In Matthew 15, a Gentile Canaanite woman recognizing Jesus as God came to Him and begged for His help concerning her demon possessed daughter. He proceeded to test her faith by initially denying her any help, answering, "I am sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." She persisted still, and He finally answered her again saying, "It is not meet to take the CHILDREN'S bread and cast it to DOGS." She replied, “Truth, Lord, yet the DOGS eat of the CRUMBS which fall from their master's TABLE."I think you may have made a typo about finding Jesus own interpretation of this parable in Matthew 15. I didn't see anything that referred to what we've been talking about.
Was Jesus and this woman having a discussion about canine dietary habits? Were they discussing the eating habits of dogs? No. She knew what Jesus meant and Jesus knew what she meant and He broke out with a praise for her, saying, "Woman, GREAT is thy faith," and her daughter was healed that very hour.
The Jews considered Gentiles "DOGS". It was and is still today a common expression used by Jews when referring to Gentiles. This Gentile woman was essentially saying to Jesus, "Truth Lord, I know I am not worthy! I know that You've been sent to Your CHILDREN, the chosen people, the masters who are rich in the blessings of God...but, Lord, they are casting aside Your blessings and though I be a Gentile DOG, I can still eat of the CRUMBS which fall from the master's TABLE!"
NOW WHEN WE COME TO THE PARABLE OF LUKE 16 WE CAN BEGIN TO MAKE SENSE OF IT
1) The Rich Man refers to Abraham as "Father", and Abraham refers to him as his "Son" which means that the Rich Man must be a son of Abraham. And, just who are the sons of Abraham? THE JEWS! The Rich Man is clearly a representation of the Jewish nation.
2) The Jews were rich in the gifts of God and fared sumptuously at the TABLE of His blessing. They had the covenants, the blessings, the lively oracles, and the promises and daily enjoyed their privileged position held by them for so many years. Unfortunately, they became hard-hearted and took these blessing for granted, and instead of cherishing each one with utmost gratitude, they began to allow them to fall like CRUMBS from their TABLE.
3) Lazarus is said to be at the gate full of sores and OUTSIDE with the DOGS, desiring to eat the CRUMBS which are falling from the Rich Man's TABLE. He is clearly a representation of the GENTILES who have been OUTSIDERS, wretched and poor in the blessings of God, and desirous of just a few CRUMBS of the rich blessings which they've seen poured out on the rebellious Jews.
4) The Rich Man is said to have died and wound up in torment. This is what eventually came upon the Jewish nation for having rejected their Messiah. They used their TONGUES to hurl maledictions at Jesus and eventually call for Him to be crucified; TONGUES which would later become ultimately the source of their immense torment. Jesus declared that the tables would be turned on them if they persisted in their rebellion. Over and over, He warned that God's favor would be taken from the Jewish nation, saying that the Gentiles would "come from the East, West, North, and South to sit down in the kingdom", while saying to the Jews that "you yourselves shall be cast out" and that the kingdom would be taken from them and "given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." When the entire Jewish nation finally rejected their Messiah by demanding that Jesus be crucified, crying out "His blood be upon us and our children forever and ever!" they were indeed turning the tables on themselves. Paul says of the unbelieving Jews that "wrath has come upon them unto the uttermost" and one atrocity after another has marked the existence of the Jewish people throughout their history. They indeed even now are in torment!
5) Lazarus is said to be COMFORTED while the Rich Man is in torment. What is the Comforter? It is certainly not found in Abraham's literal bosom! The Comforter is the HOLY SPIRIT (John 16:7) which Jesus promised God would send to us, the New Testament church. The HOLY GHOST Who has come to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; Who guides us into all truth by leading us out of error; Who intercedes for us when we pray; Who bestows His gifts of the Spirit upon the Church. We, the church, are indeed now COMFORTED by our Comforter!
6) The beggar is mentioned by name as "Lazarus", but far be this to be any evidence that this passage is anything but a parable. The use of the name "Lazarus" serves only to prove that the last words of Abraham to the the Rich Man would very soon ring true in the minds of all who heard them. The Rich Man wanted Lazarus to return from the dead to warn others of what would happen to them if they did not repent, and he was told that if these refused to believe "Moses and the Prophets", they would not believe even if one came back from the dead. "Moses and the Prophets", “the Law and the Prophets”, “Moses and Elijah”, “the Law and the Testimony (of the prophets)” are interchangeable, symbolic expressions found throughout the Bible which refer to the writings contained in the Word of God. In other words, if they refused to hear and believe the Word of God by faith alone, they would not believe otherwise. When the literal friend of Jesus, Lazarus, was indeed raised mightily from the dead soon after the telling of this parable, instead of the Jews repenting and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they took counsel as to how they might kill BOTH Jesus and the risen Lazarus, which further demonstrated the adamant unbelief in the hearts of the Jews, and that they would not believe "though one rose from the dead."
7) This parable ultimately was a warning to the Jews, but not of eternal torment, but of what would become of their nation if they persisted in their unbelief and rejection. Many of Jesus' parables were warnings against the Jews of the same and the Jews themselves say so in Matthew 21:45: "And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spoke of them." What were the parables of Jesus? Well, one of them was the Rich Man and Lazarus! Even the parable of the Prodigal Son was a warning and rebuke to the Jews for their hypocrisy by representing them as the second son, ungrateful in heart and having rendered service unto his father which was motivated by gain, rather than by love for this kind, tenderhearted, beneficent man.
Again, it is impossible for the dead to possess bodies before the resurrection, or possess thoughts, emotions, memories, desires, the ability to speak and praise God while dead. These alone should be enough to demonstrate that Luke 16 is using elements which require interpretation because they are outside the realm of possibility.