[lukecash12]

I assert that this story, that of Lazarus and the rich man, is a parable. The grounds that I assert this on, are form criticism and context.

The story is given amidst a series of parables, the occasion beginning in Luke 15:1-3, the context for the story being set in Luke 16:14-15. As for the argument, that it wasn't introduced as a parable, I would contend that it is (shown by the way Luke introduces it in the Greek, which you can see in my citations), and I would argue along with that that it has the structure of a parable- a past tense, and varied, story with archetypal characters, and a moral punchline at the end- and that other parables in this series weren't introduced as parables. The only peculiar quality in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, that might throw someone off, is that particular people are named. However, it has the structure of a parable, and because it tends to contradict Jesus' own teachings if you take it literally, point for point, it is clearly a parable; Parables not only have the possibility to contradict the truth in terms of literal interpretation: they do so all the time.

Consider:

There was a certain rich man. Many have supposed that our Lord here refers to a real history, and gives an account of some man who had lived in this manner; but of this there is no evidence. The probability is that this narrative is to be considered as a parable, referring not to any particular case which had actually happened, but teaching that such cases might happen. The design of the narrative is to be collected from the previous conversation. He had taught the danger of the love of money (ver. 1 and 2); the deceitful and treacherous nature of riches (ver. 9-11; that what was in high esteem on earth was hateful to God (ver. 15); that men who did not use their property aright could not be received into heaven (ver. 11, 12); that they ought to listen to Moses and the prophets (ver. 16, 17); and that it was the duty of men to show kindness to the poor. The design of the parable was to impress all these truths more vividly on the mind, and to show the Pharisees that, with all their boasted righteousness and their external correctness of character, they might be lost. Accordingly he speaks of no great fault in the rich man—no external, degrading vice—no open breach of the law; and leaves us to infer that the mere possession of wealth may be dangerous to the soul, and that a man surrounded with every temporal blessing may perish for ever.

Barnes, A. (1884-1885). Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John (R. Frew, Ed.) (114). London: Blackie & Son.

and...

16:19–31 “there was a rich man” This is the fifth in a series of parables in chapters 15 and 16. It is a highly unusual parable because
1. it has no introduction
2. it has no explicit application
3. a person is specifically named.
However, the context demands that it be interpreted in light of vv. 8b–13. Calling it a parable does not imply that it is not true to reality, but one cannot force the details to give believers theological answers in the area of the intermediate, disembodied state of the dead or a description of hell (because the text has “hades”).
Luke often introduces parables by tis (“a certain _____,” cf. Luke 15:11; Luke 16:1, 19).

Utley, R. J. D. (2004). Vol. Volume 3A: The Gospel According to Luke. Study Guide Commentary Series (Lk 16:19-31). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

On the heels of tis, the Greek word for "certain", an enclitic indefinite pronoun which refers us to some or any person or object...

16:19–24 The opening to this story (“There was a rich man”) indicates that it is a parable (16:1), and thus the details of its picture of the afterlife should not be taken too literally. Certainly, however, Jesus taught life after death, including reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked (Mt 8:11-12; 18:9).

Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1547). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

16:22–23 The poor man died and received no burial, in contrast to the rich man who was buried. The poor man was carried … to Abraham’s side (lit., “bosom”), which means he was welcomed into the fellowship of other believers already in heaven, particularly Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. But the rich man went to Hades (the place of the wicked, the dead, or “hell”), a place of torment. That the rich man saw Abraham far off indicates the unbridgeable gulf between heaven and hell. The previous earthly situations of the rich man and Lazarus are completely reversed. As in 13:28, the unbelieving dead seem to have some awareness of the blessedness of believers in heaven. Though this is a parable, and thus it is unclear how far the actual details should be pressed, the story seems clearly to teach that, immediately after death, both believers and unbelievers have a conscious awareness of their eternal status and enter at once into either suffering or blessing.

Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (1991). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

In the series, every story that is longer than a few sentences is universally recognized as a parable, and this one in particular fits the form of a parable pretty well. That it is a parable, makes sense of why it contradicts some other biblical descriptions of hell, in that the developments of the story are part of the literary device of a parable, that is:

The rich man is socially high, Lazarus is socially low. One obeyed the prophets, one didn't. The vagrants and outcast tax collectors that Jesus was associating with, were of low social rank, yet they were willing to hear His message. Jesus levels that some people can't be convinced, and the typecast for those who can't be convinced, is a person who is full of him/her self and self righteous. The vagrant is humble enough to accept that he/she is flawed, so he/she is saved. The rich man didn't hear Moses and the Prophets, so in spite of him being regarded as the righteous man according to customary thought, he is deposed in Hades.