Church Fathers Commentary Luke 16:22-26

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham`s bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted and thou art in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us." — Luke 16:22-26 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: We have heard how both fared on earth; let us see what their condition is among the dead. That which was temporal has passed away; that which follows is eternal. Both died; one is received by angels, the other by torments. For it is said, And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels, and so on. Those great sufferings are suddenly exchanged for bliss.

He is carried after all his labors because he had fainted, or at least so that he would not tire from walking; and he was carried by angels. One angel was not sufficient to carry the poor man, but many come, that they may form a joyful company, each angel rejoicing to touch such a great burden. They gladly burden themselves in this way so that they may bring people to the kingdom of heaven. But he was carried into Abraham’s bosom, that he might be embraced and cherished by him; Abraham’s bosom is Paradise.

And the ministering angels carried the poor man and placed him in Abraham’s bosom because, though he lay despised, he did not despair or blaspheme, saying, “This rich man, living in wickedness, is happy and suffers no tribulation, but I cannot even get food to supply my needs.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: As for you thinking that Abraham’s bosom is something physical, I am afraid you will be thought to treat such a weighty matter lightly rather than seriously. For you could never be so foolish as to suppose that the physical bosom of one man could hold so many souls—or, to use your own words, so many bodies as the angels carry there, just as they did with Lazarus. But perhaps you imagine that only one soul deserved to come to that bosom. If you wish to avoid a childish mistake, you must understand that Abraham’s bosom is a secluded and hidden resting place where Abraham is. It is called Abraham’s not because it is his alone, but because he is the father of many nations and was placed first, so that others might imitate his preeminent faith.

St. Gregory the Great: When the two men, the poor and the rich, were below on earth, there was One above who saw into their hearts. By trials, He trained the poor man for glory, and through patience, He awaited the rich man for punishment. Hence it follows, the rich man also cried.

St. John Chrysostom: He died in body, but his soul was already dead, for he did none of the works of the soul. All the warmth that comes from loving one's neighbor had vanished, and he was more dead than his body. But no one is mentioned as having ministered to the rich man’s burial, as they did for Lazarus. Because when he lived pleasantly on the broad road, he had many eager flatterers; but when he came to his end, they all forsook him. For it simply follows, and was buried in hell. But even while living, his soul was buried, enshrined in his body as if in a tomb.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The burial in hell is the lowest depth of torment, which after this life devours the proud and unmerciful.

Pseudo-Basil: Hell is a certain common place in the interior of the earth, shaded on all sides and dark. In it, there is a kind of opening stretching downward, through which the souls condemned to perdition descend.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, just as the prisons of kings are placed at a distance outside the city, so also hell is somewhere far off, outside the world. Hence it is called the outer darkness.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But some say that hell is the passing from the visible to the invisible, and the soul's loss of form. For as long as the soul of a sinner is in the body, it is visible through its actions. But when it leaves the body, it becomes shapeless.

St. John Chrysostom: Just as it made the poor man's affliction heavier while he lived—lying before the rich man’s gate and seeing the prosperity of others—so also when the rich man was dead, it added to his desolation that he lay in hell and saw the happiness of Lazarus. He felt his own punishment to be more intolerable, not only because of the nature of his torments, but also by comparison to the honor given to Lazarus. Hence it follows, But lifting up his eyes. He lifted up his eyes so that he might look at him, not despise him, for Lazarus was above and he was below.

Many angels carried Lazarus; he was seized by endless torments. Therefore it is not said, "being in torment," but "torments." For he was wholly in torments; only his eyes were free, so that he could behold the joy of another. His eyes are allowed to be free so that he may be tortured all the more by not having what another has. The riches of others are the torments of those who are in poverty.

St. Gregory the Great: Now if Abraham sat below, the rich man, being in torments, would not have seen him. For those who have followed the path to the heavenly country, when they leave the flesh, are held back by the gates of hell. This is not because punishment strikes them as sinners, but because, while resting in more remote places (for the intercession of the Mediator had not yet come), the guilt of their first fault prevents them from entering the kingdom.

St. John Chrysostom: There were many poor, righteous men, but the one who lay at his door was the one he saw, to add to his woe. For it follows, And Lazarus in his bosom. It may be observed here that all whom we have offended are exposed to our view. But the rich man sees Lazarus not with just any other righteous man, but in Abraham’s bosom. For Abraham was full of love, but this man is convicted of cruelty. Abraham, sitting before his door, pursued those who passed by and brought them into his house; the other turned away even those who stayed within his gate.

