Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. One some level, the rich man is a picture of the Pharisees. The Pharisees loved money (a few verses earlier they are called lovers of money). The parable before this parable is about a manager who misuses his master's resources. Likewise, the Pharisees mismanaged God's Word and God's blessings. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man was in a position to help Larazus (who was poor), but evidently he didn't. So too the Pharisees were in a position to help others, but they didn't.
This is the only parable where a specific name is mentioned. Why?
Well "Lazarus" is the Greek form of the word Eliezer. Eliezer is the name of Abraham's servant. Eliezer was from Damascus (Genesis 15:2)...
"Abram said, 'Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damacus?'"Genesis 15:2
Think about this for a second. Here's father Abraham––the ultimate Hebrew––and he has a Gentile servant whom he loves like a son. It's this Gentile servant whom Abraham sends to find a bride for his son Isaac. Eliezer is faithful. Although he is not a direct descendent of Abraham, Eliezer remains a committed servant.
What is Jesus doing? He's comparing the Pharisees to the rich man. He's saying to them: a Gentile servant who is faithful to the will of Abraham will recline at the table with Abraham, but you––the very sons of Abraham––will not.
This nuisance would've been sensed by a 1st Century Jewish Pharisee, because they took pride in being the sons of Abraham. They naturally assumed they would inherit Abraham's estate just the first Jew, Isaac, did. But in this parable, Jesus makes the point: the poor Gentile servant surpasses even the rich man due to his faithfulness.
