If you will not listen…

I came across this week a series of photographs, striking images of two worlds divided.

I think we might have them on our screen. Pictures from Mexico, pictures from South Africa,

where rich and poor live side by side, divided only by a corrugated fence or a concrete wall.

So living shoulder to shoulder, but their worlds could not be any more different.

It helped me to picture this story that Jesus paints for us, a story of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

Two men living side by side, divided only by a gate, but their worlds could not be any more different.

Jesus, quoting from the Old Testament, once said, you will always have the poor with you.

There will always be societies made up of the haves and the have-nots.

And too often, as Jesus recognized, the haves, those who have money, turn a blind eye and even show contempt towards the poor.

And Jesus tells a story to challenge that.

I suspect I'm not alone in loving stories like that of Robin Hood.

Maybe you grew up listening to the Robin Hood story or watching some of the many film and TV variants.

You have the cold-hearted sheriff of Nottingham imposing taxation after taxation,

you know, stealing from the poor.

But then Robin Hood comes, the hero of the people.

He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, and there's a sense of justice done, and we celebrate.

We come to Jesus' story, and we find that same quality.

There's a final judgment that falls on the rich man,

the one who chose to love money, not mercy,

the one who put his own pleasure over the people around him,

the voice that he listened to was the call of money rather than the call of God's Word and God's will.

And as I said at the beginning, this story is part of a sequence,

and within that sequence there's a danger that Jesus keeps pointing towards.

And the danger is that of not listening to Jesus,

not listening to him as King, as Lord, as Son of God.

It's the danger of not listening to his message that we are saved by God's grace and not by our efforts.

And now, as he closes this series of stories, he gives us another note of urgency.

If we will not listen to Jesus, there is the prospect of future judgment.

And so we have a really important story to consider,

and we have three important themes to consider,

as Jesus asks us also to listen up and listen in.

The first theme is that of reversal.

One of the things, remarkable things about Jesus,

is the way he is able to paint a picture for us,

a story for us in so few words.

In just a few short sentences, we are given a picture of extremes in this life.

Verse 19, we meet the rich man,

dressed in purple fine linen, luxury every day,

and then the extreme poverty of the poor man,

begging for just a scrap,

out on the street,

covered in sores.

Before we go any further,

it's important to note that in Jesus' day,

as people were listening,

they had the belief that if you had wealth,

then you had God's blessing,

that you were in.

So it's really striking,

in a couple of chapters,

Luke chapter 18,

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Jesus speaks of a rich man,

and he says,

verse 25,

it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for someone who's rich to enter the kingdom of God,

and the people around him are surprised.

Who then can be saved?

Their automatic assumption,

wealth and possessions,

equals God's blessing.

And so imagine,

you know,

you're tuned to think that way,

imagine how they hear this next scene,

which takes us to the next life.

Because what happens

is a complete reversal,

isn't there?

There's a reversal of position,

and a reversal of expectations.

Because now it's the poor man,

who's living in comfort,

and it's the rich man,

who's living in agony.

What's happening here,

what's happening,

is that Jesus is reminding us

that his kingdom doesn't work

the way the world works.

In the kingdom of God,

because it operates on the basis of grace,

there is reversal.

And it's really interesting,

if you read Luke's gospel,

and if you look for that theme of reversal,

you'll find it in almost every chapter

up until this one.

He really wants us to hear this.

So we have Mary,

the mother of Jesus,

when she hears that she's going to

give birth to the Savior.

She says in,

she sings, I suppose,

chapter 1, verse 52.

Speaking of God,

he has brought down rulers

from their thrones,

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry

with good things,

but has sent the rich away empty.

That's the way God's kingdom operates.

We can think about chapter 5,

where there is Levi,

the tax collector.

Everybody despised the tax collector,

but Jesus welcomed him.

Jesus shared food with him.

Indeed, Jesus shared a feast

with Levi and all his tax collector

and sinner friends,

and he was glad to be known

as a friend of sinners,

even if others were muttering.

Luke chapter 6.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

Jesus delivers some teaching

that clearly connects

with this parable we just read.

Luke chapter 6, verse 20.

Luke 6:20

He says,

looking at his disciples,

he said,

blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

And then verse 24,

but woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received

your comfort.

There's that warning

in teaching form we now hear

in a parable.

If all you want is comfort

in this life,

then you're looking for too little.

So as we listen in

to Jesus and to this parable,

he helps us to discover

that grace turns things upside down.

Because God's kingdom

does not run along the lines

that we would humanly expect.

