The Great Gulf Fixed: Lazarus, the Rich Man, and the Urgency of Forgiveness (Luke 16:20–17:9)
The Great Gulf Fixed: Lazarus, the Rich Man, and the Urgency of Forgiveness (Luke 16:20–17:9)
Page: 113 | Passage: Luke 16:20–17:9 | Generated: March 2026
DIRECT ANSWER BLOCK
This passage confronts two of the most urgent realities in all of Scripture: what happens after death, and what it means to forgive. The story of Lazarus and the rich man teaches that the choices made in this life determine an eternal outcome — and that no second chance crosses “the great gulf fixed.” Then, shifting from eternity to daily life, Jesus commands his disciples to forgive the repentant brother repeatedly, relying on even the smallest genuine faith to do what feels impossible.
KEY VERSE
“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 16:26 (KJV)
DEVOTIONAL BODY
Lazarus at the Gate — Invisible to the Rich, Seen by God
Luke 16:20–21 introduces Lazarus: a beggar laid at the rich man’s gate, covered in sores, desiring even the crumbs from the rich man’s table. The dogs came and licked his sores — an image of utter abandonment. He had no advocate, no protector, no comfort. But he had a name. Jesus gives him a name. The rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, is never named in the parable. Lazarus is.
This reversal — the named poor man, the anonymous rich man — is already a theological statement. God sees and knows those whom society overlooks. Matthew Henry writes of this passage that “it is often the lot of some of the dearest of God’s saints and servants to be greatly afflicted in this world.” The affliction of Lazarus does not indicate divine indifference; it sets the stage for a divine reversal that begins at death.
Death: Where the Story Turns
Verse 22 records both deaths without ceremony: “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.” The only significant difference in their deaths is the company: angels carry Lazarus; the rich man gets a funeral. After that, the gulf between them becomes absolute.
The rich man in Hades “lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (v. 23). Matthew Henry observes: “The rich man in hell lifted up his eyes, being in torment. It is not probable that there are discourses between glorified saints and damned sinners, but this dialogue shows the hopeless misery and fruitless desires, to which condemned spirits are brought. There is a day coming, when those” — and the commentary continues — who scorned God’s word and ignored the poor will find every resource withdrawn.
C.H. Spurgeon, reflecting on the brevity of earthly life versus eternity, writes in Morning and Evening: “Time, how short — eternity, how long! Death, how brief — immortality, how endless!” The parable forces this confrontation on every reader: the finery and feasting of verse 19 cannot be enjoyed in verse 23. The only thing that crosses the border of death is character.
The Great Gulf Fixed (Luke 16:26)
Abraham’s reply to the rich man’s request for relief contains the most sobering words in the passage: “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed.” The word “fixed” means established, immovable. It is not that a bridge hasn’t been built yet — it is that the nature of eternity does not permit transit between its destinations. The choices made on this side of death are final.
The rich man then pivots to intercession for his five brothers: “send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (v. 27–28). The concern is genuine and touching. But Abraham’s answer is firm: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” The Scriptures are sufficient warning. If a person will not hear Moses and the prophets, “neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (v. 31).
This is a direct anticipation of the resurrection of Jesus himself — and of the hardness of heart that would reject even that miracle. The parable indicts every strategy that seeks more signs while refusing the plain word of God already given.
Offences Will Come — But Woe to the One Who Causes Them (Luke 17:1–2)
Jesus turns from eternal stakes to daily discipleship. Offences — stumbling blocks — are inevitable in a fallen world. But the one through whom they come bears responsibility. The hyperbolic severity of verse 2 (“It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones”) reveals how seriously Jesus takes the spiritual harm done to vulnerable believers.
The “little ones” are those who are young in faith — easily led, easily discouraged, easily corrupted by the example of those who claim to follow Christ. Our influence over others is not trivial. To lead another toward sin, or to cause them to stumble in their faith, is a graver matter than human courts recognize.
Forgive Seven Times in a Day (Luke 17:3–4)
The command of verses 3–4 is staggering in its scope: “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Seven times. In one day. The same person. The same offense.
