Rich Man And Lazarus
Reading: Luke chapter 16 verses 19-31
Quote
• J.D. Rockerfeller’s advice on how to get rich:
• (1). Go to work early.
• (2). Stay at work late.
• (3). Find oil!
This chapter starts off with The Parable of the Shrewd Manager.
• A parable about money;
• In which Jesus warns his followers to use money rather than be used by it.
• And the key verse in this chapter is verse 13:
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Verse 14 tells us that the Pharisees (the religious leaders):
“…….who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus”
• Jesus tells this well known parable (Rich man & Lazarus);
• As a warning to them to care about the poor as much as they cared about money!
Ill:
• One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi,
• The Rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window.
• “Look out there into the street. What do you see?” asked the rabbi.
• “I see men, women, and children,” answered the rich man.
• Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror.
• “Now what do you see?”
• “Now I can only see myself,” the rich man replied.
• Then the rabbi said,
“Look, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass.
But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver,
and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others,
and you see only yourself.”
That was the problem with the Pharisees:
• Who loved money and wealth and life’s luxuries.
• So as a warning to them to care about the poor as much as they cared about money!
• Jesus told them a parable that focuses on an anonymous rich man & a beggar named Lazarus
• And it warns us against covetousness by presenting several contrasts.
(A). A contrast in life (verses 19-21).
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
(1). The Rich Man.
• This man was very rich indeed, phenomenally wealthy.
• He needed to be able to daily afford to wear expensive clothes and host splendid feasts.
• Only royalty, nobility or extremely rich people could afford to wear purple.
• Purple was a very expensive dye.
• He wore purple outer garments and his under garments were fine linen,
• Which would be cool and expensive, i.e. He wore silk underwear!
Ill:
Other people might have fine clothes to wear on special days:
• And delicious food to eat on particular occasions,
• But this man wallowed in extravagance every day of his life.
• The one word that best describes his lifestyle is “flamboyant.”
• He was definitely among “the rich and famous” & other people admired & envied him.
And you will not be surprised to know that his house was also ost-en-ta-tious.
• This ‘gate’ that Jesus mentions was not the normal sort of gate,
• That you and I might have on the side entrance of our house.
• It was a huge ornamental portico such as palaces or temples would have.
• Material prosperity oozed out of every pore of this fellow,
• It was seen in his clothes, his food, his house, in everything!
• ‘He was rich’ (joke: why even the bags under his eyes probably contained £50 notes!)
Notice: that is all we are told.
• We are told nothing about his friends, his achievements,
• Or that he had any additional qualities – we are only told he was ‘wealthy’.
• Jesus’ summary of this mans life was he was rich,
• And that would be the obituary words on his gravestone.
• Jesus’ story implies that there is something very tragic;
• About a person who can be summed up like that.
(2). The Poor Man.
20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The second man could not have been more different.
• So Jesus paints a picture of abject poverty,
• One, which is as extreme as the rich man’s opulence.
We are told (vs 20) Lazarus was sick and possibly crippled:
• We are told he was “laid” at the rich man’s gate daily.
• But this is too gentle a translation.
• The Greek literally says that he was thrown at his gate.
• Or as we might say, he was sprawled there to face the sneering contempt of passers-by.
Notice: In contrast to the rich man:
• The beggar had no fine clothes.
• The only things that covered his back were untreated sores;
• Some kind of skin disease, probably, resulting from chronic malnutrition.
• For he was no-doubt permanently hungry
Ill:
• Many of us at times have said something like;
• “What’s for dinner? I’m starving!”
• But of course we are not and never have been!
• Starving is like this man:
• Where the mere sight of the garbage from the rich man’s banquet,
• Brought saliva foaming to his mouth.
Ill:
• In Bible days rich people did not use knives and forks.
• They used their fingers and then wiped their hands clean on pieces of bread.
• Which afterwards they threw on the floor.