We would expect the basis of merit.

You know, you earn it.

You prove yourself.

You come with your right track record

and CV and say,

here's why you should accept me.

But that's not how Jesus operates.

And that's profoundly good news.

Rather, if we enter into this story,

we are invited by Jesus

to come like Lazarus,

the poor man,

in our sense of need and despair,

in a dreadful state

because of our sin.

We come empty-handed.

We gladly confess

Jesus has paid it all.

Jesus has done everything

for salvation.

Jesus declared on the cross,

it is finished.

God's work of salvation,

complete by Jesus,

God's Savior,

so that we enter the kingdom,

it's now by grace.

It's a gift that we receive

by faith.

And another thing,

as we listen into this story,

it reminds us,

and Jesus is always pushing

His disciples and His followers

in this way,

we need to learn to put on

the glasses of the gospel.

Because we will typically also

divide people

and imagine perhaps,

oh, these are the kind of people

that God will naturally accept,

or these are the kind of people

that will listen

to the message

of good news.

And Jesus would have us

to avoid that trap

of limiting God's grace

in any way

to say that this person

is a likely candidate,

this person is unlikely.

No, it's all gift.

It's all grace.

So when we put on

the gospel glasses,

we don't limit

who we share good news with.

We learn to celebrate

as we see God's grace

and kindness being extended

in surprising places,

and we learn to welcome people

that they might come

to know the grace

that we have come to discover.

So that's one theme,

and it's a repeating theme,

and it's here in our story.

A second theme,

one that Jesus deliberately addresses

because of his audience

is the theme of riches.

Another feature

of Jesus' storytelling,

and we get this recorded

in the Gospels,

is that as he tells stories,

he intends to provoke

a response

from his audience.

He's constantly looking

to draw people

into the story,

to think about

where am I in the story,

to challenge wrong beliefs

and behaviors

through story.

So perhaps even

as we read

this parable,

we felt sympathy

towards the poor.

We perhaps felt

a sense of anger

towards the rich

who was so callous.

Another storyteller,

Charles Dickens,

wrote the novel

A Tale of Two Cities.

And in The Tale of Two Cities,

which in part focuses

on the French Revolution,

we're introduced

to a character

called Monseigneur.

The Monseigneur,

who is just a horrible character.

Dickens had this great phrase

to describe him.

He said he was

deformed

by the leprosy

of unreality,

which is a great phrase.

Basically,

he was living

in the lap

of absolute luxury

while all of France

was starving

and suffering.

And having only,

I'm rereading

A Tale of Two Cities,

and having only been

introduced to Monseigneur,

already I've decided

I want justice to fall.

It's our heart response,

isn't it?

We see the body,

we see injustice,

and we want justice

to be done.

There is a clear audience

for Jesus

as he tells this parable,

and it's the Pharisees.

Remember,

we met them

in verse 14.

They are those

who love money

and were sneering

at Jesus.

They've rejected Jesus

as God's Savior

and King.

They're rejecting

his message

of grace.

They're rejecting

that warning

to put away

the idol of money

and to trust

and give their heart

fully to God.

We find them also

in chapter 15

in verse 2

before the trio

of lost

and found stories,

muttering again,

this man welcomes

sinners

and eats with them.

They love money,

they despise

other people,

and they despise

and reject Jesus.

And so,

they become

in part

the target

of the story.

Jesus says,

if you will not listen,

if you will not use

your money

for the sake

of others,

which is God's will,

if you'll not

show mercy

with your resources,

be warned.

Jesus sounds

a warning

to them.

This rich man

is pictured

as having it all,

living in the height

of luxury,

but he doesn't know

how to use it,

using God's good things

apart from

a right relationship

with God.

God.

Those gifts

that we receive

from God,

our money,

whatever our resources,

possessions are,

they are to be used

for the sake

of others.

For the rich man

in the story

to do that,

all he needs

to do

is open his eyes

and open the gate,

but he refuses.

And so we have

this awful scene

in verse 21

of poor Lazarus,

the beggar,

longing to eat

what fell

from the rich man's table,

and even the dogs

came and licked

his sores.

He's getting more

sympathy from

the street dogs

than he is

for the rich man.

But there's another

awful portrait

that Jesus paints,

far worse

than that

of Lazarus.

It's the portrait

of a person

who is gripped

and held

a slave

by money,

a person

whose heart

has shriveled up,

become too small,

become so focused

on self,

only serving themselves

with money,

ignoring the way

that God wants us

to show love,

the love that God seeks

is a love

that sacrifices

for other people.