Spurgeon, writing of the forgiveness Christ modeled, observes in Morning and Evening: “Try to forgive your enemies, as he did; and let those sublime words of your Master, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,’ always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven.” The model for human forgiveness is not fairness but the cross. As we have been forgiven — extravagantly, repeatedly, at cost — so we are called to forgive.
“Increase Our Faith” (Luke 17:5–9)
The apostles’ request in verse 5 — “Lord, Increase our faith” — is the honest response to Jesus’ commands. Forgive seven times a day? We need more faith for that. Jesus’ reply is surprising: “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
The issue is not the quantity of faith but its reality and object. A mustard seed is tiny, but it is alive and it grows. Genuine faith, however small, in a powerful God can accomplish what no amount of strained human effort can produce. Spurgeon confirms: “faith as a grain of mustard seed — that little faith entitles you” to a real and living relationship with Christ’s power.
Verses 7–9 close with the parable of the servant who, after a full day’s work, still serves his master’s table before his own. The point is that faithful obedience is not extraordinary heroism deserving special reward — it is what servants of God do. “We have done that which was our duty to do” (17:10, anticipating the next page). Humility does not count its faithfulness as credit; it simply continues.
CALLOUT
“They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” — Luke 16:29
Abraham’s words to the rich man are a sober reminder that God has not left anyone without witness. The Scriptures are a sufficient and urgent warning. To seek more signs while neglecting the Word already given is not humility — it is evasion. The Bible you hold is the testimony the rich man wished his brothers had heeded.
APPLICATION
Three things Luke 16:20–17:9 invites you to do:
- Let eternity recalibrate your daily priorities The parable of Lazarus and the rich man does not warn against wealth itself but against the absorption in earthly comfort that makes us blind to our neighbor and deaf to God. Identify one person in your life who is “at your gate” — overlooked, unserved, unseen — and act toward them today.
- Take God’s Word seriously as sufficient warning The rich man wanted a miracle to persuade his brothers. But God’s verdict is that the Scriptures are enough. Read the New Testament not as one of many spiritual options but as the authoritative word that crosses the gulf of death with its message now — while there is time to respond.
- Forgive the person who has wronged you repeatedly Jesus’ command in Luke 17:3–4 does not come with a limit based on your emotional readiness. If the person has genuinely repented, forgiveness is commanded. Ask God for the mustard-seed faith to extend what he has extended to you — and begin the act of forgiveness today, even before the feeling follows.
FAQ BLOCK
Is the story of Lazarus and the rich man a parable or a true account?
Scholars differ, but the story functions as a parable with a named character (unusual) that may suggest a real figure used for illustration. What is certain is that Jesus intended its content — the afterlife’s reality, the great gulf, and the finality of death — to be taken with full seriousness, not dismissed as mere metaphor.
What does “Abraham’s bosom” mean in Luke 16:22?
“Abraham’s bosom” was a Jewish expression for the place of blessedness after death, associated with rest and honor. It describes Lazarus’s state as one of comfort, closeness to the great patriarch of faith, and security — the complete reversal of his earthly condition of poverty and suffering.
What is the “great gulf fixed” in Luke 16:26?
The great gulf is the permanent, unbridgeable separation between the place of the blessed dead and the place of torment. Abraham describes it as fixed — not temporary or negotiable. The passage teaches that the eternal state is determined by choices made in this life and cannot be changed after death.
How can Jesus command forgiving someone seven times in one day?
Jesus is not setting a literal numerical limit (Matthew 18:22 extends it to “seventy times seven”). He is teaching that true forgiveness has no reasonable limit when the offending party genuinely repents. The command reflects the nature of God’s own forgiveness toward us — which does not count offenses or exhaust itself — and calls us to the same disposition.
CALL TO ACTION
The story of Lazarus and the rich man reminds us that the words we read today in Scripture are the very testimony the rich man’s brothers needed. Do not let this urgent witness pass unheeded. The New Testament carries the message of the One who rose from the dead — and invites you to hear him while there is time.
We’ll send you a free pocket New Testament to hold it all in. Just cover shipping.
