Luke 16:19-31 - Lazarus & the Rich Man

Well, good morning, church.

Turn with me, if you will, to Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 16, and today we will be looking at verses 19 through 31.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

19 through 31, which is the story about Lazarus and the rich man.

Since we're jumping right in the middle of Luke, I'd like to first give us some context of this passage.

So if you look in chapter 16, if you look back at verses 14 and 15, Jesus is rebuking the religious leaders of his day.

That is the setting here.

And so Jesus calls them out and he says, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others.

But God knows your heart, says Jesus.

What people value highly is detestable in God's sight.

So these men, the religious leaders, were supposed to be the teachers of Israel.

They were supposed to be heralding the oracles of God, men who exemplified the true spiritual model of worship.

And so Jesus is very upset with them.

He's upset because they had adopted this horrible theology, which is addressed here in our passage, that says this fortune or success in life equals God's favor, in misfortune or suffering equals God's disapproval.

In other words, if you're healthy and wealthy, God really loves you.

But if you're disabled, if you're poor, if you're sick or suffering, then that was evidence that God has cursed you or he's punishing you.

Even Jesus' disciples, if we look back in John, the Gospel of John chapter 9, were subjected to this type of thinking.

John 9 · chapter mention

They pointed to a blind man, they said, Hey Jesus, you know, who sinned?

Was it this guy or was it his parents?

And so the theological assumption was that this man was cursed by God.

And what this type of teaching promotes, just like the prosperity gospel in our day, is spiritual pride, false assurance, and total misjudgment.

So what many people were doing and still doing today is exalting their religious position or their reputation or their bank account, and they're saying, Look, God has blessed me.

I'm a man of God, I'm good to go.

God must love me so, so much.

And men may affirm you in that.

But Jesus obliterates this bad theology by saying, God knows your heart.

You can't fool God.

He knows the innermost thoughts of our heart.

So to drive this point home and totally dismantle and destroy this worldview further, Jesus now tells them a story about two men.

And many theologians and even Bible headings label this as a parable, but honestly, I don't think it is.

I think perhaps Jesus is telling us here a very real, literal story.

And in it there are many precious gems.

So let us begin by reading verses 19 through 21.

There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted sumptuously every day, and at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table.

Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

So here we are given two characters.

The first mentioned is a rich man.

His name is not given.

The second is a poor beggar named Lazarus.

And so right off the bat, Jesus personally names the beggar, and he does not name personally the rich man.

Now that's intentional because it is countercultural.

You always name those in high positions, and it was disgraceful to associate with or know the name of the homeless.

And Jesus personally personally names Lazarus because he was a man who knew God.

Now Lazarus or Elizar was his name, is not to be confused with Lazarus in John 11, the brother of Mary and Martha.

There seems to be no connection between the two.

And the name Lazarus means God has helped.

And clearly God has helped Lazarus here, and even in John 11, the other Lazarus, God surely helped.

Then we are given this contrast, description between each man.

And so starting with the rich man, he was clothed in purple.

Okay, purple historically symbolizes royalty and nobility.

And he had fine linen, we're told, which is expensive, finely woven clothing.

And he ate luxuriously.

He had the best food, highest quality, with unlimited quantity.

And so this man, in every sense, was well supplied.

The pleasure of this world was at this man's disposal.

Now Lazarus, on the other hand, was at the rich man's gate.

And to put this in modern terms, Lazarus was homeless, lying next to this man's dumpster.

And he was covered in sores, implying either one, he had a disease, or implying two, that he had unattended wounds that he couldn't afford to get medical help for.

And his only means of food was scraps that fell from this rich man's table.

This wasn't leftovers that the rich man nicely put in tubbleware container for him and gave it to him every night.

No.

This was thrown away food, unsanitary scraps that he picked out of the trash, mauled over food that had been slobbered all over.

And the only attention that Lazarus received was from dogs.

Most likely a stray dog that came and licked his wounds.

Now, if you know anything about Jewish culture, dogs were seen as unclean animals.

So to the Jewish mind, and even to our modern mind, we would see this as disgusting.

There's a dirty man with open sores, eating unsanitary food, receiving treatment from a dog, and our natural thought towards this poor man in this pathetic condition is to think, what sin have you committed to be in such a cursed condition?

God must really be upset with you.

And the tendency is to look at the luxurious, wealthy, and healthy rich man and say, wow, God has blessed you, brother.

God has blessed you abundantly with his love and with his grace.

Our natural instinct is to measure these men's lives by external worldly measures, making spiritual and eternal judgments based on how comfortable their life is.

How many times have you talked to a rich, well-dressed, physically fit businessman and thought, wow, God must really love this guy.

