LUKE 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

I told this story some time ago, but it serves well to illustrate our text this morning. There was a certain lady (that’s the way Jesus started many of His stories), there was a certain lady married to a selfish rich man. He wasn’t very kind to his wife, but she had the good fortune of outliving him. However, on his deathbed, he demanded that she empty their bank accounts and put the cash in a bag on the second floor of their home – in a bedroom windowsill so he could take it on his way to heaven. Dutifully, she obeyed and put the large amount of money where he demanded. Sure enough, the day came when he mercifully died. After the funeral, she remembered the cash. She ran upstairs to the bedroom, and sure enough, the bag of cash was still there. She thought to herself, “I knew I should have put it in the basement.”

The story illustrates several important points. First, it is appointed to all people to die once. Oh, I know there are those NDE stories – Near Death Experiences when people died only to be sent back – I’ll let you determine the veracity of those accounts. And yes, there were those Jesus raised from the dead – only to face death again. Understand, should Jesus not return in our lifetimes, certain death awaits everyone. Second, as we’ve seen over the past few weeks in our study of Luke, you will take nothing with you that your hands can carry when you die. Empty you came and empty you will depart. You’ll only have what has been sent ahead. Third, there is life and judgment after death, and there are only two destinations, the proverbial up and down.

We see these and other truths in our text today – let’s read it, Luke 16:19-31.

We know well by now Jesus is primarily addressing the Pharisees and their errors in chapters 15 and 16. In chapter 15, they had accused Him of eating with sinners, so He told the stories of lost things – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The point was, there is joy in heaven over every sinner who repents, including these the Pharisees despised.

In chapter 16, He turned His attention back to the disciples, but the Pharisees were still listening. In fact, as you read the chapter closely, it seems He’s still taking the Pharisees to task. Most of the chapter is dealing with riches – money – wealth. The chapter started with a rather difficult parable – the parable of the unjust steward or the shrewd manager. I won’t retell it – simply suggest the purpose was to challenge His disciples to be generous with our resources. Don’t love money – use it to be generous toward others. You see, by doing so, we act wisely, shrewdly, preparing for our entrance into eternal dwellings. Making friends before we arrive, laying up treasures in heaven.

The Pharisees, Luke tells us, were lovers of money, and so they were scoffing at Jesus. Which took us to brief interlude where Jesus told the Pharisees, you are those who seek to justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. He knows you love money – and you cannot serve two masters; you cannot love God and money. God also knows how you abuse the covenant of marriage – divorcing and remarrying on a whim – whenever you want. The moral law still applies – everyone who divorces and marries another commits adultery. Your love of money and your sinful actions toward marriage demonstrate you don’t know God – all your actions are detestable to Him.

Let me take a brief aside for a moment. As you might expect, last week’s very challenging sermon understandably brought some questions – largely around issue of abuse – physical, verbal, emotional abuse. What do you do then? It was not my intent to address every circumstance or justification we might offer, but simply to teach the text. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. But, Jesus also said in Matthew that divorce and remarriage was permitted in the cases of adultery.

But listen, while abuse is not mentioned as an exception, I would never expect a woman to stay in a home where she has been abused and fears for her safety or the safety of her children. Separation is most appropriate. If that is your experience, know I and the elders will stand with you, support you, care for you – and involve ourselves in a church discipline process and even involve the authorities where appropriate. The goal, as in the case of every disciplinary process, would be true and broken repentance on the part of the abuser, fruit in keeping with repentance, and where possible, restoration. You can come to us, and find a haven, support and care.

Back to our text. After teaching us to be generous, after taking the Pharisees to task for their traditions that dismissed the Law, He returns to the topic of riches. He’s still talking to the Pharisees and gives a startling warning about caring and generosity – or the lack thereof. In this text, we see:

I. Two Opposite Men (19-21)
II. [and therefore] Two Opposite Destinations (22-23)
III. [resulting in] Two Hopeless Requests (24-31)

Let’s meet those men. Remember, Jesus is talking to rich Pharisees, and He’s talking to rich people today. Now there was a rich man – and we’re going to find this guy was loaded. He habitually – it was his habit – to dress in purple and fine linen. Very interesting. Purple was the color of wealth and even royalty. Purple was derived from a certain snail – it took lots to make the dye, so purple was extremely expensive, reserved again for royalty or the richest of the rich. This guy made a habit of flaunting his wealth by wearing purple.

Not only that, he wore fine linen. Likely made in Egypt, this was the finest available. Now the words are such that most agree he had purple robes and linen underwear. TMI, I know. The point is, from inside out, this man was richly and finely dressed – everyone knew he had the bucks.

