Scripture: Luke 16:14-31 along with Psalms 146 and Jeremiah 32:1-15
Title: Who Is At Your Gate?
This message is about reaching out to those who lie outside of our gate - be they Lazarus or the Rich Man. As Jesus reached out so too does the Body of Christ. May it be so today!
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sins of the world!
You can learn a lot by eavesdropping. Individually we all do it to a certain degree. We can justify it by calling it "Social Listening". Sometimes it just happens by accident. We are on a bus, sitting in a coffee shop, eating in a restaurant, walking down the hallway, standing in line and you begin to pick up bits and pieces of someone's conversation. At times we can't help but overhear a conversation. We may not want to hear what is going on but the conversation is either so loud or so heated that we can't help by hearing what is being said.
Other times it happens by design. We deliberately try to listen in on what someone else is saying. How many of us at one time or the other tried to put a glass cup against a door to try to hear what was going on in the other room? Or we tried to be as quiet as possible so we could pick up every sound going on in the next room or office? In years past some people had to share a common telephone line called a party line. It enabled a person to be able to pick up the phone and listen in on the other person's conversation. Party lines provided a hot bed for gossip and entertainment.
Our nation prides itself in its ability to eavesdrop. We do it in both times of peace and war. Our military spends billions of dollars on what it calls "electronic intelligence". In fact, there is a whole center devoted to eavesdropping located right outside of Salt Lake City, Utah called the Utah Data Center. It cost over 2 billion dollars to build, spans over 1 million square feet and uses 65 Megawatts of power ( enough power as 115,000 plus homes). Big brother has big ears and is constantly eavesdropping on all kinds of communications and conversations.
Our passage opens up this morning with the Pharisees doing some eavesdropping of their own. They have been listening in on Jesus' conversation with his disciples concerning money and stewardship. They have been listening but they have not be agreeing. In fact, verse 14 tells us that they did more than just disagree, they made fun of Jesus and his theological views concerning money, resources and stewardship.
They contended that one can equally love money and God at the same time. It was their opinion that one's abundance or even lack of abundance may in fact be in direct correlation to one's spirituality. They would say if a person was truly obeying God and His Laws then they would be naturally be enjoying a life of prosperity. They believed that Godliness and riches went hand in hand. They also believed that sinfulness and poverty also went hand in hand. The lack of resources or the experiencing of financial difficulties more often than not had to do with a person's right standing with the LORD. Poor people, poverty stricken people were simply people who were under the curse of God for their unrighteousness.
Jesus confronts this misguided theology by sharing the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus It is a much traveled parable. Similar forms of it have been found in many different cultures. Some place its origin in Egypt1 while others say it originated with one of the ancient rabbis. We don't know where Jesus heard the basic parts of this parable but we do know that Jesus puts his own twist on the Parable. Possibly he could have heard it as a child during his family's time in Egypt. Then again he could have heard it from one of the local rabbis around Nazareth where he grew up. Wherever Jesus heard it the truth remains that the version that we find here in Luke 16 has the unique fingerprints of Jesus. He uses it to teach us some very important truths.
1. The truth that there is an existence beyond the mere physical
We are to understand that the Parable is more than just a teaching lesson on money and stewardship. Jesus reminds us in this Parable that our lives are going someplace. Jesus teaches us that there is an existence beyond that which we are already experiencing in the here and now. There is something more.
At some point just like the Rich Man and Lazarus we too will have to lay down our own physical bodies. We will all experience a physical death. Our physical bodies will no longer be able to function. Our hearts will no longer be able to pump blood, our lungs will no longer be able to receive oxygen and the billions of neurons in our brains will fizzle out. We will die but we will not cease to exist. God's Word makes it crystal clear that we are more than mere bones, tendons and flesh. Along with our physical body we all have been given a spiritual body. Listen to what God says:
"then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." (Genesis 2:7)
“But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.” (Job 32:8)
“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
Did you hear that? Yes, all of us will physically die. The dust, the physical will return to the earth. But that is not the end. There is waiting for us an everlasting experience. Where and how we will experience that existence determines if by faith we have accepted the gift of redemption that Jesus made possible for all us through His death and resurrection. If we have been born from above then our everlasting existence will be experienced in Heaven. However, and this is important, if we do not confess, repent and receive God's salvation then we will condemn ourselves to an everlasting death in the Lake of Fire. The choice is ours just as we see in this parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
II. A Second Truth is that this Life can be Challenging and Seem Unfair
The details of our parable are rich. They show us that life here on our earth can be vastly different. People living just feet apart can live in completely different worlds. For some life can be quite challenging and seem unfair. For others life can seem to be quite easy and carefree. It was that way with this Rich Man and Lazarus.
Let's take a trip into the life of our Rich Man. Let's go into his house and have a look around:
As we walk into his home we are astonished at all inlaid marble paneling, door jambs and columns. We are overwhelmed at all the expensive paintings and frescoes that hang on the walls. Looking down we see that the floor is covered with a grand mosaic represented by a likeness of the Rich Man and His Family. Sitting all around the house are multiple pieces of fine furniture made from the finest woods of the Empire - maple, ebony, cypress, cedar, oak and Syrian terebinth. No expense has been spared by the Rich Man in providing himself the finest home possible.