That's so far

from the rich man's

thoughts.

Before we hit

the judgment scene,

let's skip to the end,

verse 27.

So we find

the rich man

in torment,

and he's begging

that Lazarus

be sent

to sound a warning.

And notice,

remember,

Jesus is telling

the story,

but he puts

these words

in the mouth

of Abraham,

they have

Moses

and the prophets.

Let them

listen to them.

What's Jesus

saying there?

He's saying

that it's really

clear

when you read

the Old Testament

how we should

treat others

and how we should

use our resources.

It is really

clear

that God

cares

for the poor,

and that how

he wants us

to worship

is to show

care to those

in poverty

and in need.

Let me give you

a couple of examples

from the writings

of Moses.

Deuteronomy 10,

this is speaking

of God.

First of all,

he, that's God,

defends the cause

of the fatherless

and the widow

and loves the

foreigner residing

among you,

giving them food

and clothing,

and in response,

you are to love

those who are

foreigners.

Now, Deuteronomy 15,

there will always

be poor people

in the land.

So, should we just

fold our hands

and arms

and just say,

well, nothing

we can do about it?

No, God says,

therefore, I command

you to be

open-handed

towards your fellow

Israelites who are

poor and needy

in your land.

To hear the same

truth in story form,

that's why Keith

read from

Jeremiah 22,

we have the

obscure king

Shalom there,

who is growing

richer and richer

as king

by injustice.

Rather than

using his position

and his wealth

to bless others,

he is taking

advantage,

and so judgment

falls.

So, the clear

message of the

Old Testament

is that riches

are to be used

to express love

for God

through the way

that we love

others who are

in need.

So, as Jesus

has invited

the Pharisees

into the story,

so he would

invite us

into the story

as well,

and he invites

us to listen

with urgency

to his teaching,

which calls us

to seek wisdom

to look inside

of ourselves

in the first place.

As John Calvin

who famously said,

our hearts

are idol-making

factories.

we can turn

anything into

an object of

worship that we

look to for hope

and security

rather than

the one true God.

Jesus, in his

teaching,

saw money as

the idol

to warn against

most often,

the one with

the greatest

capacity to rob

God of glory,

to steal our

hearts away from

him.

So, as wisdom

looks inside,

do we see

are there areas

where money

has taken a hold

in our life,

where the priorities

that we place,

the hopes that we

have,

are they rooted

in money or Christ?

How does the love

of money show itself

in our lives?

Where are those

tendencies?

How to break

that spell,

how to break

the stranglehold

becomes such a

significant question

to ask.

And when we're

thinking about

wisdom,

God's wisdom,

if we want to

break the stranglehold

of money,

then we need to

practice generosity

and to practice it

as an act of

worship,

not out of duty,

but out of joy.

And to do that,

we need first to

receive,

don't we?

We need to

receive God's

generosity towards

us,

God's grace to

us in the Lord

Jesus.

Because it's only

as that love

melts and captures

our hearts that we

then have the

capacity to love

others for God.

So wisdom looks

inside,

but wisdom also

looks outside.

So that we ask

ourselves the

question the rich

man should have

asked,

where is the

Lazarus at my

gate?

Who is the

Lazarus at your

gate?

Who is it that

God has placed

into our lives?

Where are the

opportunities that

we have to

bless and to

serve others

with our

resources?

How can we do

God's will and

show God's love

to the people

around us?

So that's the

second theme,

the theme of

riches.

And the third

theme is that

of reward and

punishment.

As we listen

in to Jesus,

the storyteller,

there is that

repeating note in

his stories,

that note of

urgency.

So remember the

story of the two

sons?

The younger son

gets to such a

dreadful point in

his life that he

realizes his

desperation, he

comes to his

senses and he

repents and he

goes back home.

Then the older

brother needs,

Jesus wants the

Pharisees to listen,

they need to see

the urgency of

their situation,

to not stand on

the outside thinking

they don't need

Jesus to save

them.

Rather they would

urgently turn and

receive the

father's welcome.

Then last week in

the beginning of

chapter 16, we

heard the story of

a manager who

knew that his

end was coming,

his job was

coming to an

end and there

was an urgency

there, an urgency

to prepare for

future welcome.

Jesus is moving

us closer and

closer towards the

climax here.

This parable speaks

about urgency in

the context of

the afterlife, the

life after this

life.