St. Gregory the Great: And this rich man, indeed, now fixed in his doom, seeks as his patron the one to whom in this life he would not show mercy.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He does not, however, direct his words to Lazarus but to Abraham. This is perhaps because he was ashamed and thought Lazarus would remember his injuries; but he was judging Lazarus by his own character. Hence it follows, And he cried and said.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Great punishments produce a great cry. Father Abraham. It is as if he said, “I call you father by nature, like the son who wasted his inheritance, although by my own fault I have lost you as a father. Have mercy on me.” You practice repentance in vain when there is no place for it; your torments, not the desires of your soul, drive you to act penitent.

I do not know whether one who is in the kingdom of heaven can have compassion on one who is in hell. The Creator pities His creature. One Physician came who was to heal all; others could not heal. Send Lazarus. You are mistaken, wretched man. Abraham cannot send, but he can receive.

To dip the tip of his finger in water. You would not deign to look at Lazarus, and now you desire his finger. What you seek now, you should have done for him when he was alive. You, who before despised delicate food, are now in want of water. Mark the sinner's conscience: he did not dare ask for the whole finger.

We are also instructed how good it is not to trust in riches. See the rich man in need of the poor man who was starving before. Things are changed, and it is now revealed to all who was truly rich and who was poor. For it is as in the theaters: when evening approaches and the spectators depart, they go out, lay aside their costumes, and those who seemed to be kings and generals are seen as they really are—the sons of gardeners and fig-sellers. So also, when death comes and the spectacle is over, all the masks of poverty and riches are removed. By their works alone are people judged, revealing who is truly rich, who is poor, who is worthy of honor, and who of dishonor.

St. Gregory the Great: For that rich man, who would not give the poor man even the scraps from his table, found himself in hell begging for the smallest thing. He who refused to give a crumb of bread now sought a drop of water.

St. Basil the Great: But he receives a fitting reward: fire and the torments of hell. For a parched tongue, he receives wailing instead of a tuneful lyre; for drink, an intense longing for a single drop; for curious or wanton spectacles, profound darkness; for eager flattery, the undying worm. Hence it follows, That he may cool my tongue, for I am tormented in the flame.

St. John Chrysostom: He was tormented not because he was rich, but because he was not merciful.

St. Gregory the Great: From this we may gather what torments will punish one who robs another, if someone who does not even distribute what is his own is struck with the condemnation of hell.

St. Ambrose of Milan: He is also tormented because for a luxurious man, it is a punishment to be without his pleasures. Water is also a refreshment to a soul that is fixed in sorrow.

St. Gregory the Great: But what does it mean that, when in torments, he desires his tongue to be cooled? It means that because he sinned by his talking at feasts, now, by the justice of retribution, his tongue is in a fierce flame. For talkativeness is generally rampant at a banquet.

St. John Chrysostom: His tongue, too, had spoken many proud things. Where the sin is, there the punishment is. And because the tongue offended greatly, it is tormented all the more.

Or, his wish for his tongue to be cooled while he was burning completely in the flame signifies what is written: Death and life are in the hands of the tongue, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. He did not do this out of pride. The tip of the finger, then, means the very smallest work in which a person is assisted by the Holy Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: You say that the members of the soul are described here. You would have "the eye" be understood as the whole head, because he was said to lift up his eyes; "the tongue" as the jaws; and "the finger" as the hand. But why is it that when these names of body parts are spoken of God, they do not, in your mind, imply a body, but when spoken of the soul, they do? Is it that when spoken of the creature, they are to be taken literally, but when of the Creator, metaphorically and figuratively? Will you then give us physical wings, seeing that it is not the Creator, but a man—that is, the creature—who says, If I take the wings of the morning? Besides, if the rich man had a physical tongue because he said, to cool my tongue, then for us who live in the flesh, the tongue itself must have physical hands, for it is written, Death and life are in the hands of the tongue.

Gregory of Nyssa: Just as the most excellent mirror reflects an image of a face exactly as the face itself appears before it—a joyful image for a joyful face, a sorrowful one for a sorrowful face—so also is the just judgment of God adapted to our dispositions. Therefore, because the rich man did not pity the poor man as he lay at his gate, he is not heard when he himself needs mercy. For it follows, And Abraham said to him, Son...

