Luke 16:27-31 · Bible study

Luke 16:27-31 Commentary: Sufficiency of Scripture Over Spectacle

Greek · 11 what the commentators say

Meaning in one sentence

Does a resurrection guarantee repentance? Jesus' parable says if they reject Moses and the prophets, even one rising from the dead won't persuade them.

Research Summary

Meaning: Those who reject the sufficient witness of Scripture will not be brought to repentance even by a resurrection from the dead.
Key words: diamarturomai (solemnly testify), metanoeō (repent), peithō (be persuaded), ἀπὸ vs ἐκ νεκρῶν (from vs out from the dead).
Main debate: Whether the rich man's request reflects genuine concern for his brothers or is a continuation of his self-centered reproach against God's provision.
Theological theme: The sufficiency of Scripture for salvation and the inability of spectacular signs to produce saving faith in a hardened heart.
Best use: A searching warning against demanding miraculous confirmation and a call to listen to the Word already in our hands.

Translation Comparison

BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020

²⁷‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,

²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

³⁰‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

WEB World English Bible 2000

²⁷“He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house—

²⁸for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’

²⁹“But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

³⁰“He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”

KJV King James Version 1769

²⁷Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

²⁸For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

²⁹Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

ASV American Standard Version 1901

²⁷And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house;

²⁸for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

²⁹But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.

YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898

²⁷`And he said, I pray thee, then, father, that thou mayest send him to the house of my father,

²⁸for I have five brothers, so that he may thoroughly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.

²⁹`Abraham saith to him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them;

³⁰and he said, No, father Abraham, but if any one from the dead may go unto them, they will reform.

³¹And he said to him, If Moses and the prophets they do not hear, neither if one may rise out of the dead will they be persuaded.'

Darby Darby Bible 1890

²⁷And he said, I beseech thee then, father, that thou wouldest send him to the house of my father,

²⁸for I have five brothers, so that he may earnestly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.

²⁹But Abraham says to him, They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them.

³⁰But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead should go to them, they will repent.

³¹And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among [the] dead will they be persuaded.

Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899

²⁷And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren,

²⁸That he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments.

²⁹And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.

³⁰But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.

³¹And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.

Verse in Context

25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted and you are in anguish.

26 Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’

27 “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house—

28 for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’

29 “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”

Original Language (Koine Greek)

New Testament · Koine Greek · Luke 16:27

Εἶπεν Eipen G2036 He said

δέ· de G1161 then;

ἐρωτῶ erōtō G2065 I implore

σε se G4771 you

οὖν, oun G3767 then

πάτερ, pater G3962 father,

ἵνα ina G2443 that

πέμψῃς pempsēs G3992 you may send

αὐτὸν auton G0846 him

εἰς eis G1519 to

τὸν ton G3588 the

οἶκον oikon G3624 house

τοῦ tou G3588 of the

πατρός patros G3962 father

μου· mou G3165 of mine —

Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.

Scholars' Consensus

The commentators agree that Abraham's reply is the theological hinge: the written Word of God is fully sufficient for salvation. Dives's request for a messenger from the dead is not a sign of genuine love but, as Jamieson-Fausset-Brown puts it, "bitter reproach against God and the old economy, as not warning him sufficiently." Calvin sees the rich man's plea as a personification of the living who crave spectacular signs instead of simple obedience. Vincent's Word Studies notes the precise Greek shift: Dives uses ἀπὸ νεκρῶν (from the dead, as from outside), while Abraham elevates it to ἐκ νεκρῶν (out from among the dead, a rising that identifies fully with death). The answer is deliberately stronger. Clarke states that the Scriptures contain such divine proofs that even a resurrection could not add greater conviction. The central truth is clear: a hardened heart that refuses the Word will not be changed by a miracle. This is confirmed by the historical reaction to Jesus' own resurrection and to the raising of Lazarus (John 12:10). The passage stands as a warning that signs do not create saving faith; only receptive hearing of God's Word does.

How settled is the interpretation?

Interpretive difficulty: Medium

Main views:

Self-reproach view: The rich man's request is not charity but a bitter accusation against God for insufficient warning (JFB, Calvin).
Dawn of concern view: His request to send Lazarus to his brothers shows the beginning of a less selfish spirit (Cambridge Bible).
Prophetic anticipation view: The 'one who rises from the dead' directly foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus and the persistent unbelief it met (Barnes, Gill, Vincent).

What is clear: Those who reject the sufficient witness of Moses and the prophets will not be brought to repentance even by the greatest miracle—including a resurrection from the dead.

