He was covered with sores, so hungry that he would have liked the scraps from the rich man’s meals. Food was not a problem as he ate fine food daily. The cloth itself was fine linen, a product of Egypt, and was worth twice its weight in gold in those days. He had clothing dyed with the most expensive dye available in those days, a purple dye made from a rare shellfish found along the coast of Tyre. Labeling this story a parable does not make it any less real. All other parables are based on real events. Even if this was a generalized tale, it doesn’t mean the things discussed are not true or only imaginary. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, details are given about a particular event. They are something that could easily happen, but Jesus is not talking about one particular event. In Jesus’ parables, an illustration is given from life, but the illustrations are generalized. However, it is not called a parable in the Scriptures and it contains one feature that makes it different from the parables that Jesus told: this story names one of the main characters.

At times you will find some who dismiss the significance of the story by stating that it is only a parable. Through it, we learn about what life after death is like. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is another well-known illustration of Jesus.

Lazarus bible story church of christ