• It was some of these scraps Lazarus was hoping to get hold of.
Verse 21 Jesus tells us:
• That the only real compassion Lazarus experienced,
• Was shown not by humans but by the mangy mongrel dogs of the streets.
• When the Pharisees heard this,
• They would have been even more repulsed by this character called Lazarus.
• They considered dogs to be useless animals.
• Dogs was the name they used for the Samaritans and Gentiles.
Verse 21:
• Notice the stress on that word “Even”.
• ‘Even the dogs…licked his sores’.
• This man got more compassion and help from a stay dog,
• Than from the wealthy Pharisees who were supposed to represent God on earth!
Notice: There was one thing, however, that this poor man had which the rich man did not.
• Something that is so obvious most people miss it.
• This poor man had a name - Lazarus.
• It is most unusual for Jesus to give the characters in his stories names.
• In fact, this is the only occasion where someone in a parable is named.
Jesus gives this poor man a name because:
• In the context of his story the name is significant.
• It is there for a reason, you only need a name, if, you are known to somebody.
• A name is an instrument of personal relationship.
• To have a name is to be a person, to be valuable, to be significant, to matter to somebody.
Remember:
• The rich man had no name.
• This does not mean that there was a blank on his birth certificate.
• Indeed, in the daily newspapers of his day,
• I expect that he was ‘well known’.
• The point is, however, that as far as Jesus’ story is concerned,
• His name is irrelevant, for he was just rich and nothing else.
• He spent his money on material luxuries
• Other people didn’t feature on his agenda.
• And as a result he didn’t feature on theirs.
• He didn’t need a name; because he was just a faceless millionaire. That was his tragedy!
The poor man, however, was not anonymous.
• Somebody knew him personally,
• And Jesus gives us the name Lazarus to tell us who that somebody was.
• In the Hebrew, Lazarus is Eleazar, and it means ‘he whom God helps.’
• It was God, then, who knew and cared for this man.
Worth noting that a pauper like this man:
• Might have plotted revenge or harbored bitterness.
• He might have blamed his misfortune on God, and cursed him for his misery.
• But by giving him the name Lazarus,
• Jesus is indicating that this poor man did none of these things.
• By his patience and faith
• He proved himself to be the man who looks to God alone for his vindication.
• He was one whom God helps,
• A man in whom trials have bred not resentment, or self-pity, but faith.
Here then are two totally unequal men:
• The one with wealth but no identity,
• And the other utterly poor, yet known personally to God.
(B). A contrast in death (verse 22).
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.
THIS PARABLE TEACHES 4 KEY POINTS:
(1). Real Destinations:
A warning to us that heaven and hell exist.
• Otherwise why mention them and why teach about them?
• Remember Jesus HIMSELF spoke more about hell than anyone else!
• So no-one can say; “That’s only what Paul made up or what Peter thought”.
• Because Jesus himself taught about it again and again and again and again etc.
Note:
• You realize that if there is no hell then there is no heaven,
• You cannot have one, without the other, they rise and fall together!
(2). Real awareness.
This parable clearly teaches us:
• That a persons personality survive death in a conscious state.
• This refutes the two false doctrines that various cults & sects teach:
(A). This narrative refutes the doctrines of “soul sleep”
• ‘Soul sleep’ teaches that when you die you are completely unconscious,
• Until the final judgement at the end of all time.
• This parable refutes that idea, both the rich man & Lazarus were conscious after death,
• One enjoying comfort and the other suffering torment.
Ill:
• Verse 23: The rich man sees.
• Verse 24: The rich man feels.
• Verse 24: The rich man talks with Abraham
• Verse 24: The rich man tastes.
• Verse 24: The rich man even remembers.
• The story makes it very clear that both the rich man & Lazarus were conscious after death,
• One enjoying comfort and the other suffering torment.
(B). It also refutes the false teaching of annihilation.
• That is when unbelievers die they cease to exist.