What Scholars Agree and Debate

Topic	Agreed	Debated
The rich man's motivation	His request reveals that he still thinks he knows better than God. He bypasses the Scripture his brothers already have.	Some see a glimmer of concern for his brothers (Cambridge: 'a less selfish spirit'), while most commentators (Calvin, JFB, Clarke) regard the request as a self-centered reproach against the sufficiency of God's revelation.
The identity of the five brothers	They represent those who have access to the Old Testament Scriptures but remain indifferent to them.	A few expositors have speculated about a specific historical referent (e.g., the five sons of the high priest Annas), but most see this as an incidental narrative detail, not an allegorical key.
The role of miracles in conversion	Miracles alone cannot produce saving repentance; the heart must be opened by the Word and Spirit.	Some traditions emphasize that miracles can be a legitimate confirmation of the Word (evangelicals who point to Jesus' signs), while the hyper-Calvinist strand argues that no external event can ever change the unregenerate will. The parable itself is cited by both sides with different emphases.
The meaning of 'rise from the dead'	The phrase looks forward to the resurrection of Jesus, and its fulfillment proved the truth of Abraham's statement.	Most commentators see a direct prophecy of Christ's resurrection (Barnes, Gill, Alford via Vincent); others interpret it as a hypothetical about any resurrection, with the historical Christ-event as the supreme instance.

Historical & Cultural Context

The parable comes as the climax of Jesus' teaching to the Pharisees in Luke 16. These religious leaders "loved money" (v.14) and scoffed at Jesus' call to repentance. They held the scrolls of Moses and the Prophets as sacred, yet they missed the very things those Scriptures pointed to, the coming King and the necessity of a changed heart. The synagogue tradition of reading from the Law and the Prophets every Sabbath meant that Dives's brothers had constant access to God's revelation.

The number five for the brothers has invited speculation. The Cambridge Bible mentions the possibility of the five sons of the high priest Annas, all of whom served as high priest, though it dismisses this as unlikely. Others see it simply as a narrative detail to preserve verisimilitude, as Barnes notes. The five brothers likely represent the Jewish nation at large, the hearers of the Word who remain unresponsive.

First-century Judaism had varying beliefs about the afterlife. The Pharisees affirmed resurrection and conscious existence after death; the Sadducees denied both. Jesus' parable assumes a post-mortem consciousness and a fixed great gulf, drawing on a familiar apocalyptic imagery. The request to send a ghost from the dead reflects a popular notion that a visible spirit would carry undeniable authority. But Abraham demolishes that assumption. The law and prophets already contain all that is needed; they cry out for belief and repentance. The tragedy is that Dives's brothers, like many of Jesus' hearers, had the Word but refused to let it shape their lives.

Within Luke's narrative, this parable immediately follows the parable of the shrewd manager and the mention of John the Baptist. Jesus is pressing the claim that the kingdom is at hand, and the Pharisees must respond before it is too late. The rich man's request is a foil: he wants a new revelation, but God has already spoken definitively.

Textual Notes

The consulted commentaries and lexical sources note no significant textual variants in these verses. The main clause in verse 31 varies in word order across manuscripts, but the meaning is unaffected. The only notable nuance is the preposition shift between Dives's ἀπὸ and Abraham's ἐκ, which is unanimously attested and handled at the lexical level.

Reception History

Throughout church history, this passage has been a cornerstone for the Protestant emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture. Reformers such as Calvin used it to argue that no new revelations, apparitions, or miracles are needed; the Bible alone contains all that is necessary for faith and life. The parable has also been central in debates about prayers for the dead and the possibility of post-mortem repentance, with most traditions agreeing that the fixed gulf precludes any change after death. In Catholic interpretation, the passage underscores the importance of heeding the law and the prophets as preparation for the gospel, while also affirming the reality of purgatory (though this is more tied to earlier verses). Many hymn writers and preachers have drawn on Abraham's reply to warn congregations against demanding signs and ignoring the Word. The reference to one rising from the dead has been universally understood as anticipating Christ's own resurrection, making the passage a powerful evangelistic text.

Preaching This Verse

Three-point outline

The Misplaced Desire for Signs, Dives thinks his brothers need a supernatural visitant. He bypasses what God has already given. Like many today, he assumes a dramatic spectacle would be more convincing than a regular reading of the Bible. But his own fate shows he had the same Scriptures and ignored them.
The Sufficient Word of God, Abraham's answer is blunt: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen." The Old Testament writings contained everything necessary for repentance and faith. They pointed to Christ (John 5:39). No additional revelation is needed, only ears that truly hear.
The Hard Heart Unmoved by Miracles, The climactic verse announces that refusal to hear the Word cannot be overcome by a resurrection. This was proven when Lazarus was raised and the Pharisees plotted to kill him, and when Jesus Himself rose and the religious leaders suppressed the news. A miracle can terrify but cannot transform a heart that resists God.

Five-point outline

The rich man's request shows his continued self-focus (he prescribes the method) and perhaps the first tiny flicker of concern, but it is too little, too late.
Abraham's first reply rebuffs the request: Scripture is sufficient for warning.
The rich man contradicts Abraham with an emphatic "No, father Abraham", still refusing to accept the divinely appointed means of grace.
Dives's suggestion that a dead messenger will spark repentance is met with Abraham's correction: repentance is not produced by appearances but by God's Word working through the Spirit.
The final word declares the total inadequacy of even the greatest miracle to create faith where there is determined unbelief.