Not only that, he joyously lived in splendor every day. Some translations legitimately have it, he dined sumptuously every day. Not only did he have the finest of clothing, he had the finest of food. Fried chicken every day. No, more than that – his table was covered with all the finest delicacies available. Eating that way every day – he was no doubt portly, making him the envy of everyone around. You see, being rounded was a sign of wealth.

Not only that, when we meet the other man in the next verse, we find he was laid at this rich man’s gate. The word speaks of the gate of a palace – the gate of a king. Perhaps given his royal attire and royal housing, he was a king. We could at least say he lived like a king.

Bringing us to the next character – verses 20 and 21. He was a poor man – we will find as extremely poor as the other man was extremely rich. A poor man named Lazarus. Stop there. First of all, this Lazarus is not the brother of Mary and Martha – Jesus raised that Lazarus from the dead. No, Lazarus was a very common name.

Second, while this story begins like a parable, “there was a rich man,” it is highly unusual for a character in a parable to be named. In fact, if this is a parable, it’s the only one of Jesus’ parables that has a named character. This has caused some, to include me, to suggest this might just be a true story – an actual rich man and an actual poor man named Lazarus. Yes, it has the earmarks of a parable, but this is unusual. Further, the point of the story is not to lay an earthly story alongside a spiritual truth – this is a spiritual truth. Regardless, we can take the truths taught in the story as true.

You see, third, Lazarus literally means, helped by God. That becomes very important in the next few verses. While he was a very poor man, he was helped, indeed, cared for by God. Which is interesting. If he was helped by God, why was he so poor? Maybe, just maybe, being poor isn’t the worst thing. Maybe, being rich and not knowing God is the worst thing.

Well, this man was poor. The word is ptochos in the Greek, which speaks of absolute poverty. Some people are poor but have the resources to survive. This man did not – if wasn’t for those showing pity on him, helping him, he would not survive. It’s interesting to note he was laid at the gate. Which means either his starvation was so desperate that he needed someone to carry him to this rich man’s estate; or it means he was disabled – lame, crippled, somehow unable to get there himself. Further, we find he was covered with sores. So destitute, so poor he couldn’t get around by himself, he couldn’t feed himself, he couldn’t take care of himself. In his bedridden, disabled state, he was covered with sores – bed sores, I guess. It’s a disgusting description.

Friends, I suppose, or perhaps only those showing pity, laid him at the gate, where he longed to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. All those delicacies – all the wealth of sumptuous daily dining. Certainly, the rich man could spare a few morsels – even if it was just crumbs that found their way to the floor from his richly appointed table. Notice, it doesn’t actually say Lazarus fed on the crumbs – he just longed for them. But it seems all he got was dogs licking his sores. Could have been the rich man’s dogs, or more probably feral dogs, scraping by themselves. The dogs came and licked the sores, making him even more unsanitary and unclean. It was the height of humble poverty and destitution. I guess it would be like seeing a homeless beggar dumpster-diving, seeking to make it by on what others throw away, one more day.

It’s interesting to note a couple of things at this point. First, notice, neither on earth or in paradise does Lazarus ever say anything. Through this entire story, he is silent – at least nothing is recorded. Perhaps we can hear him begging. Perhaps not – he suffers silently and alone. Note also, when these two get to their respective final destinations, the rich man knows the poor man’s name. He asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his aid. Why do I point that out? He knew Lazarus – he knew his name. This is the guy who laid at my gate every day. The guy I passed on the way to town. The guy I never helped, hardly even noticed. The guy I avoided. I was too busy smoothing out my royal robes on my portly self – to busy waddling to the next affair – stepping in disgust by this poor beggar named Lazarus.

Which brings us to the two destinations. Verse 22, now the poor man mercifully died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Of course we know Jesus is in Israel, talking to Jews. And we remember in the OT, when people died, they were gathered to their fathers. That’s the idea here – Lazarus died, and he was carried away by angels to his father, Abraham. Extra-biblical Jewish literature suggested that when the righteous die, they are carried to heaven by angels. We don’t know if Jesus was simply speaking to the beliefs of the day, or if angels literally carry God’s people to heaven. Remember, we don’t know if this is a parable, told in ways the listeners could understand, or an actual story with actual happenings. Meaning, don’t miss it, Lazarus was a righteous man, and carried to be cared for, to be comforted in the bosom, or by the side of Abraham – with God’s people. Psalm 116 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones [His saints].”

