NT Wright can read the mind of Jesus! A Layman’s Review of NT Wright’s, The Resurrection…, Part 34

NT Wright, page 437:

I stressed in the earlier volume that the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is to be treated precisely as a parable, not as a literal description of the after life and its possibilities.  It is therefore inappropriate to use it as prima facie evidence for Jesus’ own sketching (or Luke’s portrait of Jesus’ sketching) of a standard post-mortem scenario.  It is, rather, an adaptation of a well-known folk-tale, projecting the rich/poor divide of the present on to the future in order to highlight the present responsibility, and culpability, of the careless rich.

Gary:  Wow!  NT Wright can read the mind of Jesus!  What a wonderful thing to know! 

My conservative Christian pastors always told me that this parable taught the importance of humble faith in God and attention to the matters of spirituality over the prideful, arrogant, sinful greed for worldly possessions, and, most importantly, this parable taught the horrific eternal consequences of worldly attachment to riches instead of God.  I am so happy to know that Jesus was just preaching a ‘social Gospel’ about the filthy rich.

Luke 16:19-31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.<sup class=”footnote” data-fn=”#fen-NRSV-25635a” value=”[a]”>[a] The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.<sup class=”footnote” data-fn=”#fen-NRSV-25636b” value=”[b]”>[b] ²⁴ He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶ Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ ³⁰ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Read part 35 here.

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