• That idea might appeal to our emotions but it is not biblical!
Quote: C.S. Lewis:
He was told about a gravestone inscription that read:
“Here lies an atheist all dressed up and no place to go.”
Lewis quietly replied, “I bet he wishes that were so!”
The Bible is very clear:
• Death is not the end.
• It is merely the entrance into another sphere.
• I do not find it easy to believe or enjoyable to preach,
• But the Bible teaches that there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to shun.
(3). Real discrimination.
God the maker of heaven and earth, the perfect one;
• Will discriminate, will be biased, will separate the saved from the lost.
• In this story we see two people in two very different places.
e.g.
• The one (Lazarus) is in a state of bliss, paradise or heaven,
• They are in company of all true believers from every age
• The other a rich man is in a state of isolated anguish,
• Tormented in Hades or hell.
Ill:
• A politician awoke after an operation and found the curtains in his hospital room drawn.
• “Why are the curtains closed?” he asked the nurse. “Is it night time already?”
• The nurse replied:
“No, but there’s a fire across the street,
and we didn’t want you to wake and think the operation was unsuccessful.”
Quote: Wm E. Evans: ‘The Great Doctrines of the Bible’:
“Is the fire spoken of literal fire? It is an accepted law of language that a figure of speech is less intense than the reality.
If “fire” is merely a figurative expression, it must stand for some great reality,
and if the reality is more intense than the figure, what an awful thing the punishment symbolized by fire must be”.
(4). Real consequences.
• The Bible clearly teaches that the decisions we make in this life;
• Will affect our destiny in the next life.
Notice:
• Verse 26: Neither the rich man nor Lazarus could not return to earth.
• They could not warn others or put any mistakes they had made right.
• That rules out the false ideas of both reincarnation,
• And spiritualism (contacting the dead).
Notice:
• Verse 26: also rules out the false idea of purgatory.
• A place where we can atone for our sins, and then win a second chance.
• Jesus doesn’t seem to give any such hope here.
• This great chasm of which Abraham speaks is the end of chances.
• We are on probation here and now;
• And we are sealing our eternal destinies here and now!
• The only way to affect your eternal destination in the next life:
• Is to make the right decisions in this life now!
Ill:
Holiday you plan ahead (Kathy passport photo).
Note: The A contrast in Death (verse 22).
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 spite of his wealth the rich man died and “was buried,”
• No doubt with an expensive funeral.
• But when Lazarus died, no mention of a burial.
• Being a beggar his body may well have ended up on the cities rubbish heap.
• Lazarus certainly did not have the traditional Jewish funeral,
• With its paid mourners, costly spices, and elaborate tomb that the rich man had.
• But he had something far greater; something that money could not buy.
• He was ‘Carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom’ - wow! That’s what I call a funeral!
Quote Poet John Donne who said,
“Death is the great leveller.”
“People sometimes remark that death is the great equalizer”.
True that no matter how great or wealthy you may have been in this life:
• No matter how high you may have risen compared to your contempories,
• There’s no evading that final horizontal repose,
• All people with no exceptions; from the greatest king or queen in the land,
• To the lowest pauper, all are reduced to the same common level
• It is true, that death recognizes no class, race or any other distinctions;
• In fact it mocks them by its grim indiscrimination.
Yet notice:
• This story does NOT speak of death as equalizing people’s fortunes.
• Rather it portrays a great reversal of fortune.
• Lazarus who to most people was no-more than a bag of rags who got in their way
• Suddenly finds himself in the place of privilege.
• The rich man who had everything he ever wanted,
• Suddenly finds himself in a position of weakness and vulnerability.
(c). A contrast in eternity (vv. 23-31).
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So 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.’
25“But 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. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31“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.’”
(a). A place of torment:
The rich man ended up in a place of torment;
• When we speak of hell,
• We are not talking about a state of mind.
• I have had people say to me;
• “Oh I believe in hell. This is it – hell on earth”.
