“A Dead Man’s Tale”
Luke 16:19-31 (Lazarus
and the Rich Man)
8 September 2019 (SBC,
Sligo IE)
INTRODUCTION:
As we continue our study of the Gospel of Luke, today we will be looking
at the second half of Chapter 16. Last Sunday Pastor Kirk led us in a study of
the first 18 verses of this chapter, in which Jesus told a parable about a
shrewd, albeit dishonest and slothful, servant who won the admiration and approval
of his wealthy master by finally showing some initiative after he was threatened
with dismissal from his job because of poor performance. It is a strange tale
indeed, because all the characters in the parable were scoundrels, and guilty
of double dealing, and yet Jesus used their unscrupulous duplicity and
dishonesty to teach important eternal lessons for us as Christ-followers.
You have probably already observed that Jesus mostly
taught through parables and word pictures. The Synoptic Gospels (i.e. Matthew,
Mark, and Luke) contain 40 parables: Matthew records 23 of them; Mark has 9;
but Luke records 28 of them (15 that are exclusive to Luke’s Gospel). By way of
reminder, in Chapter 15 the three parables that Jesus used exposed the special
faults of the Pharisees, their hard exclusiveness, their self-righteousness,
and their contempt for others. But then Chapter 16 starts out with the
word, “And” or in my Bible, “Now,” giving us the impression that the
parables of Chapter 16 were given on the same occasion, in the same place, and to
the same audience. However, in Chapter 16:1 Luke tells us that now Jesus
addressed His remarks to the disciples, those who identified themselves
as His followers, but without a doubt the Pharisees were still there and
listening intently. Also, the subject matter of Chapter 16 differs from that of
15 in that in the later Jesus takes on the subject of money and wealth.
TRANSITION:
I am not going to rehash the lessons from verses 1-18 but I just wanted
you to understand the setting and the context. I find it interesting to observe
that the Pharisees did not have much to say when Jesus was obviously going
after them directly, but when He started talking about money, they lost their
cool. You can see that in verse 14, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were
listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.”
When we get down to verse 19 Jesus tells yet another parable about a
rich man and tells how the fellow ended up.
MAIN BODY:
Verses 19-21: “Now
there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine
linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor
man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores [ulcers], 21
and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s
table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.”
·
The first man that Jesus describes
here was a rich man indeed, enjoying all the good things that life offers. He
lacked for nothing. He had it all! He dressed himself in the finest and most
expensive clothes. He surrounded himself with opulence. He ate only the best
and choicest of foods. He lived sumptuously “every day.” It was his normal
lifestyle.
·
In contrast, the second man, Lazarus
[no relation to the other one], was poor and sick and hungry, lacking even the
bare minimum to survive. He was a beggar. He was covered with ulcerated sores
and so helpless and weak that he could not even ward off the street dogs that
pestered him continually. Lazarus sat by the gate of that rich man’s house day
after day, humiliated, having to appeal to the sympathy of passers-by. He had
nothing! Except for one amazing advantage… Jesus knew him by name! Jesus
said his name was Lazarus. The name is the Latinized form of the Hebrew
name, Eleazar, and it means “God is my help.” Something else interesting here… Lazarus
is the only character in any of Jesus’ parables who is mentioned by name.
This leads me to wonder if this is not a parable at all, but if Jesus was
telling the story of a real beggar and a real rich man, not just fictional characters
in a fictional drama to make a point.
·
But in contrast to Lazarus, about the
other fellow notice that Jesus just said, “Now
there was a rich man…” No name, no identification, nothing.
But with Lazarus, Jesus knew him and called him by name. Interesting!
·
From his begging spot at the portico gate
of the rich man’s house Lazarus could perhaps see into the courtyard where the
family took their meals. In that culture people did not eat with knives and
forks, they ate with their fingers, and they used bread to clean their hands.
That bread would sometimes fall to the floor. Lazarus could see the scraps and
crumbs fall from the table onto the floor and he wished he could have even just
a little of that. And who knows, maybe the rich man occasionally allowed his
servants to throw out a few scraps to the beggar who sat by the gate.
Verse 22: “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”
·
Another contrast here. Jesus said that when poor
Lazarus died, he was gently carried away by the angels to Abraham’s Bosom, the
place where the righteous dead were kept unto the Day of Resurrection. No
mention of his burial, probably because his corpse was buried in a pauper’s
grave with no ceremony. But his real person, soul and spirit, was carried away
by the angels. On the other, hand, Jesus said, “the
rich man also died and was buried.”
That is the best that could
be said for him. Boom! Done! In the ground, service over, dirt in his face.
That’s quite a difference!
·
Before we go ahead, I want to clear up one thing:
Lazarus was not carried to Paradise because he was poor and pitiful, but
because he was a faithful servant of God. In the same way, the rich man was not
consigned to Hades because of his wealth, but because of his utter disregard
for God and for the people that God loves. In the final analysis, it is a
question of faith in God’s mercy that will determine where we spend eternity.
It has nothing to do with our bank account or our level of religiosity
or sincerity. The answer to the question, “What did you do with My Son,
Jesus?” is the only thing that will matter. That is the bottom line!
·
I do not have time to go into a lot of details about
this subject, but I think I need to say something about this place where the
rich man found himself. The Bible describes the waiting place of the dead as being
divided into two distinct districts, separated one from the other by “a great
gulf,” or chasm (cf. verse 26). In the centuries before the Resurrection of
Jesus, those who died in faith went to the part called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s
Bosom.” It was a place of joy and comfort and peace where they awaited the day
when they would be taken to “Heaven,” the dwelling place of God. I believe that
region was emptied out after Christ’s resurrection when “He led captivity
captive.” In other words, He led out all those who had died in faith and
took them home with Him to Heaven where they are right now. The Bible tells us
that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
That is the “blessed hope” that every true believer has. The wicked, on the
other hand, are cast into the part called Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek), a
place of grief and remorse, sadness and torment, to await their final
sentencing after which they will be cast into Hell. It is in this terrible
place where we find the rich man of Luke 16:23.