And then you drive by Dunkin' Donuts and you see a man laying out front with dirty clothes, and you think to yourself, what a loser.

I wonder what kind of sins that guy got into, that God has cursed him like that.

But look at what Jesus reveals in the next few verses.

Look at the irony, the reversal of fate in verses 22 through 26.

The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham's side.

The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.

But Abraham said, Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things.

But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.

So although these men lived totally different lives on earth, they had one thing in common, as we all do: death.

No matter your bank account, your social status, your reputation, your fame, we all will face the same fate.

Death.

Six feet of dirt make all men equal.

Death is the is is the thing really that these two men had in common.

But there are two different eternal outcomes.

The poor man is immediately greeted by majestic angels that were commanded by God Himself to receive him and take him to Abraham's side.

But the rich man died, he was buried, implying that he got a proper burial, the poor man didn't, and found himself in Hades, in torment, thirsty, and deprived of anything good.

And so what does this teach us?

It teaches us that your social status, your poverty, your riches, your clothing and appearances, the tragedies that you faced in life or the lack thereof has no eternal significance.

The world sees people through broken cultural lens.

But as 1 Samuel 16 reminds us, the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

This isn't like a game of pickup basketball where God's looking around for the strongest, most fit, the most athletic and talented person to be on his team.

God knows that we are all equally sinful.

We're broken, we're useless.

And God calls broken, needy, weak, and pathetic people, whether they be rich or poor, and he chooses them for eternal life so that his grace and his power might shine forth in broken vessels.

There's no distinction with God, black or white, rich or poor, healthy or sick, tall or skinny, God looks at the heart.

The distinction he is chiefly concerned about, church, is this.

Do they love me?

Did they receive my salvation?

Or did they reject me?

Church, if this is how God views people, if this is the way his kingdom works, if he's more concerned about people's hearts than he is about where they live or what they're wearing, should it not be our attitude as well?

I mean, James talks about this in his epistle.

Are we making distinctions, unnecessary distinctions, worldly distinctions?

Are we telling the nicely dressed family to sit up front in our church and to the weird, bad-smelling guy who's wearing sweatpants and the forbidden crocs?

We're saying, whoa, stay away from me.

You know, church security, keep an eye on this guy.

Friends, when did we forget that the gospel is for all people?

Why does Jesus tell us in Luke 14 that when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and then you will be blessed.

What is he getting at here?

He's getting at this stop discriminating, stop making eternal judgments based on externals.

And start viewing people through the gospel lens, through God's lens.

This story really is an indictment on these religious leaders because it suggests that the old poor guy in the back of the church who's sick all the time and has a chronic illness could potentially be more spiritual than all of us.

Because God sees the heart.

And what's revealed in this story is a reversal of fate.

The rich man is now eternally poor, and the poor man is now eternally rich.

The beggar is now satisfied, and the rich man is now begging.

The man who is assumed to be blessed by God is now in Hades.

And the man who assumed to be cursed by God is now in God's kingdom.

And for whatever reason, the rich man, although he's in Hades, he is given the ability to see Lazarus at Abraham's bosom.

And he cries out in anguish, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue.

He's not asking for a full drink.

He's not asking for a meal.

He just wants Lazarus to dip his finger in water for just a momentary relief.

This is utterly tragic and terrifying.

Notice that he still is referring to Abraham as father, implying that he considered himself a child of Israel.

Not by grace through faith, not by trusting in Jesus.

He is still holding on to the false entitlement of his descendants.

He totally missed the mark.

As Romans 9 rightly says, not all Israel is Israel.

Just because you were born a Jew does not mean that you are going to heaven.

And so the principle here is this: just because you're Jewish, just because your parents are Christian, just because you grew up in church does not mean that you are going to heaven.

There's only one way to heaven, and that's by receiving grace through genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

So let us rid ourselves of the false idea that you will gain heaven through any other means.

And what is Abraham's response to his request?

Well, it is twofold.

First, Abraham says, You received your good things on earth, and Lazarus his bad, and now the tables are turned.

In other words, you had your time of enjoyment.

Now don't misunderstand what Abraham is saying here.

He's not saying that you need to be materially poor to enter heaven.

Okay, that's a misinterpretation of this.

And if you're materially rich, you're going to hell.

That's not what Abraham's implying here.

The point he is trying to make is this your material possessions, your bank account, your popularity, or the lack thereof have no eternal value in this matter.

Just because you were happy on earth and merry and satisfied was not evidence that you were destined for glory.

And just because you had a tough life with chronic disease and poverty did not mean that God was against you.

That is the principle here.

