Luke Viewed This As A Parable

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus...” (Luke 16:19-20)

1. Is this a parable? Preachers and certain people throughout church history sometimes have asserted that this story is not a parable but depicts real people and the consequences of their lives.¹⁶⁹ I am not aware of any modern scholar who would agree.¹⁷⁰ Certainly Luke viewed this as a parable. It appears in a collection of parables, possibly stands chiastically parallel to the parable of the Rich Fool,¹⁷¹ and uses the exact same introductory words (anthropos tis) which Luke uses to introduce several other parables.¹⁷² This is without question a parable.¹⁷³

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Author: Klyne R. Snodgrass

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Bible reference(s): Luke 16:19, Luke 16:20, Luke 16:21, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23, Luke 16:24, Luke 16:25, Luke 16:26, Luke 16:27, Luke 16:28, Luke 16:29, Luke 16:30, Luke 16:31

Source: Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008), pp. 426-7.

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