Luke 16:14-31 "The Poor Rich Man"

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Turn with me this morning to Luke 16, page 875 of the Bible in the pews in front of you.

Last week we heard Jesus address the issue of money, of wealth, in order to get at our hearts,

what we really value, what we really worship.

And that same conversation continues in the rest of Luke 16 today.

As Jesus enters through the door of money, rich and poor, to get at eternal matters of heaven and hell.

Honestly, I've really struggled with this passage this week.

If you have a bulletin, you can see where the outline was when it was time to print the bulletins.

It's a little further along now.

But I've decided that the best way for us to consider this text and its challenges to us

is to walk through it together and to talk about it as we go.

So let's pray and ask God to help all of us in that.

And then we'll read the passage as we walk through it.

Pray with me.

God, this is your word.

God, and I'm so grateful for that.

It reminds me that you want us to hear it.

That you want us to be shaped by it.

That your spirit will use it.

And so, Father, keep teaching me this morning.

And would you be so kind to us as to use the foolishness of what is preached

to bring eternal light and hope and life to us

because of your great mercy and grace.

We ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So last week, we finished up with verse 13.

You cannot serve God and money.

What you value and love is of utmost importance.

Is it the things of God or the things of this world?

It can't be both.

And as we turn to verse 14, we find some listening to Jesus

who were told explicitly, love money.

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,

heard all these things and they ridiculed Jesus.

The Pharisees, the religious leaders, the ones who were teaching others,

they ridiculed Jesus.

They mock Him, which we'll find out in a minute is not really a good idea.

But why?

Why are they ridiculing Jesus?

Well, they loved money, the text tells us.

And they saw no problem with this.

All of the teaching at the time was telling them

that that was a reasonable thing to do.

Financial prosperity and wealth was a sign of God's blessing.

Poverty was viewed as a punishment from God.

And here's Jesus saying, these two things don't go together.

Well, you can't chase both of them at the same time.

And they laugh.

No way, Jesus.

Now we know you've lost it.

We're plenty holy here and God's keeping the money coming right in.

It's the poor guy you ought to be suspicious of.

This guy's way off.

I think this attitude is more true in our hearts than we would care to admit.

The health and wealth gospel is exploding here and around the world,

becoming increasingly popular.

And even though many of us would say we don't hold to some of its assertions,

we're drawn to read a book by a slick-talking, good-looking, successful, well-marketed Christian leader, aren't we?

Certainly he must know something.

Successful as he is.

Try this for just a minute.

Picture for me in your minds just an average Christian guy.

Just picture one.

See if you can just picture a Christian in your head.

I'm willing to bet that for most of us, the image we get in our heads is white,

somewhat upper-middle class, well-mannered, well-spoken.

For most of us, that is what pops into our minds when I tell you to picture a Christian.

But most Christians today are, and through history, far from affluent.

And most suffer greatly.

You probably think if you went to Chick-fil-A tomorrow, because you can't go today,

but if you went tomorrow, you could hang out for about five minutes

and pretty much kind of pick out who the Christians are.

You know, if you hang around people for just a little while, you can figure that out.

Just watching, right?

It's the ones who say, my pleasure.

That's always the ones to be looking for.

But we need to caution ourselves when we think that way.

Mere outward appearances are often misleading, aren't they?

See, Jesus is going to upend these expectations

and particularly challenge the Pharisees and us on our outward righteousness.

Verse 15.

He said to them, to the Pharisees, Jesus says,

You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.

For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

You like to look good, to appear religious, to have people think well of you,

but you're not fooling God, Jesus says.

Your external law-keeping righteousness without regard for your heart,

for deeply loving God may be praised by others,

but it's abominable to God.

And he continues.

The law and the prophets were until John.

Since then, the good news of the kingdom of God is preached,

and everyone forces his way into it.

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away

than for one dot of the law to become void.

Yes, the Messiah has come, and that changes things, Jesus is saying.

But the law stays.

In fact, elsewhere, what does Jesus say about the law?

That he has come not to abolish it, but to fulfill it.

It's an unchanging picture of God's character,

and it exposes our hearts, doesn't it?

To call us back to his heart.

It shows us God's heart, and it shows us ours,

where ours doesn't look like God's,

to call us back to that heart.

Jesus' point here is that the Pharisees,

who pride themselves on keeping the law,

actually are neglecting it.

The Pharisees, who think they are experts on God's heart,

are actually missing it altogether.

Instead of listening to God's word and clearly letting it do what it's supposed to do,

expose them and shape them,

show them where their hearts are misguided,

instead of doing that, they've lowered the bar

to a place they can reach,

so they can feel good about themselves,

so they can look good to others.

