Scene #2: Luke 16:22-23
“22) Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23) In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Luke 16:22-23
The second scene is called; “At the Grave.” Jesus didn’t elaborate on the funeral ceremonies. He simply said “the poor man died and was carried away by angels to Abraham’s bosom.” Lazarus had angels as pallbearers.
One can only imagine there was no funeral ceremony for Lazarus this side of the grave. According to tradition, his body was likely gathered with the daily trash and dumped outside the city.
By contrast, the rich most likely had a huge funeral procession. Nobility may have been in attendance. Though not stated by Jesus, he most likely had demons escort his soul to Hades.
I have witnessed very different encounters by people passing through deaths door. Christians often display joy and exaltation. Non-Christians have been known to cry out in terror. It is recorded that one well known Satanist cried out; “Something is terribly wrong.” We can only Imagine.
At this point in the story Jesus begins to describe life after death. Keep the timing in mind. This was prior to His work on the cross and human redemption.
At this timing in human history, there were two compartments in Hades. Abrahams bosom was the containment place for the Old Testament saints. According to Ephesians 4:8-10, Jesus liberated these captives at the moment of His resurrection. He emptied Abrahams bosom and ascended with them. From that point onward, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 became the new reality for believers at the moment of physical death.
However, Hades as a whole still remains as the containment place for the ungodly until the day of judgement. We will unpack the characteristics of Hades in the next section.
For now, it is sufficient to point out that according to Jesus, two radically different destinies await the righteous and the unrighteousness. Eternal destiny is set at the moment of physical death.
Stay tuned, the next scene in the story is very profound.
Daily Bible Commentary
By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