There is an

urgent need to

listen to Jesus,

to hear and to

respond to the

good news of

saving grace before

it's too late.

And so Jesus

introduces these

two destinations

and two

destinies, and

what becomes

clear is that

listening or not

listening to

Jesus, the

King, the

Savior, the

Son of God, will

determine our

destiny.

verse 22, the

time came when

the beggar died

and the angels

carried him to

Abraham's side.

The rich man also

died and was

buried.

In Hades, where he

was in torment, he

looked up and saw

Abraham far away with

Lazarus by his

side.

So he called to

him, Father

Abraham, have pity

on me and send

Lazarus to dip the

tip of his finger in

water and cool my

tongue because I am

in agony in this

fire.

Abraham replied,

Son, remember that

in your lifetime you

received your good

things, while Lazarus

received bad things,

but now he is

comforted here, and

you are in agony.

Two destinations

described.

Heaven pictured as

being at Abraham's

side, or literally

in Abraham's bosom.

It's the place where

God's angels are.

It's the place of

comfort.

It's the place of

loving relationship.

It's the place where

we are truly human.

Notice that Lazarus

is given a name the

rich man is not.

It's a place where

the bad things of

this life have now

become a distant

memory, and he is

enjoying good things

in the presence of

God at Abraham's

side.

It's a wonderful

place of comfort.

But there's another

destination and

destiny to describe.

Jesus is talking to us

of hell.

He is spoken of as

Hades, the place of

death, the place of

torment, the place of

agony.

So, remember this is

parable, so it's a

story.

But remember, Jesus'

stories always map onto

reality.

It is a place where

the rich man finds

himself separated from

all that is good and

can do nothing about it.

It is a place of

conscious punishment.

It is a place where

there is no prospect of

escape.

where the good things

that he enjoyed in this

life have no ability to

help him in the next.

Jesus wants this

loving warning to be

sounded loud and clear to

the Pharisees of his day

and to people in every

day, that to love money

or indeed to love any

idol over loving God, to

choose the way of

self-righteousness over

the way of being saved by

Jesus is the road to

destruction and

punishment.

This story helps answer

the striking question

Jesus asked in chapter 9,

verse 25.

What good is it for

someone to gain the

whole world and yet

lose or forfeit their

very self?

This rich man gains

nothing.

No reward, only

punishment.

Misses salvation, misses

true life.

There is an urgent need

to respond to the

message of Jesus.

Now let's stop for a

moment to ask a hard

question.

Perhaps it's something

that you've wrestled with

and many of us have.

Perhaps it's a question

you've been asked.

How could, how can a

loving God send people

to hell?

This is Jesus, Son of

God, clearly teaching

heaven and hell.

Bertrand Russell, famous

British philosopher of a

previous century, said

that Jesus' belief and

Jesus' teaching on hell

was his great moral

defect.

Jesus is defective,

morally bad, because he

believed and taught about

hell.

That's one voice, and

we'll hear that in many

different forms.

There's another voice, a

chap by the name of

Miroslav Volf, who in the

early 90s was living in

Croatia, so living through

the Balkan War, so so many

atrocities between people

groups.

He says something very

different.

He says, if God were not

angry at injustice and did

not make a final end of

violence, that God would not

be worthy of worship.

Which is it?

Is it a moral defect or

justice worthy of worship?

Consider a few things with me

together.

First of all, to think about

the view of God that we have.

So perhaps the popular

belief is that God is love and

God is only love, and

therefore it seems impossible or

barbaric that a God who is only

love could send people to hell.

Is that how the Bible is

presented?

Because that's where we need to

get our ideas about God, from

His revelation, His speaking to

us of His character.

In the Bible we discover, yes, God

is love.

Absolutely God is love.

But we also discover God is

holy.

That God is just.

And it's not the case of there's

one over and against the

other is both and.

So we need to be guided, first

of all, by who God is, and not

to limit it according to our own

perhaps favorite ideas about

God.

The whole idea about hell takes

us to the idea of justice.

Think about our view of

justice.

Humanly speaking, don't we all

want justice to be done?

Whether we're reading Robin Hood

or A Tale of Two Cities, or

whether we're reading our

newspaper and we hear about war

crimes or abuse or injustice, we

would hate the idea that there

would be a court where a judge

would fold his arms and ignore

the demands of justice.

It would just sweep guilt under the

carpet.

We want justice to be done.

We feel anger rightly when awful

things happen.

We need to remember that we are

made in the image of God.

We care about justice because God

cares about justice.