Verses 23-24: “In
Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away
and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’”
·
People make jokes about being in Hell
with their friends. They think it will be a big party with drinking and
laughter and carousing and doing all the same wicked things they did here on
earth. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Look again at verse 23. The rich
man was “in torment.” In
verse 24 he claims to be “in agony in this flame.”
Do not kid yourself, Hades, Hell, Gehenna,
Tartarus, whichever name you choose to use, it is no picnic, and it is forever,
eternal, with no end! That is what the Bible clearly teaches, despite the
efforts of those who try and soften the doctrine of Hell by claiming that the
torment is not eternal and will end with the wicked soul simply being
annihilated by God, so that it ceases to exist. As attractive as
annihilationism sounds, it is simply not in the Bible.
·
It is interesting though that the
rich man could see where he was and was very conscious of his surroundings. He
could recognize both Abraham and the beggar, Lazarus. While he showed deference
to Abraham, the great patriarch, we can still hear the arrogance in his
attitude toward Lazarus for whom he had no regard. He thought the beggar could
be dispatched to do his bidding. He wanted Abraham to command Lazarus to fetch
water to cool his tongue. But Abraham explained to him that it doesn’t work
that way. Earth’s values no longer apply here.
Verses 25-26: “But
Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good
things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being
comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this,
between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come
over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there
to us.’”
·
Abraham’s response is kindly but
clear. He points out that in life the rich man had had his good things.
He had had what he chose, what he chased after. He could have spent time with
the things of God and delighted in the Word of God. He could have engaged in
giving and helping others, like Lazarus for example, but instead he squandered
everything on himself and his luxuries. He had chosen what he wanted as his
“good things” and now he must abide by his choice. Lazarus, on the other hand,
had received “bad things, evil things,” but not as a result of bad
choices. He had not been responsible for the evils he had suffered.
Verses 27-28: “And [the
rich man] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s
house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them,
so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’”
·
Hearing Father Abraham’s answer the
rich man made a second request, again asking that Lazarus be dispatched on a
mission. He wanted Lazarus to go back and warn his father and his five equally
evil brothers that they needed to change their wicked ways before they ended up
there in Hades with him. Here we see the man with regrets. Like every convicted
criminal he was sorry that he had gotten caught, sorry that he was being
punished, sorry that his choices had finally caught up with him. However, I am
not convinced that he was genuinely remorseful and repentant for his sins. That
is another thing entirely. Just like in prison, Hell will be full of people who
believe they got a raw deal and claim that they were innocent of their crimes.
They will curse the Judge, demand a new trial, ask for a better lawyer, and beg
for mercy but it will do no good. I would just remind you of Hebrews 10:31
which says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.”
·
The rich man seems to imply that he
had not been treated fairly; that if he had been given the information that he
needed he would not have ended up in this place. Lazarus, on the other hand,
remains silent throughout this discussion. He neither complains about his own
treatment on earth nor gloats over the rich man’s end.
Verse 29: “But Abraham
said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’”
·
Abraham rightly observes that the
Word of God is clear in its warnings and that the brothers already have all
that they need. The Bible has many passages about both Heaven and Hell and is
clear about what one must do to gain the one and flee the other. The problem is
that, like the rich man, most people ignore the truth that God has given
in His Word. It is not that they cannot know, it is that they are
wilfully ignorant, and refuse to believe the truth when it is presented to
them.
Verses 30-31: “But he
said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will
repent!’ 31 But [Abraham] said to him, ‘If they do not listen to
Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from
the dead.’”
·
The rich man vehemently disagrees
with Abraham because he thinks that someone coming back from the dead would
surely be enough to cause his brothers to believe and to avoid his own fate. He
thinks that such a witness would bring them to repentance. But Abraham affirms
that even the appearance of a person risen from the dead would bring no
conviction to those who refuse to accept the truth as presented in Scripture.
CONCLUSION:
This last point
brings us to an interesting observation. For months before the crucifixion
Jesus repeatedly foretold His own death. He even described in detail exactly
what His enemies would do to Him, and all of it came true, to the letter! He
was betrayed, He was tried and convicted in a kangaroo court, He was beaten, He
was hung on a Roman cross, and three days later Jesus rose from the dead, just
as He said He would. Then He appeared to hundreds of people. He walked around
and showed the scars in His hands and feet and side to anyone who wanted to see
them. But the interesting thing is that those who refused to recognize Him in
the Scriptures and to believe what was written about Him, also refused to
believe and be convinced that He had risen from the dead. There is an old adage that
says, “Seeing is believing.” However, in truth, and clearly seen in this
case, “Believing is seeing!” Belief removes the scales from the
eyes, whereas unbelief guarantees continued spiritual blindness.
I also find it
interesting to observe that the other Lazarus, the one that Jesus did bring
back from the dead, was the one whose return to the land of the living was the
immediate cause of the Pharisees’ crowning act of unbelief, their unswerving
commitment to murder Jesus (cf. John 11:53). That fact totally disproves the
rich man’s premise that his five brothers would undoubtedly be convinced if
someone could return from the grave to warn them.
Maybe there is
someone here today that is still unconvinced of the truth of the Gospel. What
will it take to convince you? What more proof do you need? If you have been
sitting on the fence, thinking that you have plenty of time to get right with
God, just remember, that is what that rich man thought too.
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