This begs an important question: how do we know Lazarus was a righteous man? Well, the Scripture is clear, the only way you make it to heaven – to paradise – is to be carried by the grace of God. That has always been true as we saw last week. No one has ever been justified by keeping the law, by being good, because no one can. There is none good, not one – all are sinners in need of salvation outside themselves – by the gracious work of the Father through His Son. So, this poor man was one who, in the midst of incomprehensible suffering, believed in the promises and grace of God. His circumstances did not keep him from faith. And he died. We don’t know if he died of starvation, of his disability, of his weakness, of his extreme poverty. We do know when he died, he was indeed helped by God – he was carried to heaven. You see, your status here has no bearing on your status there.

Because, you see, we find the rich man also died and was buried. Oh, no doubt, it was a magnificent burial in an incredible, luxurious tomb, prepared especially for him. Many were there to mourn his loss – he had many friends – maybe bought – through his life. Lazarus, the poor man, was perhaps buried in a common man’s grave, or maybe even thrown to a garbage heap. Garbage he was, and to garbage he was given. Only he was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. To paradise.

The rich man? In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. Hades was considered the underworld, the place of the dead, the resting place of all spirits, both the righteous and the unrighteous, awaiting future resurrection. It corresponded to the OT Sheol. It didn’t necessarily mean Gehenna, which is the place of final torment after final judgment – but it eventually came to mean that. This rich man was in a place of torment. Don’t miss the great reversal that takes place. Lazarus suffered in this life and was carried to paradise. Again, it wasn’t his suffering that earned him a place in paradise, but rather his faith in the promises of God.

Further, the rich man didn’t deserve the torment of Hades because of his rich life. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was his selfish, self-indulgent, self-focused life of sin that earned him the place of torment. You can be rich and faith-filled [consider for example Abraham, Joseph, David], rich yet faith-filled proven by your generosity, and go to heaven. It’s not your generosity that pays the way – it’s your faith in God proven by your care of others. Your generosity. Did this man care for others, for Lazarus?

By the way, what was the torment the rich man in this great reversal was experiencing? He asked for a drop of water, because he was in agony in the flames. I suppose we could reduce hell, torment, as just an absence from God, but that’s not what the Scripture indicates. Hell, a real and literal place, is described by Jesus in Matthew 25 as eternal fire for accursed ones, prepared for the devil and his angels; in Mark 9 as a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched; in Jude 7 as the place of punishment in eternal fire; in Revelation 20 as a lake of fire where His adversaries are tormented day and night forever and ever. Yes, it includes separation from God, but also fiery torment.

Two destinations – one for those of faith, regardless of the status of life here, and one for those of unbelief, regardless of the status of life here. Outward earthly circumstances merit nothing – it is only faith in a gracious God who provides unmerited grace through His Son. Which leads to the two requests of the rich man. Remember, Lazarus never speaks in this story.

The first request of the man in torment, verse 24, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me…” His first request, as expected, is self-directed. Send Lazarus – he knows Lazarus by name and expects he can get Lazarus to do his bidding. Send Lazarus so he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame. Interesting reversal – Lazarus longed for crumbs, this man longs for a drop of water. Neither seemed to get either. Again, I suppose we can just dismiss the reality of hell as fearful myth, but the Scripture does not. His agony is so great he asks for a drop of water.

He’s crying out now, for mercy. He never showed any to Lazarus – that seems to be the point – and now he asks Abraham to show him mercy through Lazarus. Mercy is a relief from the consequences of sin – not getting what you deserve, rather, getting what you don’t, which is called grace. He had never shown it, now he begs for it. He had never demonstrated he was a man touched by grace, by showing grace and mercy. He actually got what he had coming to him. Those in heaven have received grace, getting what they don’t deserve. Those in hell get what they do.

Notice Abraham’s answer, “Child [notice, Abraham does not upbraid him, he uses a term of endearment] child, remember that during your life you received good things; and likewise Lazarus bad things.” No doubt the rich man understands immediately, he was part of the cause of the bad things. But now, great reversal, Lazarus is being comforted here, and you are in agony. I’ve already said it, but I want to be clear. Lazarus did not earn the comfort – no one ever does. He was clearly a man of faith. The rich man was clearly not.

Which communicates an important truth. Sometimes our adverse circumstances drive us to Christ, and our relative wealth can keep us from Christ. How many people don’t throw themselves at the mercy of God, because they don’t think they need it? They think they’re just fine without Him. This was undoubtedly this rich man’s problem, as we will see in his second request. How much easier it is for troubled people to recognize their need of grace. Perhaps, in our relative wealth in which we live for ourselves, many miss their need of Christ.

