Lessons From Lazarus and the Rich Man

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Rich Man, Poor Man. Do any on you remember the television miniseries from about 40 years ago? Rich Man, Poor Man was based on the 1969 novel of the same name –written in 1969 by Irwin Shaw. Jesus Christ gave a powerful, poignant parable about a rich man and a poor man. This parable is generally known as the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. It is recorded for us in Luke, chapter 16. Many people may be at least somewhat familiar with the Biblical parable, but most likely few have thought very deeply about its meaning. What should the take-away be for you and me? Even in the church of God our tendency has been to emphasize a side point of the parable. We often focus on which Biblical “hell” has been the rich man’s destination, following his death. Is this the hell translated from the Greek word Gehenna, indicating the hell fire that will consume the incorrigibly wicked? Or, does the rich man “lift up his eyes” in hades, meaning the grave? As we ponder how to answer these questions, let’s examine this interesting and instructive parable of Jesus Christ.
rich man
John Cafourek

John Cafourek (1945-2017) served in the ministry of Jesus Christ with his wife, Sandy, for 46 years.

John was born in South Dakota. He attended Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a Master’s Degree in psychological counseling from Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 1978. John pastored churches in Nebraska, North Dakota, Missouri, Mississippi, Washington, and Oregon.

He directed speech clubs for men, gave seminars on abuse and addictions, and traveled as an international speaker in Canada, England, New Zealand, Jamaica, Australia, and other areas. He also directed a United Church of God preteen camp for children ages 6 to 12 and served at the church’s teen camp.