Jesus says that's so dangerous.

God hates it.

And Jesus says that in the context of how they pursue money

and neglect the poor.

They're failing to take his word seriously,

and when we do that, it's actually a rejection of God himself.

This is what he will talk about at length in the parable that's coming up here.

But first, he gives another quick example,

a one-verse example before he gives a ten-verse example.

And it may seem out of place here, verse 18,

everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery,

and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

What's Jesus saying?

Where does that show up?

Well, the Pharisees over time had written law codes,

many of them lengthy codes,

with reasons for divorce

that basically meant that men could get a divorce,

get out of their marriages,

for just about any reason at all.

And Jesus is making the point

that the law of God in his word still stands.

This issue of divorce is a significant one

and a sensitive one in our own context, right?

So I actually want us, after Easter,

to come back to this verse

and just talk a little bit more about what it means for us

and how our hearts engage with God's law in that regard.

So we'll do that in a couple of weeks.

But for the context of this passage,

what Jesus is saying is that

he's giving the Pharisees an example

of how they're lowering the standard of God's law

in order to keep it from exposing their hearts,

exposing them as frauds, as sinners,

as those who are needy.

Jesus is emphasizing the seriousness of God's word.

And there are several things in this passage

he's urging us to take seriously,

and this is the first,

it's God's word.

It's call on our lives.

So he said that briefly with regard to divorce.

You need to take God's word seriously.

But now he's going to tell a story

to make the same point with regard to rich and poor.

Tracking with me?

This is example two now for Jesus engaging their hearts.

He's going to tell a story to expose the Pharisees' hearts

and our hearts.

This parable we're about to read,

the story of the rich man and Lazarus,

is going to remind us primarily

that our response to God and his word,

in this case particularly with regard to money,

has eternal consequences.

Remember, this is a story Jesus tells

to engage our hearts with that particular point.

He's not recounting historical events,

historical details.

He's teaching our hearts important lessons

through a story to engage our hearts, right?

You do that with stories.

Jesus is telling this story to engage our hearts

and to teach us these important things.

Listen to the first part of the parable.

It starts at verse 19.

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.

The poor man died and was carried by the 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'm in anguish in this flame.

But Abraham said,

Child, remember that you in your lifetime

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.

Perhaps the most obvious aspect of this story

is the remarkable study and contrasts, right?

These two men, very different.

This first one's not merely a man who is rich,

but he is lavishly rich

and he feels it.

Enjoying fine food

and clothes fit for a king all the time.

And right outside his front door

where he would pass by all the time

is not merely a man who is poor,

but he is devastatingly poor.

And he feels it.

The aching hunger that longs for any scraps.

The bread they would use

to scoop up the other food that they were eating.

He just wants that

or the crumbs from their table.

He's so hungry.

The sharp pain of wounds

being licked by wild dogs

that roam the streets of the city.

The humiliating reality

of not being able to fend for himself.

Two very different men, right?

But they both die

as we all do eventually.

And there's a great role reversal

that happens there, isn't there?

Jesus flips the script upside down

when he gives us a glimpse into eternity.

Things are very different.

First, Lazarus, the poor man, dies

and perhaps no one cares.

There's no mention even of a burial.

We would expect here in Jesus' time

to hear of public officials

tossing his body in a cart,

taking it outside the city to Gehenna,

the waste dump to dispose of it.

But actually, instead,

we get a window into God's heart

for the poor whom he loves.

Jesus says he was carried by angels

to Abraham's side.

Don't you love that?

So far from being cursed or despised by God

or even just ignored or overlooked by heaven,

Lazarus is cherished and beloved

by the hosts of heaven.

He went from a seat of dishonor

to a place of high honor in heaven,

close to the heart of Father Abraham.

He went from discomfort to comfort.

He went from deep suffering to great glory.

Don't you love God's heart

for the poor and the suffering?

Is it any wonder that many slaves

in this country years ago

began to sing a song?

I remember loving it as a child.

Swing low, sweet chariot,

coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan and what did I see?

Coming for to carry me home.

A band of angels coming after me.

Coming for to carry me home.

I love that.

Because their hope

and their home

was in heaven.

Never home here.

Never comfortable here.

Never honored here.

But Jesus says,

don't miss God's heart

and think that despised in this world

means despised in heaven.

No, that's not what it's like.

Angels come and carry him

and place him against Abraham's chest

so he can rest.

If you're poor,

if you're suffering,

if you're aching with emptiness

here in this world,

I've got good news.

If you trust Jesus,

you're not home yet.

And he will honor you

and comfort you

and fulfill you

forever.

