New Testament · Gospel

Luke 16:28

Money and Eternity

for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’ Luke 16:28 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Luke 16:28, in plain English

He has five brothers still alive, and he knows they're living the same way he did. He desperately wants someone to warn them.

Why it's here

The urgency is real — he knows firsthand what awaits, and he doesn't want his family to follow him into torment.

Who's speaking

The rich man pleads with increasing desperation for his brothers' sake.

Where it sits in the story

Five brothers, same lifestyle, same destination. The rich man knows what's coming for them and is powerless to stop it.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The rich man has five brothers still living who face the same fate. His urgent request for Lazarus to 'warn' (diamartyretai) them implies they are living the same self-indulgent, indifferent lifestyle.

Language and setting

The number five may simply be a narrative detail, but it establishes that multiple people share the same spiritual danger — extending the warning beyond one individual.

Voice

The rich man continues his appeal, revealing his awareness that his brothers are on the same path that led to his torment.

Significance

Five brothers are heading down the same road. The rich man wants someone sent from the dead to testify to them before it's too late.

In context

Luke 16:26–30

26And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

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.’

Read all of Luke 16 — A shrewd manager, a rich man in torment, and Lazarus at his gate. Jesus draws a straight line between how you handle money and where you end up.

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