The rich man and Lazarus

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:31
In Luke 16:19-31 we read what some people call the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. However, this is not a parable – in parables, none of the characters have names. Jesus gives us an insight into what really happens to people after they die.
The story is familiar to us: the beggar, Lazarus, went to Abraham’s side and was comforted, but the rich man went into Hades. The rich man called out to Abraham, asking him to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his tongue from the torment (Luke 16:24), but was told that this was impossible because of the great gulf between them. Then he asked for Lazarus to be sent to warn his brothers, to which Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them” (Luke 16:29). The rich man insists, saying, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). Abraham again replies, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
There are many people today who say, “If I see a miracle, then I’ll believe in God.” But the Bible tells us that things don’t work this way. The fact that we exist, is a miracle. We don’t need to see miracles in order to believe. We already have the witness of the Bible. If someone won’t believe it, they won’t believe any miracles either. And there was One who came to reach us, and He did rise again from the dead, yet there are many who don’t believe – showing Abraham’s words here to be true.