Abraham continues, besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm – the old translation has it, a great gulf fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us. There are two destinations, and they will never be changed. They cannot be swapped. Lazarus cannot cross the chasm to the place of torment, and the man could not cross the chasm to the place of comfort. It is appointed to every person to die once, and after that comes judgment. There are no second chances, there is no change of address.

Now, let me briefly address what may be going on here. What is this, being able to see each other – from the place of torment and the place of comfort? Some suggest, and I tend to lean this way, that before Jesus’ finished work, all spirits of the dead went to Hades – the place of torment and the place of comfort called Abaham’s bosom or paradise. But, when Jesus died, Ephesians 4 says He led captivity captive – that is, He descended to place of the dead, and took those in paradise directly to heaven. Meaning, Abraham’s bosom no longer exists in Hades, such that we can think of Hades simply as a place of suffering. Remember, to the thief on the cross, Jesus said, today you will be with Me…where? Paradise. But after His finished work, people go to the presence of God – to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, who is at the right hand of the Father. We see saints, dressed in white robes, all over heaven in the book of Revelation, awaiting the resurrection of their bodies. Now, others suggest as this is a parable, these are types pointing to heaven and hell. But we still have to deal with this ability to see the other place, the great chasm fixed. I think, I hold it loosely, the explanation makes sense.

And so, the rich man, in torment, finally gets his eyes off himself for a moment, and gets to his second request, verse 27, “Then I beg you, father [Abraham], that you send him [that is, Lazarus – still seeing him a subordinate servant] send him to my father’s house – stop right there. This is kind of interesting as it relates to the so-called NDE – near death experiences. That’s what many of them claim – God sent me back to declare to you the glories of heaven or the horrors of hell. Yet, Abraham says, no.

The rich man says, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers – presumably living the same selfish lifestyle as I did – that he may warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. I don’t want them to come here – send Lazarus with the message of truth.

But Abraham responds, “They have Moses [that is, the Law] and the Prophets.” Last week, we saw that refers to the entire OT. They have the Bible which proclaims truth. Let your brothers listen to them. They have what they need. By the way, one day when Jesus was talking with the Jews – probably the Pharisees since they were irritated with the man Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda, irritated, not because this man, lame for 38 years, had been healed – no, they were irritated because he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath. So, they found and accused Jesus of this violation of their tradition.

Jesus said in response to them, I am doing the work of My Father. Now they got really mad – John 5:18 says they were seeking all the more to kill Him because He broke the Sabbath, and because He called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Well, Jesus then answers them with lots of amazing arguments, eventually getting to verses 39 and 40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

There is enough evidence in the OT to prove the person and work of Jesus. When we finally get to Luke 24, Jesus will be walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and He will say to them, “‘Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets [the Law and the Prophets again], He explained to them the thing concerning Himself in all the Scripture.” The OT is enough to tell the story of Christ.

But we have more – we have the coming of Christ, the life of Christ, the death and resurrection of Christ, the gospel clearly articulated in the Bible. We have enough. People who want more are not going to get it. You have enough to believe – and for you to get to the judgment and say – if only someone had come from the dead to tell me – that excuse will not work. I needed a bit more evidence. Nope.

Look at verse 30, “But he [the rich man] said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’” Don’t miss that word, repent – that was the problem here. This man had never repented of his selfish, self-centered, sinful life. Repentance and faith in the promises of God – now in the full expression of the gospel – are needed in order to be saved and not enter eternal torment, but to enter eternal heaven and comfort. But don’t miss this too – the rich man is saying, the Bible is not enough. They need more.

Look at verse 31, “But he 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.” Two things to note as we close. First, the Bible declares the truth of God, of Jesus Christ and His gospel. What you need to believe is found in here. It’s all you need. If you want more, you likely won’t get it. This is enough.

Last thought – most agree there can be no doubt this is a veiled reference to Jesus and His resurrection. They will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. How true that was for most of the Pharisees, and how true it is for many today. What do you need to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? You need someone to come from the dead and tell you? One of my commentaries pointed out there is irony here – ok, you have such a one right here in this story – Abraham and Lazarus cry out to you. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, lived a perfect life, performed incredible miracles and gave authoritative divine teaching, was crucified for sinners, was buried for the three days just like He said, and was raised from the dead. Oh my friends, believe that, confess your sins, believe Him as Lord, call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved. You have all you need to believe.