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    dwashbur's Avatar
    dwashbur Posts: 1,456, Reputation: 175
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    #1

    Sep 24, 2019, 08:19 AM
    The Rich Man and Lazarus
    For those who aren't aware, a lot of my stuff is going to be coming from Luke at the moment because I have an ongoing project reading through the Greek New Testament, and I'm in Luke right now. The goal isn't exegesis, but reading comprehension. I'm not out to analyze, just read the language comfortably.

    As a lifelong Bible geek, I can't help myself sometimes.

    The rich man is in a bad place while Abraham himself is consoling Lazarus. The rich man sees and begs Abraham to send Lazarus to give him a tiny bit of relief.

    Why Lazarus? Why not Abraham himself? Why not anybody who's available? And why does he assume Abraham can "send" Lazarus anywhere to do anything?

    My hypotenuse: His mind could not conceive of a poor beggar like Lazarus being anything but a servant. Servants serve. So send that servant Lazarus to serve me, please. I'm not suggesting that he despised Lazarus or anything like that, his mindset was just so much into "rich get served, poor serve" he couldn't view any world, not even eternity, any other way.

    Thoughts?
    Wondergirl's Avatar
    Wondergirl Posts: 39,354, Reputation: 5431
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    #2

    Sep 24, 2019, 07:33 PM
    "my hypotenuse"?
    dwashbur's Avatar
    dwashbur Posts: 1,456, Reputation: 175
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    #3

    Sep 25, 2019, 07:31 AM
    Typo. I should have said hippopotamus. :D
    Athos's Avatar
    Athos Posts: 1,108, Reputation: 55
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    #4

    Sep 29, 2019, 10:23 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by dwashbur View Post
    The rich man is in a bad place while Abraham himself is consoling Lazarus. The rich man sees and begs Abraham to send Lazarus to give him a tiny bit of relief.

    Why Lazarus? Why not Abraham himself?
    Picking Lazarus dramatically makes the point about the Kingdom - "The first shall be last, " etc.

    And why does he assume Abraham can "send" Lazarus anywhere to do anything?
    A moral fable. The audience got the idea.

    My hypotenuse: His mind could not conceive of a poor beggar like Lazarus being anything but a servant. Servants serve. So send that servant Lazarus to serve me, please. I'm not suggesting that he despised Lazarus or anything like that, his mindset was just so much into "rich get served, poor serve" he couldn't view any world, not even eternity, any other way.
    Your hypotenuse is as good as any.
    jlisenbe's Avatar
    jlisenbe Posts: 5,019, Reputation: 157
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    #5

    Nov 4, 2019, 05:41 AM
    What is your view of the idea held by many that this is not a parable but rather the recounting of an actual event known to Jesus but not known, of course, to others? The reasoning behind that position is the fact that the characters in this story have names and there are specifics, unlike in the parables.

    My hypotenuse: His mind could not conceive of a poor beggar like Lazarus being anything but a servant. Servants serve. So send that servant Lazarus to serve me, please. I'm not suggesting that he despised Lazarus or anything like that, his mindset was just so much into "rich get served, poor serve" he couldn't view any world, not even eternity, any other way.
    Interesting analysis. I like that. It's also interesting to me the concern he had in sending help to his family, and Abraham's reply that they would not believe even if one rose from the dead, a seemingly clear reference to the coming resurrection.

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