• Life on earth is not hell, however difficult it may be.
• You may have lived through an awful lot of suffering. But that is not hell.
• Jesus taught hell is a specific place;
• And it is a place of torment.
Hades is a temporary lace:
• ‘Hell’ or a much better translation is the word ‘Hades’ is a place of separation from God,
• A place that is temporal. Where people go as they await the final judgment.
• After people have been judged,
• They then go to the permanent place of punishment, ‘the lake of fire’.
Quote Revelation chapter 21 verse 13:
13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Those like this rich man who are in Hades:
• Are able to view a place called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom,”
• But they cannot cross over to that other side, they are in isolation.
(b). A place called Paradise:
• From his dreadful imprisonment the rich man can see Abraham in Paradise (heaven),
• And he calls out to him for help.
PAUSE AND EMPHASISE SOMETHING:
• The two men did not go to their two destinies because of money.
• Heaven does not discrimination towards the poor.
• The very presence of Abraham in Paradise proves that.
• He was fabulously wealthy by the end of his life; and died a very powerful, rich man.
Abraham in heaven rules out any kind of naïve, Robin Hood idea:
• That all rich people are bad,
• And all the poor are good.
Nowhere in this story does Jesus suggest:
• That the rich man got his money by improper means.
• There is no hint that he exploited or defrauded people.
• He may have got his wealth from his parents.
• He might even have earned his wealth in the market-place.
• The reason the rich man ended up in Hades;
• Is not because of his money but because of some other reason.
The parable is set in the context of wealth and stewardship (how we use our money):
• The rich man had every opportunity to use his money wisely.
• Every time he went in and out of his house he would have seen a man in need.
• He then would have been using his wealth as a wise steward,
• For the benefit of others rather than for his own self-indulgence.
• His tragedy was that he was just wealthy.
• There was nothing else to write in his obituary.
This rich man had committed no murder, no adultery, no theft and no fraud:
• If you had accused him in the street he would have shrugged his shoulders indignantly
• And said, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong,’
The rich mans problem:
• Was not for the bad things that he had done,
• But for the good things he had left undone!
• It was true that he had done nothing wrong,
• But he had also done nothing right! He had misused what God had given him.
Verse 25:
• Abraham says, “You had your good things,
• But the beggar at your gate never benefited from them”.
• You had the opportunity to use your wealth to help him and you refused.
• Money mattered more to you more than people.
• It was the rich mans sins of omission, (the things he failed to do).
• Which are just as damning as sins of commission.
(c). A request too late (Verse 23-27):
3In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So 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.’
25“But 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. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
THE RICH MAN MAKES TWO REQUESTS:
• First one is found in verse 24.
• Second one is found in verse 27.
First Request (Verse 24):
4So 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.’
(1).
• First, he calls for himself; that Abraham would have mercy on him,
• And allow Lazarus to bring him some comfort
• Even a drop of cool water would be welcomed.
• What a change from his sumptuous feasts when slaves ran to do his bidding!
Notice: The irony of the rich man’s words in hell: ‘Send Lazarus ...’
• This self-sufficient man had never before needed anybody,
• Least of all, that beggar who sat daily at his gate.
• Now suddenly he needs someone;
• And of all people, he needs the useless pile of rags called Lazarus.
• Amazingly this rich man is not ashamed to ask a favour from;
• The very person who never received a favour from him.
ABRAHAMS FIRST REPLY (VERSE 26):
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
• Sadly there is nobody to satisfy his need.
• His independence of others on earth has resulted in a fixed isolation in eternity.
• A great void had been fixed by the decree of God.
• All that was left, was the tormenting knowledge of the opportunity he had forfeited.
Notice:
• That Abraham replies to the rich man as ‘son’.
• There’s something very tender about that, but also significant.
• This man was a son of Abraham; a Jew,
• In other words; a member of God’s chosen people, at least by birth.