We have a sense of right and wrong

because God has established right

and wrong and has placed that

reality in our hearts.

So we must allow for God to be

angry at injustice.

We must allow God to be angry at

what destroys and defaces creatures

made in His image.

Indeed, for many believers around

the world, the reality of final

justice gives them hope.

If you live in a war zone or if you

live under fear of your life because

there are hostile enemies all around

you, your longing and your prayer is

that in the end, justice will be done.

That those who oppose God, who

practice horrible deeds, will be

punished so that God and His people

might live in peace forever.

So it is important to our hope to have

a God of justice.

Perhaps when we ask the question, we

need to take a think about our view of

ourself, especially in relation to God.

I suppose it's easy for us to consider

ourselves as basically good.

The people that we speak to are basically

good.

Most of the time we're dealing with good

citizens, good parents, family members,

employees, employers.

Basically good compared to others.

But there's another standard.

It's the perfect standard of God and

His law.

And before that perfect standard, Romans 6

23 confirms what I think we already

know all have sinned and fall short of

the glory of God.

God's word and God's law exposes to us

our failures.

We don't love God perfectly.

We don't love our neighbors perfectly.

We don't use our money perfectly to

show and to satisfy mercy to others.

We do break the commandments.

We do turn our back on God.

Perhaps like Lady Macbeth in

Shakespeare's play, we too find ourselves

at times haunted by a sense of guilt,

a guilt that we cannot remove.

Just like Lady Macbeth haunted by

bloodstains having killed the king.

And when we allow that there is a God

who is both loving and just,

when we think about a God who must

deal justly,

when we think about ourselves and the

reality that we break God's law,

another question begins to emerge.

Not how does God send anyone to hell,

but actually how can God receive

anyone into heaven?

If we judge ourselves honestly against

God's perfect standard, we're confronted

with that question.

And as we allow those realities about

God and about justice and about human

sin to become real to us,

then the gospel becomes wonderful for us.

The gospel becomes the only hope that we

have because it's a good news of grace.

God doesn't deal with us on the basis

of how we have performed,

which is great news because we have

not performed perfectly.

But rather, God, in the good news

presented in the gospel,

he sends his son, the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus who became poor for us,

leaving the glory of heaven,

suffering and dying,

taking on himself our sin,

bearing our guilt,

facing punishment for it,

absorbing the wrath of God that should

fall on us,

it falls on him as our substitute

before he rises from the dead in victory.

God, out of infinite kindness,

gives us the Savior that we need.

He alone secures forgiveness

and peace with God.

The Son of God,

on the cross,

experienced the realities of hell,

being punished and being cut off

from his Father.

Think about that.

So that we, by his grace,

could experience the joy of a welcome

from a loving Heavenly Father.

Salvation is a wonderful gift,

freely offered to us in the gospel,

to be received by faith,

if,

if we will listen

and if we will respond.

So as we close,

let's ask ourselves that question.

You and I,

have we listened to Jesus?

Will we listen to Jesus?

The story ends,

in many ways,

on a sad note

for those Pharisees.

Jesus knows the future.

Verse 31,

or verse 30,

they say,

No, Father Abraham,

through the words of the rich man,

if someone from the dead goes to them,

they'll repent.

He said to him,

if they do not listen to Moses

and the prophets,

they will not be convinced,

even if someone rises from the dead.

Jesus anticipates something there,

that he will die,

that he will rise

in glory and victory.

Yes,

at the moment,

we follow him

on the road to the cross,

where he will experience shame,

humiliation,

and death,

but that's not the end

of his journey

and his story.

He'll be raised,

he'll return to heaven

to be enthroned

as glorious King and Savior.

But as he speaks

to his audience,

he knows that many of them

will stay unconvinced.

The Pharisees and Jews

of the day,

many of them,

despite the evidence

for the resurrection,

they will say no to Jesus.

Despite him bringing

the kingdom

and announcing God's grace,

they will reject him,

choosing their own path.

Let's not make their mistake.

Let's not follow their path,

because we see where it ends.

We're called today

to listen and to act,

that we might know comfort

and joy and hope,

that we would listen

to be saved by grace

through faith in Jesus,

and we would show our love

for our God and our Savior

by using the things

that he gives to us

to help others,

because he has helped us

and saved us by his grace.

Let's pray together.

Lord, our God,

we thank you

for Jesus,

our Savior,

and we thank you

for the stories

that he told

that have so much truth

and power contained

within them.

We ask that,

as he called

his original hearers

to listen in,

to listen.