And you'll be home.

But then the rich man,

too,

dies,

doesn't he?

It's not quite such a warm story.

He, of course,

is buried,

likely as lavishly

as he lived,

but then the reversal

of fortunes

is equally stark.

Tormented

in hell,

not heaven.

in great anguish,

not comforted at all.

Far off

from Abraham,

distant from the one

he thought he was close to,

not at his side.

Pleading for a drop

of water

from one

whose name

he knows,

Lazarus,

send Lazarus,

but whom he never

apparently gave

a crumb of bread to.

It's a heart-wrenching

picture,

isn't it?

It should be.

He's reminded

by Abraham

that he received

his good things

on earth.

Lots of them,

right?

Lots of good things.

That's where he

invested his treasure.

It reminds me

of all those passages

about doing things

for the praise of men

and being told

that we've received

our reward

in full

here.

Now,

there's no relief.

It's too late

to change his station.

He has neglected

God's heart

and he endures

torment

and anguish.

If we were watching

a video of this scene,

I think we would

turn our eyes away.

hell is hard

to stomach

for all of us,

isn't it?

In fact,

our grasp

of God's

utter holiness

and our

wretched

sinfulness

is so limited

that for us,

because of that,

hell's hard

to believe in.

while we would

be misunderstanding

a parable

like this

to suggest

that Jesus

is giving us

a detailed map

of heaven

and hell

and how all

of this works,

it's not at all

going too far

to see the clear

reminder of the

reality

of both heaven

and,

in particular,

hell.

The torment

of hell

without which

this story

Jesus tells

makes no sense.

The permanence

of hell

in this

great chasm

that separates

people who can't

go back

and forth.

Jesus affirms

these teachings

in many other

places

and we dare

not ignore

them.

It's a warning,

isn't it?

That's why

he's teaching

this parable.

It's a warning

for hearts

that love

money,

for hearts

that take

God's law

lightly,

for hearts

that have

a hard time

imagining

a loving

God

punishing

sin.

It's a warning

that we must

heed God's

word.

We should

take God's

word seriously

and Jesus

is urging

us now

to take

eternity

seriously.

Don't delay

until it's

too late

to wrestle

with matters

of eternity

like it was

for the rich

man.

Is the

seriousness

of eternity

grabbing your

heart

for yourself?

What about

for the

sake of

others?

Do you

speak of

eternity

with them

and plead

with them

as though

heaven and

hell were

real places?

And once

we die

it's too

late to

change

reservations

and switch

across the

chasm.

I think

for many

of us

it's hard

to imagine

ourselves

or our

friends and

neighbors who

are really

decent people

suffering

torment in

hell.

Can we

acknowledge

that?

It's just

not where

we picture

people who

look and

talk and

act very

much like

us.

It doesn't

seem to

fit.

We're decent

people,

upstanding

citizens,

better than

many others,

pretty accomplished

and successful

in general,

and Jesus

says that's

what I'm

warning you

about.

It's

tempting to

be taken

in by a

pretty good

outward

appearance in

this life

and to

connect that

with decent

results in

the next.

Don't

make that

mistake.

If you're

walking past

the poor

in this

life and

thinking you're

pretty good,

you may be

missing God's

heart and

His presence

forever.

And the

end of the

parable has

one final

interaction.

Jesus brings

us back to

the subject

of God's

word and

how we

respond to

it.

Listen for

that, verse

27.

The rich

man said,

then I beg

you, Father,

if Lazarus

can't come

over here to

me to give

me some

water, 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.

But Abraham

said, they

have Moses

and the

prophets, let

them hear

them.

And he

said, no,

no, Father

Abraham, but

if someone

goes to

them from

the dead,

they will

repent.

Abraham

said to

him, if

they do

not hear

Moses and

the prophets,

neither will

they be

convinced if

someone should

rise from

the dead.

The rich

man says,

well, it's

too late for

me, but at

least go warn

my brothers

about these

eternal realities

I'm experiencing.

And Abraham

responds, they

have the

warnings of

the Old

Testament

scriptures.

They know

them.

The rich

man responds

like many

of us, I

think, yeah,

yeah, that's

nice, but I

really didn't

take those

seriously.

I needed

more evidence.

If something

else, if I

had heard the

voice of

God, if I

had seen

something clearly

supernatural take

place right in

front of me,

then I would

have believed,

so how about

try that with

them?

Have you ever

felt that?

You ever

said something

like that?

Abraham says,

our unbelief,

our lack of

repentance, as it

were, is not

from lack of

evidence, but

rather from

hearts that love

and worship

things that are

not God,

things other

than God.

God's word is

sufficient.