What God values is a heart of faith, a heart of worship, a heart that seeks Him.

Secondly, Abraham tells him that it's not possible for crossover.

Those in heaven cannot go to Hades, and those in Hades cannot go to heaven.

The chasm is fixed.

And so this removes the idea that there's a second chance after death.

As Hebrews 9.27 reminds us, people are destined to die once and after that face judgment.

No purgatory, no second chance.

It is fixed.

Church, this is why we plead.

This is why we proclaim Christ.

This is why we cry out to dead men with gospel urgency.

As Spurgeon says, if sinners be damned, at least let them leap over to hell over our dead bodies.

And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, employing them to stay.

If hell must be filled, let it be filled with the teeth of our exertions, and let no one go unwarned and unprayed for.

Because once somebody dies, church, that's it.

They will meet their creator.

And if they refused to receive Christ's life, they will have to give an account for their own.

And if people insist on holding on to their life, they will pay the price for every evil deed, every perverted thought, and every empty word.

This had to be hard for the rich man to hear.

He's not even asking for crossover per se.

He's asking for temporary relief.

Even if a dog could come and relieve him, he would take it.

And once the rich man accepts this horrible reality that he cannot get out of it, he begins to think about his family.

And in desperation he says, in verses 27 and 28, then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

The irony here is that he is now begging for relief and evangelistic help from the beggar who sat for years at his gate.

And this is a common characteristic, by the way, for those in Hades.

They weep from the great loss and devastation.

They gnash their teeth because they're angry at God for putting them there, and they beg.

Hell will be filled with tormented, angry beggars.

This rich man is not asking for a second chance.

Notice he's not asking for forgiveness or a second chance for repentance.

He isn't asking for heaven.

He is thinking about himself, saying, Give me a moment of relief.

And he's thinking about his kin.

Help my family.

For those who, just a side note, for those who say, you know, hell is way too severe a punishment.

Eternal hell doesn't fit the crime.

God is way, way too harsh in this judgment.

I want you to realize that hell is full of people who love sin so much that they would be more miserable in heaven.

Do you realize that?

If given the option, they would choose hell over heaven.

Why?

Because they love their sin that much.

C.S.

Lewis wrote a wonderful book called The Great Divorce as an illustration of this reality.

That if Jesus came to hell after a trillion years and opened the door and said, Did any of you learn your lesson?

Who wants to go to heaven?

They would slam the door shut in his face.

Why?

Because they love their sin that much.

It could be argued that sinners would be more miserable in heaven, that they would be in hell.

It could be argued that God consigning people to hell is actually, in one sense, his love towards them.

And the rich man supports this truth by his requests.

He still doesn't want God.

He wants his sin without the consequences.

And now he's thinking, well, if I can't save myself, maybe I can do something to prevent my family from coming here.

Can you at least do that, Abraham?

Can you go to my five brothers and warn them about the horrible consequences of living a godless life?

And Abraham responds in verse 29.

They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them hear them.

Now what is Abraham saying here?

Abraham is saying to the rich man, there is already someone warning them.

There is someone speaking to them.

They're being pursued and evangelized by Moses and the prophets, aka the Torah.

They have the scriptures.

They're surrounded by it.

They are hearing it.

If they're Jewish, they're periodically reciting it through the ceremonies and the traditions.

In essence, Abraham is saying, they already have the best witness available.

They have the best means to know God and respond to him and be saved.

It's called God's word.

But the rich man is not convinced.

He says in verse 30, No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, then they will repent.

In essence, the rich man is saying, God's word is not sufficient.

God's written, revealed holy word is not going to make my brothers believe.

They need something more convincing.

They need to see a firsthand miracle, something they cannot deny, something that defies natural law, like a resurrection.

And is this not the common mindset today of so many Christians, so many churches, even, that the simple teaching and preaching of God's word will not convince people.

We need other methods, flashier, living by sight kind of stuff that people cannot deny.

Then they will repent.

If only God made someone's arm grow back, if only God miraculously healed someone with stage four cancer.

If only God opened the heavens and said, Hey humanity, I want everyone to know that I am real.

Then they would repent in belief.

But this is simply not true.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16, 4 that a wicked and a perverse generation seeks after a sign.

And that is exactly what the rich man is doing.

Look at how Abraham responds to this in verse 31.

He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead?

If someone refuses to hear the word of God and they resist the Spirit of God, what makes you think that they would repent and believe if they saw a work of God?

If someone rejects God's method of making his salvation known through his word, what makes you think they would accept him through a miraculous event?

If someone won't respond to the word of God, what makes you think they will convert by seeing a miracle from God?