• He was a son of Abraham, and yet in hell.
• This was unthinkable to the Pharisees and the Jews listening to Jesus.
Ill:
• It may even be unthinkable for some of us today.
• How can God send me to hell?
• My parents are Christians,
• I’m a church-goer; I’ve been christened or confirmed etc, etc
We need to heed the warning of Jesus.
• The fire and the imagery torture may be symbols,
• But they symbolize something real, dreadful and final.
• The word torment is used four times in this account (vs 23, 24, 25, 28),
• And it speaks of definite pain.
It is a Double tragedy of the rich man:
First:
• He is called “Son”.
• He had family privileges and he blew them! – Ask is that you?
Secondly he knew what was required but he ignored it:
• The rich man knew that salvation depended on repentance
• In verse 30 he uses that very word!
• He had heard the message of Moses and the prophets.
• Yet he chose to carry on living a selfish, sinful lifestyle.
• Don’t make the same mistake!!!
The rich mans second request verse 27-28:
27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
• His second request is for his brothers,
• He is afraid that they too will ignore the scripture and end up in hell.
• In fact verse 28 is the first time in the story we hear of the rich man
• Showing concern about someone other than himself.
Question: Who are the brothers?
Answer: I would suggest you and me!
• The five brothers in this story represent not just the Pharisees in his audience,
• Or indeed anybody else listening to the story.
• The destiny of Lazarus and the rich man is now determined,
• But not that of the five brothers, and not ours. We are still here, and have opportunity.
• The rich man would like to send us a ghostly emissary;
• To warn us of the reality of the life to come.
Ill:
• Like Dickens in A Christmas Carol,
• He is sure that a suitable apparition will work a conversion on our Scrooge-like hearts.
Verse 28
• Might suggest that Lazarus had testified to the rich man and probably to his brothers,
• But none of them had taken his witness seriously.
• But now, Lazarus’ testimony is very important!
• The brothers knew that Lazarus had died,
• So if the beggar appeared to them,
• They would be frightened and would listen to his witness.
• Sadly people in Hades have a concern for the lost,
• But they cannot do anything about it.
Notice heavens verdict on this idea:
29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31“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.’”
Abraham explained to him:
• That only one thing could prevent the five men from eventually joining their brother:
• They needed to hear the Word of God and respond to it by it.
• Moses and the prophets tell sinners how to repent and be saved,
• And the Jews heard them read every Sabbath in the synagogue.
• Though miracles can attest to the authority of the preacher,
• They cannot produce either conviction or conversion in the hearts of the lost.
Ill:
• Another man named Lazarus did come back from the dead,
• And some of the people wanted to kill him! (See John 11:43-57; 12:10.)
And finally:
• Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus teaches some very sobering lessons:
• The dangers of using wealth selfishly,
• The seriousness of sins of omission,
• The reality of heaven and hell.
Jesus’ made it very clear that there’s only one thing:
• He says that has the power to actually to create faith and repentance in a person’s life,
• And that is the Bible, the word of God.
• If people won’t listen to ‘Moses and the Prophets’,
• Nothing else will work,
• Not even somebody rising from the dead!
• And he should know, of course, because he did!
In the rich man’s lifetime, God had spoken to him in many ways.
• God had permitted him to have riches, God had blessed him with wealth,
• Yet he did not repent (Rom. 2:4-5).
• Lazarus had witnessed to the rich man,
• And so had the Old Testament Scriptures that were familiar to the Jews,
• The fact that Lazarus died first was a strong witness to the rich man,
• A reminder that one day he would also die,
• But even with death at his very doorstep,
• His heart remained hard and cold.
Dr. Luke does not tell us how the covetous Pharisees responded to this parable.
• They certainly knew Moses and the prophets,
• And this meant even greater responsibility and greater condemnation.
• Lazarus had responded to the word of God.
• But the rich man was different, he had never taken it seriously.
Question: How about you?