His law

exposes us

and points

those of us

with hearts

that don't

match God's

heart to

our need

for someone

to live

and die

for us

and to

rise from

the dead.

In Jesus'

day, they

had a different

guy named

Lazarus, who

many had

watched walk

out of the

tomb, and

many Pharisees

and others

still did not

believe in

Jesus, right?

In our

day, we

have now the

testimony of

the risen

Jesus Himself,

the eyewitness

accounts of

many who saw

Him, and the

evidence of

His resurrection

power in this

world and

through His

church, and

still many of

us don't

believe.

The rich man

knows what's

needed.

Repentance.

He identifies

it really

clearly.

He sees it

clearly on

this side of

eternity.

Verse 30

says it this

way,

No,

Father Abraham,

but if

someone goes

to them from

the dead,

they will

repent.

That's what

they need.

They need

repentance.

We need our

hearts exposed

by God's

law so that

we see we

fall short

of His

glory.

We need

then, when

that happens,

we need

then not to

lower or

relax the

standard so

we can meet

it.

That's maybe

what the

Pharisees were

suggesting, that

they could

measure up to

God's law.

What we need

is for the

standard to be

kept high and

us to be

exposed as

falling short

so that we

turn to

God.

Cry out for

His rescue.

Ask Him to

give us His

heart to

follow His

word.

And if we

take eternity

seriously, and

we must, if

we take God's

word seriously,

Moses and the

prophets will

tell us we

must take

repentance

seriously.

The point

here is much

broader than

rich and poor,

isn't it?

it's getting

at our

hearts.

But that's

the window,

the primary

one here,

that Jesus is

using into the

Pharisees'

hearts.

I've been

convicted this

week, it's

one we don't

look through

enough at our

own hearts.

We're used to

it.

We're comfortable.

We need to

have our own

hearts exposed

by God's

law so that

we turn to

Him in

repentance.

So as we

close, just a

chance for us

to take all

three of these

things seriously

this morning.

I'm just going

to give you a

sampling.

A lot more

verses we could

read.

But starting

with Moses and

the prophets,

I'm going to

include Proverbs,

a book of

wisdom for

living in

relationship with

God.

These are

things the

Pharisees had

been told that

we have as

well.

Leviticus 19,

you shall not

strip your

vineyard bare,

neither shall

you gather the

fallen grapes of

your vineyard.

You shall leave

them for the

poor and for

the sojourner.

I am the

Lord your God.

In Deuteronomy,

if among you one

of your brothers

should become

poor, you shall

not harden your

heart or shut

your hand against

your poor

brother, but you

shall open your

hand to him and

lend him sufficient

for his need,

whatever it may

be.

You shall give to

him freely and

your heart shall

not be grudging

when you give to

him.

Because for this

the Lord your

God will bless

you in all your

work and all you

undertake.

For there will

never cease to be

poor in the land.

Therefore I command

you, you shall open

wide your hand to

your brother, to the

needy and to the

poor in your land.

The prophets are

constantly calling

God's people back to

God's heart and his

law, aren't they?

Just a couple of

them.

Isaiah 58,

Is not this the

fast which I choose

to loosen the bonds

of wickedness, to

undo the bands of

the yoke, to let the

oppressed go free and

break every yoke?

Is it not to divide

your bread with the

hungry and bring

the homeless poor

into the house?

When you see the

naked to cover him

and not to hide

yourself from your

own flesh?

Amos chapter 5,

Amos 5 · chapter mention

Therefore because you

trample on the poor

and you exact taxes

of grain from him,

you have built houses

of hewn stone, but

you shall not dwell

in them.

You've planted

pleasant vineyards, but

you shall not drink

their wine.

But let justice roll

down like waters,

and righteousness

like an ever-flowing

stream.

Zechariah 7,

Thus has the Lord

of hosts said,

Dispense true justice

and practice kindness

and compassion each

to his brother, and

do not oppress the

widow or the orphan,

the stranger or the

poor.

Do not devise evil in

your heart against one

another.

Proverbs says it

shorter and clearer

perhaps for some of

us.

Whoever despises his

neighbor is a sinner,

but blessed is he who

is generous to the

poor.

Whoever oppresses a

poor man insults his

maker, but he who is

generous to the needy

honors him.

Whoever closes his

ear to the cry of the

poor will himself call

out and not be

answered.

We could keep reading

all day.

I think you understand

what God's word is

saying.

Whoever despises his

neighbor is a sinner,

but blessed is he who's

generous to the poor.

Whoever closes his

ear to the cry of the

poor will himself call

out and not be

answered.

The rich man experienced

that the hard way,

didn't he?

