I contend this story is not a parable:
[Luke 16:20 KJV] "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,"
[Luke 16:22 KJV] "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;"
[Luke 16:23 KJV] "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
[Luke 16:24 KJV] "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 tormented in this flame."
[Luke 16:25 KJV] "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
[Luke 16:26 KJV] "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence."
[Luke 16:27 KJV] "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:"
[Luke 16:28 KJV] "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."........................Lazarus and the rich man isn't a parable. It doesn't say it is a parable. It is too specific in details and can be understood clearly, which isn't the case for parables. This is a literal account of a real event portraying real people.
[Mark 4:2 KJV] "And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,"........Jesus taught many things by parables, but not all he taught was a parable. Here is an example of Jesus teaching without a parable.......[Matthew 5:2 KJV] "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,"
[Matthew 5:4 KJV] "Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
[Matthew 13:10 KJV] "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
[Matthew 13:11 KJV] "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.".........When Jesus taught about the kingdom he taught it in parables so the unbelieving would not understand; unbelieving Israel would not inherit the kingdom. The primary theme of the parables is the mysteries of the kingdom. The kingdom is the prophetic, promised Davidic covenant kingdom on earth, in which believing Israel will reign with Christ for a thousand years. This can be seen by the following parables:
[Matthew 13:24 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:31 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:33 KJV] "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."...........In the story of Lazarus and the rich man there is nothing that can be remotely related to the kingdom on earth.
[Matthew 21:33 KJV] "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:".........Parables conveyed that the establishment of the kingdom would be delayed.
Parables don't just have teachings about the kingdom in common, also in common is the use of hidden meaning and lack of understanding:
[Matthew 13:4 KJV] "And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: [Matthew 13:19 KJV] "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side."..........Words used hide what is meant; the seeds were the word of the kingdom, which could not be known, it's meaning was hid.
[Matthew 13:24 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:38 KJV] "The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];".........Parables don't speak clearly and plainly, they require explanation, unlike Lazarus and the rich man where no explanation is needed to understand everything said. The story of Lazarus and the rich man speak plainly..........[John 16:29 KJV] "His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb."
[Luke 16:20 KJV] "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,"
[Luke 16:22 KJV] "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;"
[Luke 16:23 KJV] "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
[Luke 16:24 KJV] "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 tormented in this flame."
[Luke 16:25 KJV] "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
[Luke 16:26 KJV] "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence."
[Luke 16:27 KJV] "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:"
[Luke 16:28 KJV] "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."........................Lazarus and the rich man isn't a parable. It doesn't say it is a parable. It is too specific in details and can be understood clearly, which isn't the case for parables. This is a literal account of a real event portraying real people.
[Mark 4:2 KJV] "And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,"........Jesus taught many things by parables, but not all he taught was a parable. Here is an example of Jesus teaching without a parable.......[Matthew 5:2 KJV] "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,"
[Matthew 5:4 KJV] "Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
[Matthew 13:10 KJV] "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
[Matthew 13:11 KJV] "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.".........When Jesus taught about the kingdom he taught it in parables so the unbelieving would not understand; unbelieving Israel would not inherit the kingdom. The primary theme of the parables is the mysteries of the kingdom. The kingdom is the prophetic, promised Davidic covenant kingdom on earth, in which believing Israel will reign with Christ for a thousand years. This can be seen by the following parables:
[Matthew 13:24 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:31 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:33 KJV] "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."...........In the story of Lazarus and the rich man there is nothing that can be remotely related to the kingdom on earth.
[Matthew 21:33 KJV] "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:".........Parables conveyed that the establishment of the kingdom would be delayed.
Parables don't just have teachings about the kingdom in common, also in common is the use of hidden meaning and lack of understanding:
[Matthew 13:4 KJV] "And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: [Matthew 13:19 KJV] "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side."..........Words used hide what is meant; the seeds were the word of the kingdom, which could not be known, it's meaning was hid.
[Matthew 13:24 KJV] "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"
[Matthew 13:38 KJV] "The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];".........Parables don't speak clearly and plainly, they require explanation, unlike Lazarus and the rich man where no explanation is needed to understand everything said. The story of Lazarus and the rich man speak plainly..........[John 16:29 KJV] "His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb."
