The rich man had no excuse as Lazarus sat right outside his gate. He can’t claim that he didn’t know or didn’t see the poor. Sound familiar? “I don’t know any poor.” We live in the suburbs so we don’t have to see the poor. We applaud laws that keep the homeless from sleeping where we can see them like in the parks. We pay our taxes declaring that it is the government’s problem and I’ve done my part. We might even donate fifty bucks here and there to the City Mission believing that we are not like this rich man who did nothing.
In centuries past, people could honestly claim that they did not know the suffering of people in Third World countries. But with the technology of TV, satellite, and the Internet, the poor literally are sleeping at our gates.
Claims of ignorance by the rich man and for his brothers are rejected. God has given all of us the information that we need, we can’t even blame Him. God has given us the warnings that we need. Will the five brothers repent? While we are not sure, the flavor of the words seem to imply that there is a good chance they might not. But ultimately Jesus is still speaking to us, you and I, and asking if we will repent?