In other words, if someone doesn't have ears to hear, what makes you think that they will have eyes to see?

The primary method in which God has revealed Himself to us, church, is through His Word.

God wrote us a book, the number one most published book in the world.

And it is, in it is revealed the beautiful nature of God.

In it is revealed the bad news about our sin and how God has redeemed us through his son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Everything we need to know concerning life, redemption, salvation, godliness, instruction, and purpose is found in the Bible.

In Hebrews 4, it is referred to as a double-edged sword.

In the Psalms, it is said to be a lamp unto our feet.

It is the source of all truth, all spiritual life and wisdom.

So many people today are looking up at the sky, screaming at God, will you just speak to me?

I just want to hear a word from you, God.

Hello, are you there?

While a Bible lays dusty on their shelf.

So many people are searching around the world, waiting for God to speak to them through a miracle or some catastrophic event.

Meanwhile, they have a Bible in their basement collecting dust.

Friends, God has already spoken.

We have his word.

And on average, 85% of U.S.

households own a Bible.

And the average number of Bibles per household is 4.3.

So we don't need to create some new flashy method to win people to Christ.

It won't convince them, says Abraham.

Point to the old dusty Bible that's covered in cobwebs, that is sitting on their shelf, and convince them that it is sufficient because in it contains the very words of the living God that brings life and salvation.

As Christians who are attempting, I hope, to be good evangelists, we need to remember this.

I say this all the time: what you win people with is what you win them to.

If you win people to Christ through just flash and emotionalism, well then that's what you must maintain.

That's your gospel.

You need to keep up the supernatural, you need to keep up stirring emotions, and if not, you'll lose them.

But if you win people to Christ through God's primary method, aka his word, you let the lion out of its cage, as Spurgeon would say, then we have won them with God's source of truth and salvation.

This is why we preach the word.

This is why we read the word.

This is why we share the word.

This is why we sing the word.

This is why we encourage people to study the word.

Because we believe, as 2 Timothy says, that it is God breathed.

We believe that the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to reveal to people the Son of God.

It contains the promises of God, the means of salvation, the solution to all evil.

Now don't misunderstand me, please.

Miracles and healings are meant to be supportive evidence to God's truth.

But they are not the means of salvation.

The Israelites saw many miracles during the times of Exodus more frequently and abundantly than any of us ever will.

And yet we are told most of them died in unbelief.

John the Baptist was a prophet who performed no miracles or healings, and yet his ministry was effective.

Why?

Because he spoke the words of God.

This is why we strive to be a word-centered, gospel-centered church.

Because we are convinced that the Bible is the final authority.

We believe that Scripture is the primary source of all truth, the primary means of spiritual growth, and the primary means that God will use to regenerate lost sinners.

That is what Abraham is saying here to the rich man.

So, Proclamation Church.

What is our challenge from this passage?

How do we apply this in our own lives?

Well, first and foremost, this passage teaches us not to judge a book by its cover.

It challenges us to ask the question: how do we view other people?

Are we people who look at others through the lens of God's truth, of God's word?

Or, like the Pharisees, do you judge people?

Do you make eternal assumptions based on worldly, carnal measurements?

If so, repent of that this morning.

Secondly, it challenges us to ask the question: what is my salvation based upon?

Like the Pharisees, do you believe that God's favor of you is based on your health, your finances, your life circumstances, whether or not you're experiencing suffering?

Do you think you're a Christian because your family is?

Because you go to church?

Because somebody else told you that you are?

What an insecure, miserable way to live.

Repent of that bad theology this morning and remind yourself that your salvation is based on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness.

And thirdly, this passage reveals that there are no second chances after death.

So, church, this is for the unbelievers in the room.

Listen to me.

If you die in your unbelief, you will find yourself in the same fate as this rich man.

You might be happy with your life now, but if you die without putting saving faith in Jesus Christ, you will find yourself like this rich man who probably went to bed cheerfully, but woke up in poverty saying, Oh no.

That is the wages of sin.

This is the just consignment for living a godless life.

And so I would urge you, unbeliever in the room, beg Christ for salvation today and receive it freely in Him.

Or you can beg later in anguish for all eternity.

And lastly, church, remember the sufficiency of God's word.

It is the centrality of our evangelism, the centrality of our discipleship.

And so I ask, is your men's group, is your mentorship, is your discipleship group, is it word-centered?

Or is it just full of fluffy, nice things with just a little bit of Bible sprinkled on the side?

Is it the main course or is it the side dish of your discipleship?

Allow scripture to be your main diet and allow scripture to be your main tool for evangelism.

So, church, let us end on that and let's pray.