St. John Chrysostom: Behold the kindness of the Patriarch. He calls him "son" (which may express his tenderness), yet he gives no aid to one who had deprived himself of a cure. Therefore he says, Remember... that is, consider the past. Do not forget that you delighted in your riches and you received good things in your life—that is, things you considered to be good. You could not triumph both on earth and here. Riches cannot be true riches both on earth and in the afterlife. It follows, And Lazarus likewise evil things. This is not because Lazarus thought them evil, but because Abraham spoke according to the opinion of the rich man, who considered poverty, hunger, and severe sickness to be evils. When the weight of sickness harasses us, let us think of Lazarus and joyfully accept evil things in this life.

St. Augustine of Hippo: All this, then, is said to the rich man because he chose the happiness of the world and loved no other life than the one in which he proudly boasted. But Abraham says, Lazarus received evil things, because he knew that the perishable nature of this life—its labors, sorrows, and sicknesses—is the penalty for sin, for we all die in Adam, who by his transgression was made subject to death.

St. John Chrysostom: He says, You received good things in your life (as if they were your due). It is as though he said: If you have done any good thing for which a reward might be due, you have already received it all in that world by living luxuriously, abounding in riches, and enjoying the pleasure of prosperous undertakings. But if Lazarus committed any evil, he has received all his due for it by being afflicted with poverty, hunger, and the depths of wretchedness. And each of you came here naked: Lazarus, naked of sin, for which reason he receives his comfort; you, naked of righteousness, for which reason you endure your inconsolable punishment. And hence it follows, But now he is comforted, and you are tormented.

St. Gregory the Great: Therefore, whatever good things you have in this world, when you remember having done anything good, be very fearful about it, lest the prosperity granted to you is your recompense for that same good deed. And when you see poor people doing something blameworthy, do not be afraid, seeing that perhaps the fire of hardship is cleansing those whom the remains of the slightest iniquity defile.

St. John Chrysostom: But you will say, “Is there no one who will enjoy pardon, both here and there?” This is indeed a hard thing, and among those that are impossible. For if poverty does not press, ambition urges; if sickness does not provoke, anger inflames; if temptations do not assail, corrupt thoughts often overwhelm. It is no small task to bridle anger, to check unlawful desires, to subdue the swellings of vainglory, to quell pride or haughtiness, and to lead a disciplined life. He who does not do these things cannot be saved.

St. Gregory the Great: It may also be answered that evil people receive good things in this life because they place their whole joy in temporary happiness. The righteous, however, may indeed have good things here, yet they do not receive them as a reward, because while they seek better, eternal things, in their judgment whatever good things are present seem by no means good.

St. John Chrysostom: But after the mercy of God, we must seek a hope of salvation in our own endeavors, not in counting on fathers, relatives, or friends. For a brother does not deliver a brother. Therefore, it is added, And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The great gulf signifies the distance between the righteous and sinners. For as their desires were different, so also their dwelling places differ greatly.

St. John Chrysostom: The gulf is said to be "fixed" because it cannot be loosened, moved, or shaken.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Between the rich and the poor, then, there is a great gulf, because after death, rewards cannot be changed. Hence it follows, So that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor come thence to us.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if he says: We can see, but we cannot cross over. We see what we have escaped, and you see what you have lost. Our joys enhance your torments, and your torments enhance our joys.

St. Gregory the Great: For just as the wicked desire to cross over to the elect—that is, to depart from the pangs of their sufferings—so also the just would wish to cross over to the afflicted and tormented in their minds, out of compassion, and desire to set them free. But the souls of the just, although they feel compassion because of the goodness of their nature, after being united to the righteousness of their Author, are constrained by such great uprightness that they are not moved with compassion toward the reprobate. Therefore, neither do the unrighteous cross over to the lot of the blessed, because they are bound in everlasting condemnation; nor can the righteous cross over to the reprobate, because, having now been made upright by the righteousness of judgment, they do not pity them out of any compassion.

Theophylact of Ohrid: From this you may derive an argument against the followers of Origen, who say that since an end will be put to punishments, there will be a time when sinners will be gathered to the righteous and to God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For the unchangeableness of the divine sentence shows that no aid of mercy can be given to people by the righteous, even if they should wish to give it. By this, he reminds us that in this life, people should relieve those they can, since hereafter, even if they themselves are well received, they will not be able to help those they love. For that which was written, that they may receive you into everlasting habitations, was not said of the proud and unmerciful, but of those who have made friends for themselves by their works of mercy. The righteous receive them, not as if benefiting them by their own power, but by divine permission.