Many people ask themselves, in the bible there are two Lazarus or are we talking about the same person? Who has never asked himself or been faced with the question: Are Jesus’ friend Lazarus and beggar Lazarus the same?
The answer is simple! We are not talking about the same person, because the Bible speaks of Lazarus friend of Jesus and Lazarus the beggar and clearly make us understand that they are two totally different people.
Lazarus the beggar
Luke 16:19-31 – Now there was a rich man, and he clothed himself in purple and the finest linen, and he lived every day richly and splendidly.
There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay full of sores at his door;
And he wanted to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; and the dogs themselves came to lick his wounds.
And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died, and was buried.
And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And crying out, he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou hast received thy good in thy life, and Lazarus only evil; and now this is comforted and thou tormented.
And besides, there is a great gulf between us and you, so that those who wanted to pass from here to you could not, nor could those from there pass to here.
And he said, I beseech thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house,
For I have five brethren; that he may bear witness to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.
Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; listen to us.
And he said, No, father Abraham; but if any from the dead came to them, they would repent.
But Abraham told him: If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, even if some of the dead rise.
We observe that the rich man, led a selfish life and his choice was very bad, for this reason the rich man when he died suffered eternally. Lazarus (beggar) spent his life in poverty, but unlike the rich man, Lazarus had a right heart towards God. Lazarus even living in poverty, he never abandoned his faith in God, and when Lazarus dies, he is taken directly to paradise, to be with Abraham.
The Bible teaches us that the fate of the rich and the fate of the poor were totally irreversible, that is, after their deaths, their fate could no longer be changed, the rich man went to hell and from there he could no longer have contact with Lazarus who now he was in heaven.
The Bible teaches us with this parable that many times, we do not look with mercy on those around us AND we do not fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 22:39 – And the second, like this, is, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
This parable teaches us that we must kill our ego and help those in need. The rich man had a very good life, but his ego would not let him do good, his heart was far from God. Lazarus, the poor beggar, did not have much, but he had an upright and God-fearing heart. And it teaches us that even if we don’t come to have much on this earth, we will certainly have the much that God has prepared for us eternally in glory.
Matthew 25:35,36 – Because I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink; I was a foreigner, and you hosted me;
I was naked, and you dressed me; I got sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to see me.
Lazarus friend of Jesus
John 11:1-11- However, one Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha, was sick.
And Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and had wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Then his sisters commanded him to say, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
And Jesus, hearing this, said: This disease is not for death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
Hearing, therefore, that he was sick, he stayed another two days in the place where he was.
After this, he said to his disciples: Let’s go again to Judea.
The disciples said to him, Rabbi, even now the Jews tried to stone you, and do you return there?
Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks by day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world;
But if he walks at night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.
So he spoke; and then he said to them, Lazarus, our friend, is asleep, but I will wake him from his sleep.
Now we are talking about Lazarus, from Bethany, the friend of Jesus and the brother of Martha and Mary. This Lazarus was stricken with an illness whose purpose was to glorify God.
Lazarus, Martha and Mary were a family, who had an extreme dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, they were in intimate communion with Jesus and Jesus loved this family.
Luke 10:38-42 – And it came to pass, as they were going on their way, that Jesus entered a village; and a certain woman, by name Martha, received him in her house;
And this one had a sister named Mary, who, also sitting at the feet of Jesus, listened to his word.
Martha, however, was distracted in many services; and approaching, he said, Lord, do you not mind that my sister should let me serve alone? Tell him to help me.
And Jesus answered and said to her: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and weary with many things, but only one is needed;
And Maria chose the good part, which will not be taken from her.
And this communion, this affection, was generated from the moment Jesus enters the village and Martha welcomes him into her home. Interestingly, Martha received Jesus in her home, but she was preoccupied with her duties.
Mary was at the feet of Jesus listening to his teachings, Jesus will say that Mary chose the best part from which she was not taken.
Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, was facing sadness, grief, illness and death. Right now the Bible is teaching us that today’s Christians will also go through these afflictions, today’s Christians will go through sadness and afflictions, will be stricken with illnesses and will also face death, but we know that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, illness will never result in death as the final home straight, for whoever believes in Christ Jesus will never die.
John 11:26 – And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
The resurrection of Lazarus teaches us that we will have churches like Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
The churches will always have Marys who preserve the total devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, they will also have the Marthas who are busy with their tasks and there will also be Lazarus who suffer and die.
The Lord will by no means leave us without His love, mercy or compassion, but we must understand that everything must be in God’s timing so that His glory may be manifested.
Apparently, the fact that Jesus took a while to meet Lazarus, and that he remained in the place where he was still two days, does not mean that God did not really love them, on the contrary, Jesus wanted to strengthen the faith of the family and of the disciples who were with him. Jesus expresses in various ways that he loved Lazarus and that he shared the sadness of that family.
Jesus wept and showed us the deep feeling of God’s grief at the sadness of his people. Tears really came from Jesus’ eyes and then the master wept in silence and this is a comfort to all those who suffer, because Jesus participates with us in our sufferings.
We understand that Lazarus (the beggar) and Lazarus (brother of Martha and Mary and friend of Jesus) are two different people, in different stories, different times and different contexts.
Maybe you still want proof about Lazarus (the beggar) and Lazarus (brother of Martha and Mary and friend of Jesus). Note that when the rich man dies and goes to hell. Lazarus (the beggar) also dies and goes to heaven.
The Bible will teach us that this process was irreversible, that is, it cannot be carried out in reverse, it could not change in any way. If Lazarus (the beggar) were the same Lazarus (a friend of Jesus) we would be in contradiction as to what Abraham says.
Luke 16:25,26 – And Abraham said, Son, remember that thou hast received thy good in thy life, and Lazarus only evil; and now this is comforted and thou tormented.
And besides, there is a great gulf between us and you, so that those who wanted to pass from here to you could not, nor could those from there pass to here.
The process that Lazarus (brother of Martha and Mary and friend of Jesus) underwent was infinitely different, as Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, was going through a process that would glorify the name of God, that is, it was a reversible process, that is, Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, but could rise again, so that God’s name could be glorified.
Knowing that the bible never contradicts itself, we conclude that they are people with the same names yes, but different people. Lazarus (the beggar) is one person and Lazarus (brother of Martha and Mary and friend of Jesus) is another person. We conclude that in the bible there are two Lazarus the beggar and the brother of Martha and Mary and friend of Jesus.
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