Did Jesus believe that the human soul lived on after death?

Starting with the premise that Jesus did not include, in any of His parables, any elements that were not real (i.e. there really are sowers and seeds, wedding banquets, coins, nets, etc.) the answer must be yes, Jesus believed and taught that there is a continuation of conscious human existence after death and prior to the resurrection of the body. There may be debate as to whether that existence is soul or spirit but that is another question.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. - Luke 16:19-23

The reason Jesus never included unreal elements in His parables is simply because we would then have no frame of reference by which to understand the parable. For instance, if Jesus had said, "The krlot of drestik is like a floop" (if you will pardon my silliness) it would be utterly meaningless whereas "The kingdom of heaven is like a net" is accessible.

Granted, there are aspects of Jesus' sayings that are difficult (after all, He is revealing the Father and the kingdom of heaven) but, for all that difficulty He uses earthly language and actual elements so that it is our spiritual blindness and hard-hardheartedness that is at fault and not His explanation.

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? - John 3:12

That Jesus, in His story of the rich man and Lazarus, included conscious existence in two different realms (one of comfort and one of torment) indicates that not only is there conscious human existence after the body dies but also that there are at least two different conditions that existence may undergo. If conscious human existence after death is not true then the story of the rich man and Lazarus is inaccessible at best and gibberish at worst.

There is a tendency to assume some things about the following verse, especially a time frame -

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt 10:28

When the body dies there is no consciousness until raised by Jesus at his return or some later time depending on who is being raised (righteous or unrighteous).

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1Cor 15:20-22

The soul that sins will die. Gen 2:7

Is this only a 1/2 truth? No. It is what it is because God said so.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing Eccl 9:5

But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Matt 22:31-2

We know that no man has ascended to heaven John 3:13, so any reference to 'souls in heaven' is a vision of allegory and not to be read literally.

God is the God of David etc because He will raise them again to immortal life with the saints. They are 'living' because they will live again - not because they are alive.

Now back to the time element. God isn't concerned with death in this life. He can raise up anybody He wants - according to His word's guidance. When a person dies today or 5000 years ago, they can be raised again - either to immortal life or a physical life.

However, when a person dies the second death their soul is destroyed as Jesus mentioned. A man cannot kill the soul, but God can. But this does not happen until the second death at the end of the age and both resurrections have happened.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:14

Did Jesus believe that the human soul lived on after death? We have to define 'lived'. Are they conscious after death? No. Are they still able to live again? Yes, except for after the second death!

Essentially, this is what is meant by 'sleep'. The person is dead, but waiting on their resurrection to new life. After the second death they will not be 'asleep' they will have ceased to exist.

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To consider the story of Abraham and Lazarus is more than a parable is to be mistaken. There are several reasons why it is to be recognised as a parable and not a literal or factual story.

• It is with other parables that start similarly.
• It cannot contradict what the bible says elsewhere about death.
• The righteous will not be hearing cries of the wicked in torment for eternity.
• The dialog is absurd if the rich man only asks for a lick of water!
• The whole point is about recognising where truth comes from - ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’

Before refering to the Bible to show that Jews before and during the time of Jesus held a belief in the separation of the soul from the body at death, I must ask for the source of your claim that Judaism "did not recognize separation of soul and body".

I have gone to a Jewish source to find out about the beliefs of Jews up to and including the time of Hillel the Elder (who lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod) and Shammai, Hillel's younger contemporary (and successor as the president of the Sanhedrin, or ruling Jewish council). Shammai was born in 50 BCE and lived till 30. Hillel was nearly sixty years old at the time of Shammai's birth. More information here: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hillel_the_Elder

Rabbi Eliezer was a student of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who was a student of Hillel the Elder himself and also received some teachings from Shammai. In the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 152b, it says:

It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: The souls of the righteous are stored beneath the Throne of Glory, as it is stated: “And the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life. And the souls of your enemies He shall sling out in the hollow of a sling” (I Samuel 25:29). This is the Sefaria (Jewish) translation.

A more telling Scripture is to be found in Revelation 6:9. Remember, the vision of Christ Jesus that was given to the Apostle John came from heaven, after Jesus had ascended to sit at the right hand of his Father:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’

Ask yourself how come the souls of those dead saints could speak, receive a divine answer and express their emotions. Because the soul continues to exist after the body dies. Those souls were alive, awaiting the resurrection, when they will be clothed with bodies fit for eternity.

Judaism in Jesus' time certainly did believe in a spiritual part separating from the physical body at the death of the body. Check out the rabbinic schools of Shammai and Hillel for proof of that. Everything Jesus said in Luke ch. 16 about the rich man dying and finding himself in torments in hell agrees with those rabbinic teaching before and after his time on earth.

The Hebrew scriptures are also full of references to an invisible, yet aware part, departing the corpse, see Ecclesiastes chapter 12. I won't go into details here, as your question is not actually asking for that - you are asking whether Jesus believed that the human soul (the spiritual part) lived on after death. But when you throw in a personal opinion that is not substantiated, others will flag that up and object. I have flagged it up but I am not objecting - just pointing out that your claim about such Judaic beliefs is wrong.

Now, the actual question about what Jesus believed. In Matthew 10:28 he said:

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

There, Jesus clearly distinguishes between merely killing the body but not killing the soul, whereas God can destroy both. Jesus showed here that, after the body has been killed, the soul remains.

Also, Jesus said this in the Revelation which he declared to the apostle John. At one part of the vision given to John we have Jesus' words that under the altar in heaven were the souls of those who had been martyred for their faithful witness to Christ while in the body. Those souls cry out,

"How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"

White robes are given to them and they are told to wait (in heaven) until the full number of the martyrs on earth has been reached. (Rev. 6:9-11) So, there are two statements that show Jesus believed that the human soul lives on after death.