The Beggar Has a Name

Luke 16:19 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Do you see something unusual in the opening of the parable we call, “The Rich Man and Lazarus?” It’s not just unusual, it’s unique. This is the only parable we have from Jesus where someone is named. Of course, the point of the parable is about the reversal of fortunes after death, but naming the poor man, is an important, and often missed, aspect of that reversal.

Many have seen the imbalance here and have tried to provide the rich man a name that Jesus never gives, and the imbalance is intentional. Often, the parable has been called “Dives (Latin for ‘rich’) and Lazarus,” which demonstrates a misunderstanding of the parable. Further, look at who usually gets top billing!

Having names known has always been important, and especially so in the Ancient Near East. I want to thank Kyle Swann for reminding me that in the Hebrew Bible, our book of Exodus is called Shemot (Book of Names). There was no greater curse than, “May his name be blotted out!” An example of that is in Psalm 69:28, “May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.” Well, look who has no name, and who has one. It has always been that the famous are the rich, and it would have been so in the world of the parable. Everyone would know the name of a purple-dressing, daily-feasting, rich man. As for the poor beggar, who cares to know his name? Jesus tells us that God cares.

Our obsession with the rich and famous hasn’t changed, but be assured that God hasn’t changed either. He knows our names, and we should never allow the poor in our midst to be nameless. As we begin to see that our world’s values are not God’s values, and that it’s God’s values that are eternal, we need to ask if, by our Father’s marvelous grace, our names are known and loved in Paradise. Is there an entry in the book of life of my name and yours? It is the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, who writes the names of those He knows and will never say, “Depart, for I never knew you.”

Tim Kelley