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Luke

About this book
Chapter 16

1 Jesus also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. 4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘100 measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write 50.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘100 measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write 80.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.⁠ 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon31,⁠ so that when it runs out, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.⁠ 10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much,⁠ and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?⁠ 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters,⁠ for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”⁠ 14 The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. 15 But Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight. 16 “The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. 19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.⁠ 20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.⁠ The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.⁠ 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in anguish in this fire.’⁠ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’⁠ 27 So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house 28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ 30 Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare 4 Maccabees 13:17 and Luke 16:22

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry · New Testament

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Summary

In 4 Maccabees, seven brothers facing martyrdom tell one another that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will welcome them after they die. In Luke 16, the one received after death is a poor man named Lazarus, similarly welcomed to Abraham's side.

Passages

4 Maccabees 13:17

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
13 Each of them, all together, looking at one another cheerfully and very boldly, said, “Let’s consecrate ourselves with all our hearts to God, who gave us our souls, and let’s use our bodies to guard the law. 14 Let’s not fear the one who thinks he kills, 15 for a great struggle and danger to the soul lies in eternal torment for those who break the commandment of God. 16 Let’s arm ourselves, therefore, with the mastery over the emotions that divine reasoning gives. 17 For if we die like this, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will receive us, and all our ancestors will praise us.”
19–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4 Maccabees

Luke 16:22

New Testament
19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

“... Especially two passages in 4 Maccabees come close to the Lukan controversy with the Sadducees. In his eulogy of the martyred Eleazar, the writer speaks of the pious who believe “. . . that to God they do not die, as our patriarchs Abraham and Isaac and Jacob died not, but live to God” ([...] 4 Macc 7:19). Similarly, the mother and her seven martyred sons knew that “. . . those who die for God’s sake live to God [...] just as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the patriarchs” (4 Macc 16:25). In a third passage, the patriarchs are said to be ready to receive the righteous dead. The brothers, who are preparing themselves for martyrdom, console each other and declare: “As we die in this fashion Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will receive us, and all our fathers will praise us” (4 Macc 13:17). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also have a prominent role in the eschatology of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. For example, “Judah” tells his sons how in the last days “. . . Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will be resurrected to life and I and my brothers will be leaders [wielding] our scepter in Israel” (T. Jud. 25:1). Differently from the 4 Maccabees, this passage teaches that also the patriarchs await resurrection (in some kind of an intermediate state?), and will enter the blessed life with the other resurrected ones. ...”
Outi Lehtipuu, The Afterlife Imagery in Luke’s Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 207.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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4 Maccabees 13:17 and Luke 16:22

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