Lazarus, Abraham’s Bosom, and the Question of the Body

The account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 raises profound questions about the intermediate state and the relationship between body, soul, and spirit. The specific question is whether Lazarus is still “in his body” in Abraham’s bosom, given that he was “carried by the angels.”

The text of Luke 16

The key verse is Luke 16:22:

"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.’’

We are explicitly told that the rich man died and was buried. Of Lazarus it says he died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; his burial is not mentioned. Given that he was a poor beggar, it is reasonable to assume his body would have been disposed of in some common or pauper’s grave.

The scene that follows shows the rich man “in hell…in torments”, lifting up his eyes, seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus “in his bosom” (Luke 16:23). The rich man speaks of his tongue and flame; Abraham speaks of Lazarus’ “finger” to cool the rich man’s tongue (Luke 16:24). Yet their physical bodies, in the ordinary sense, are in graves.

Is Lazarus’s body literally in Abraham’s bosom?

On the face of the narrative, Lazarus’s physical body remains where it was laid at death, just as the rich man’s does. There is no explicit statement that his corpse was transported. The contrast is not:

• rich man: died and body buried;
• Lazarus: died and body taken bodily to Abraham’s bosom.

Rather, Luke is interested in the post-mortem condition of their persons, not the physical details of the burial of the poor man. The safest conclusion is:

• Lazarus’s physical body was buried (likely in an unremarkable way);
• When he “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom,” this describes the transition of his person (soul/spirit) into the place of comfort, not a relocation of his corpse.

So, in the strict sense of “body” as the earthly, material organism laid in the grave, my answer is: no, Lazarus is not still in that body in Abraham’s bosom.

Why then speak of eyes, tongue, finger, flame?

The narrative, however, clearly uses bodily language: eyes, tongue, finger, thirst, flame, distance. How can that be, if the bodies are in the grave?

Here we confront the deep interconnection of body, soul, and spirit. Scripture presents humans as a unity of these aspects. Even when the body and soul are separated at death, it appears that the soul (and spirit) is capable of conscious experience that is described in bodily terms.

Human experience even in this life offers faint analogies. For example:

• People who lose a limb often experience “phantom limb” sensations. They feel pain, itching, or movement in a limb that is no longer physically present. The brain and nervous system still “map” that limb as part of the person’s experience.
• Those who lose hair can, for quite some time, still have a strong sense of its presence: reflexively combing, brushing something out of their eyes, or feeling as though hair is out of place, even when it is not there.

These analogies are limited, but they suggest that our consciousness and our bodily existence are bound together in a way that persists even when the material structure changes or is partially removed. In theological terms, body, soul, and spirit form such a tight triunity that when one is separated, the others may still “carry” something of that bodily mode of existence.

Thus, in the intermediate state:

• The body lies in the grave, awaiting resurrection.
• The person (soul/spirit) is in a state of conscious existence.
• Scripture speaks of that existence using bodily language (eyes, tongue, finger) because that is how personal experience is ordinarily apprehended and expressed, and because there is some real continuity of self that allows such language.

Talking “as if” the body is there

Therefore, while Lazarus’s physical body is not literally present in Abraham’s bosom, Scripture can speak “as if” the body is there, because:

• The person who lived in that body continues in conscious reality.
• The soul’s experience is described in the bodily terms native to human existence.
• There is an anticipation of bodily resurrection, in which the body will indeed be reunited with the person.

This is not mere illusion. It is a way of describing real personal existence between death and resurrection, in language consistent with the created unity of body and soul.

Conclusion

To answer the question directly:

• No, Lazarus is not, in the strict sense, still in his earthly body in Abraham’s bosom. His physical body was left behind at death and buried, as with the rich man.
• Yet the narrative of Luke 16 speaks of him with bodily terms (carried, bosom, finger), because the human person is a profound unity of body, soul, and spirit, and the intermediate state is described in ways that reflect that unity and anticipate resurrection.

So the “carrying by angels into Abraham’s bosom” refers to the transition of the person, not the transportation of the corpse, even though the experience is described using physical imagery.

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