Jesus affirms all of

these laws.

Not one will pass away,

right?

And he adds to them,

Luke 14, when you give

a feast, invite the poor,

the crippled, the lame,

the blind.

James chapter 2, we get a

James 2 · chapter mention

good look at our hearts.

My brothers, show no

partiality as you hold

the faith in our Lord

Jesus Christ, the Lord

of glory.

Imagine this, if a man

wearing a gold ring and

fine clothing comes into

your assembly and a poor

man in shabby clothing

also comes in, and if you

pay attention to the one

who wears the fine

clothing and say, you sit

here in a good place,

while you say to the

poor man, you stand over

there or sit down at my

feet, have you not then

made distinctions among

yourselves and become

judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved

brothers, has not God

chosen those who are

poor in the world to be

rich in faith and heirs

of the kingdom?

He could have said,

hasn't God decided to

bring the poor to

Abraham's side in heaven?

But you've dishonored

the poor man.

So he challenges us

later in that chapter,

if a brother or sister

is poorly clothed and

lacking in daily food,

and one of you says to

them, go in peace, be

warmed and filled without

giving them the things

needed for the body,

what good is that?

So also faith by itself,

if it does not have

works, is dead.

1 John 3, if anyone has

the world's goods and sees

his brother in need, yet

closes his heart against

him, how does God's love

abide in him?

Does the law of God

convict your heart?

Do our lives indicate

that we embrace God's

law and share his heart

for the poor, or would

we just like to think we

do?

Do we really believe that

Jesus is good news of

great joy for all people,

even those who look

different from us?

By the way, don't just

tell yourself, I don't

know any poor people,

there aren't any right

outside my front door

like the rich man had.

You know, the closest

elementary school to this

church has 72% of its

students below the poverty

line for free lunch.

There's been a homeless

camp within walking

distance of this church

property for several years.

South Huntsville alone

has three separate

Section 8 housing

complexes.

Madison County alone

currently needs an

additional 50 foster

families to care for

kids they need to place.

There are people working

in each of our offices,

on our streets, and just

about every place we go

to eat or shop, who know

material need deeply.

If you want help engaging

there with God's heart, if

you don't really know where

to start but your heart

wants to, talk with Robert

Blevins.

He's sitting over here.

He's here on staff, not

because he's got all the

answers, but he's here to

help equip us to love as

God has called us to.

He would love to sit down and

have coffee, I mean tea, he

doesn't drink coffee.

He'd love to have tea with

you, to meet with your

small group, to talk with

you about what this could

look like in your life.

But this is really important.

Don't leave here thinking

that that is repentance.

That may be fruit of

repentance in your life.

Repentance, remember

repentance turns first where?

From bad deeds and failures to

good deeds and successes?

Repentance turns first to God.

Turns back to Him and seeks

His forgiveness first.

And then His heart.

Do you know there's only one

character in all of Jesus'

parables who gets a name?

Lazarus.

Lazarus.

Lazarus.

Lazarus.

The poor homeless beggar.

You know what Lazarus means?

God helps.

Don't leave here today with

your hope in doing better.

That's not what will save you.

You'll need a new heart for

that and you can't do that

for yourself.

Our hope is that God

helps.

That God sends a Savior.

And we get to celebrate that

in a special way this week.

A Savior who lives for us,

who dies to offer us

forgiveness of our sins

for all of our failures

so they can be forgiven forever.

And then He rises from the dead

to give us new life

and the hope of having new hearts

that love like God's.

that's what His resurrection power

does in those who

trust Him.

Today if you hear His voice,

don't harden your hearts

but have your heart broken

and turn to Him

and have it healed

forever.

Let's pray.

Father, we confess together

our great sin,

our failures.

Your law,

one verse is enough

to expose our hearts.

To show us that we don't

live and love

as you have called us to.

And so Father,

first we ask

for your forgiveness.

We need the blood of Jesus

to cover us,

not our own efforts.

And then Father,

as it does,

as we continue to drink

deeply of His grace,

might you make us

a community

that loves the way you love,

that reflects your heart

rather than just the way we feel

or the world around us.

Might we love

so that others know

of a God

who loves like this

so richly,

so deeply,

so eternally.

Thank you for your word.

Would you use it in our hearts

for the sake of your glory

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.

for more information,

we'll find out

in Jesus' name.

Thank you.

For more information,

we'll find out

in Jesus' name.

In Jesus' name,

in Jesus' name.

예요.

earth.

giveaway there.

You know,

and the yes,

when you put them there,

and I'll be living there..

You know,

I'll be there too.

in Jesus' name.

In Jesus' name.

I love it.

How is it?