Illustration hooks

A person who says, "If I could just see a miracle or have a near-death experience, I'd believe", yet many who claim such experiences return without lasting change.
The documented story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11, 12): the same miracle that led some to faith hardened the religious authorities into murderous conspiracy.
A Christian who stops reading the Bible regularly and instead chases visions or supposed words of knowledge, slowly drifting from the reliable Word.

Questions your congregation is asking

Why do I sometimes feel that a dramatic answer to prayer would help my faith more than daily reading of Scripture?
How can I tell if I am truly "listening" to Moses and the prophets (i.e., the whole Bible) rather than just going through the motions?
What does it look like to be "persuaded" by the resurrection, not just intellectually convinced, but changed in heart and actions?

Leading a Discussion

This short exchange at the end of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus confronts a common desire: we want God to prove Himself through dramatic signs. The rich man thinks his brothers need a ghost; Abraham says they need the Scriptures they already have. As you discuss these five verses, consider where you are looking for assurance and warning in your own life.

Discussion questions

What does the rich man ask for, and how does his request show what he thinks his brothers need most?
Why does Abraham refer to "Moses and the prophets"? What did the Old Testament writings already teach about God's holiness, human sin, and the need for repentance?
The rich man contradicts Abraham with a strong "No." What does this reveal about his attitude toward God's Word?
Abraham raises the stakes: "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." In what sense did Jesus' own resurrection prove this point?
When have you been tempted to look for a special sign instead of trusting what Scripture clearly says?
How can we as a group help one another to truly "listen" to the Bible, not just hear it, but obey it?
What would it look like to be "persuaded" by the resurrection in a way that changes how you live this week?

What the Commentators Say

9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.

Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826

Clarke argues that the rich man’s request for a messenger from the dead is pointless because Scripture already gives sufficient proof. He points out that Jesus literally raised Lazarus, yet the unbelieving Jews were not convinced; they only grew more enraged and plotted murder. Faith accepts God’s evidence, but unbelief will never have enough.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832

Barnes warns against reading hidden spiritual meaning into the number five, calling it merely a realistic detail in the story. He notes the rich man did not ask to return himself, knowing his condition was fixed. Barnes argues that if people reject Moses and the prophets, no miraculous message from the dead will persuade them.

Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564

Calvin rejects any attempt to use the rich man's request as proof that the dead intercede for the living. He calls that reasoning absurd, insisting the story is a dramatized warning aimed at the living. Its real point is that Scripture provides all the instruction we need, so no one should expect messages from the dead.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880

The rich man's request to warn his brothers shows a new, less selfish concern, yet the commentator dismisses attempts to identify the brothers with historical figures. The key point is that people are saved by faithful hearing of Scripture, not by apparitions or even resurrections, as the response to Jesus's own rising proved.

Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748

Gill interprets the five brethren as representing the Jewish nation, possibly the five Israelites who read the law in the synagogue, and suggests the rich man's request arises from selfish fear, not love. He stresses that rejecting Moses and the prophets leaves one without excuse, as even a resurrection witness will not persuade those who already refuse God's written word.

Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857

Lange argues the parable's main purpose is not to teach about the afterlife but to warn against the spiritual peril of neglecting wealth for good purposes. The rich man is condemned not for any evil he did, but for the good he left undone, his failure to love.

Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710

Henry draws a sharp contrast between this parable and the Prodigal Son. While that story reveals the encouraging grace of the gospel, this one sets forth the coming wrath and is meant to wake sinners up. Anyone still asleep in sin after hearing it is dangerously fast asleep.

Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887

Vincent highlights a subtle Greek preposition shift: Dives says "from the dead" using apo (from outside), but Abraham replies with ek (out of, from within), implying a deeper identification with death itself. He also notes the irony that a man named Lazarus actually rose, yet the Pharisees were not persuaded.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754

Wesley notes that the rich man fears his brothers' reproaches would add to his own torment. Yet he insists that even a ghostly appearance cannot produce true repentance, which requires an entire change of heart. Only God, applying his word, can accomplish that.

Word Study

The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.

αὐτός autos it/s/he G0846 · Greek → δέ de then G1161 · Greek → εἰς eis toward G1519 · Greek → εἶπον eipon to say G2036 · Greek → ἐρωτάω erōtaō to ask G2065 · Greek → ἵνα hina in order that/to G2443 · Greek → μέ me me G3165 · Greek → ὁ ho the/this/who G3588 · Greek → οἶκος oikos house: home G3624 · Greek → οὖν oun therefore/then G3767 · Greek → πατήρ patēr father G3962 · Greek → πέμπω pempō to send G3992 · Greek → σύ su you G4771 · Greek →

Cross-References

Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)

Psalms 49:12	But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.
Psalms 49:13	This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.
Acts 2:40	With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
Acts 20:23	except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
I Thessalonians 4:6	that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified.
Isaiah 8:20	Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
Isaiah 34:16	Search in the book of Yahweh, and read: not one of these will be missing. None will lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
Malachi 4:2	But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out and leap like calves of the stall.

Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.

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