Herman Melville alludes to Lazarus and Dives in Chapter Two as part of a metaphor describing a cold night in New Bedford. ()
Dives' stifled desire to revisit Israel to warn his brothers of his torment resembles Jacob Marley's successful and celebrated manifestation to similarly steer Ebenezer Scrooge from the path to suffering after death in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
==In song==
* The story appeared as an English folk song whose oldest written documentation dates from 1557Francis James Child, The English and Scottish popular Ballads, Part IV, 1886; referring to (inter alia) Arber, Registers of the Company of Stationers, with the depiction of the afterlife altered to fit Christian tradition. The song was also published as the Child ballad Dives and Lazarus in the 19th century. 
* Richard Crashaw wrote a metaphysical stanza for his Steps to the Temple in 1646 entitled, "Upon Lazarus His Tears":
:"Rich Lazarus! richer in those gems, thy tears,
::Than Dives in the robes he wears:
:He scorns them now, but oh they'll suit full well
::With the purple he must wear in hell."
* North American slaves of the 19th century sang a spiritual about Lazarus and Dives called "Poor Man Lazarus.".
* In 1939, Ralph Vaughan Williams based his orchestral piece Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus on the song.
* Both names appear in Edith Sitwell's poem "Still falls the Rain" from "The Canticle of the Rose", first published in 1941. It was written after the raids on London in 1940. The poem is dark, full of the disillusions of World War II. It speaks of the failure of man, and of the yet unconditional love of God. Benjamin Britten set Sitwell's text to music in his third Canticle in a series of five. The names appear in Verse IV: "Still falls the Rain At the feet of the Starved Man hung upon the Cross. Christ that each day, each night, nails there, have mercy on us. On Dives and on Lazarus: Under the Rain the sore and the gold are as one." The setting clearly depicts the common suffering of both sinner and saint, especially during a time of war.
* In 1948 the husband-and-wife country and western singing duo Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper recorded their popular interpretation of the story, titled "The Tramp on the Street":
::"Only a tramp was Lazurus by fate
::He who lay down at the rich man's gate
::He begged for some crumbs from the rich man to eat
::He was only a tramp found dead on the street"
:The song goes on to compare the death and resurrection of Jesus to the death of Lazarus, and to ask the listener if he or she would turn Jesus away or invite him in to eat.
* Dives is called Diversus in some songs, such as that performed by Steeleye Span on their album "They Called Her Babylon".
* The Christian metal band Whitecross performed a song called "No Second Chances" telling the story of Lazarus the beggar.
* The alternative rock band, Flyleaf, released their 2009 album, Memento Mori, which features a sing titled "Chasm". Front-woman Lacey Mosely seems to be in Hell, begging for water and wishing to warn her loved ones. She seems to be in denial, claiming "The Chasm Isn't Fixed Yet".
==The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem==
The Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem (OSLJ) is an order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by Knights Hospitaller in the twelfth century by Crusaders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Saint Lazarus is one of the most ancient of the European orders of chivalry, yet is one of the less-known and less-documented orders. The first mention of the Order of Saint Lazarus in surviving sources dates to 1142. 
The Order was originally established to treat the virulent disease of leprosy, its knights originally being lepers themselves.David Marcombe, Leper Knights: The Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem in England, c. 1150-1544 (Rochester, NY: Boydell) 2003; Chapter 1 gives the general history. According to the Order's official international website, "From its foundation in the 12th century, the members of the Order were dedicated to two ideals: aid to those suffering from the dreadful disease of leprosy and the defense of the Christian faith.""History", official international website of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. Retrieved on 2009-09-14. Sufferers of leprosy regarded the beggar Lazarus (of Luke 19:19-31) as their patron saint and usually dedicated their hospices to him.
The order was initially founded as a leper hospital outside the city walls of Jerusalem, but hospitals were established all across the Holy Land dependant on the Jerusalem hospital, notably in Acre. It is unknown when the order became militarised but militarisation occurred before the end of the twelfth century due to the large numbers of Templars and Hospitallers sent to the leper hospitals to be treated. The order established ‘lazar houses’ across Europe to care for lepers, and was well supported by other military orders which compelled lazar brethren in their rule to join the order on contracting leprosy.
==See also==
*Lazaretto
*List of names for the Biblical nameless
== External links ==
*An In-Depth Look at the Rich Man and Lazarus from a Universalist Perspective
*A second In-Depth Look of the meaning of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
==References==
Category:Christian eschatology
Category:Parables of Jesus
Category:New Testament people