Off to the left of the atrium we see the lavish courtyard where the Rich Man entertained his friends and associates. We take in all the beauty of the flowers and shrubs. We pause to sit down on one of the marble benches and look at all the marvelous sculptures positioned around the walls. We hear the bubbling of the water and we look over to our right where we see a fish pond loaded with brightly colored fish. It is all just breathtaking. It's more than we could ever imagine.
Curiosity gets the best of us and we find ourselves rummaging through some of the cabinets and closets. It doesn't take long for us to realize that this man has the finest of dishware. Every utensil is either made of pure silver or has been coated in bronze. His wine rack is filled with the most exquisite wines available. His closets are lined with purple garments imported from Tyre. We open a drawer to discover that even this man's undergarments are expensive. They are made from the fine Egyptian linen. My gracious - This man's total life is one of total luxury and extravagance. He lives like royalty. Nothing about this man or his lifestyle hints of simplicity or need. Everything is simply amazing. What a life! What an existence!
Now, let's go just outside of the Rich Man's gate where we can find the beggar named Lazarus. Looking around we quickly notice that his living condition pale in comparison to the Rich Man. Lazarus is a street person. He has no home, no roof over his head and he doesn't even have adequate clothing. He is all but naked slumped there next to the gate. We catch a rather unpleasant order and then notice that Lazarus is covered with these putrefied running sores. His breath is foul and his breathing is labored. His chest begins to heave and we watch as some of his muscles begin to contract. We pause and listen. That sound. That sound, we recognize that sound. It's the death rattle. Lazarus desperately needs some emergency care and compassion. Sadly, for Lazarus there is neither care nor compassion. At least not from humans.
If he could he would get up and get some of the food scraps that will be thrown away but he is just too weak. A half eaten biscuit would be more than enough. But he will just have to go hungry again. He will just have to lay there on the hard brick pavement thinking about all the food, wine and entertainment that is shared on just a few feet away. Surely someone could throw a piece of bread his direction or bring him a cup of water.
About that time a couple of dogs walk up. Lazarus reaches out to pet them. They are his only true friends. When he was better he always made sure that he would share some of the scraps that he had picked out of the Rich Man's trash. Now, he could only barely brush their fur. They nuzzle Lazarus. They reach out and lovingly begin to lick his sores. It's their way of showing Lazarus love and doing all they can to provide a healing touch. Sadly, it will not be enough. Lazarus will die and no one except God will care. His body will be thrown in the city's dump. It's where they put all the street people.
The Parable Jesus shares is rather drastic. The lives of the two men are drastic. Jesus paints for us these two very different pictures of how life on our earth can be experienced. Any of us this morning can take a quick drive through any major city and find a similar situation. We could find street people roaming and scouring around streets that are mere blocks away from high rise buildings and expensive condos.
Is this all Jesus wants us to see? Is he just giving us a picture into everyday human life? No, Jesus wants us to bring us to the crux of his message. Jesus wants us to understand that one day we all will face a time of judgment on how we have lived our lives. He wants us to understand that what we do in this life matters. How we treat others matters. How we use the resources that God gives us matters. And most importantly how we live out our faith matters.
III. This Parable reminds us that there is coming a day of judgment
What we do in this life, what we say, how we live and what we allow Christ to do in our hearts, minds and souls determines what is going to happen to us after we die.
While the Parable was not given solely to deal with the subjects of Heaven and Hell it nonetheless causes us to realize that neither man ends up where he is by accident.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that one day not only will we have to die but after our death we will have to face a time of judgment.
That judgment will not come at the hands of a human judge or even an angelical judge. Our judge will be none other than the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. We will stand before the one who created us and who made it possible for us to be redeemed, renewed and restored.
It is here that Jesus comes to the crux of this Parable. He had already been dealing with the subject of money and stewardship. Now he brings the teaching to the nitty-gritty. The Rich Man is not condemned for his riches. That is to say, Jesus is not condemning the rich for being rich while suggesting that the poor for the fact they are poor are therefore righteous and just. That is not the message of this Parable. Jesus doesn't even question how the man obtained his riches. That fact is not given nor is it given how Lazarus ended up a street person. Those facts simply are not essential.
The rich man is condemned because he was blind to a person at need dying right outside his gate. He was condemned for his casual indifference to Lazarus who was suffering right before his eyes. He was condemned because in his heart he loved his own riches more than he did God and his fellow man. He was condemned because he lived a life of selfishness pride and arrogance. He was condemned because he cared only about himself and his own needs. He was condemned because he made himself his own god.
The message was clear to the Pharisees. They believed that they were entitled. they believed that their own righteousness gave them special privileges. They believed that their own righteousness had caused God to overly bless them with riches and resources. Their wealth was a clear and direct divine sign that they were right, just and holy. Poverty was the result of God cursing a person, a family or a community.
Up to verse the end of verse 22 they would have enjoyed listening to this Parable. The Rich Man was a man to be admired. He must have been one of their kind. They could see themselves in his house, wearing those garments of purple and hosting great parties. They could see themselves in the outer court yard enjoying the beautiful flowers and listening to the bubbling of the water in the fish pond. They could see themselves toasting one another with a silver chalice filled with exquisite wine. They could see themselves feeling the coolness of the marble inlays and walking on a floor designed in their image.
They could even see themselves walking by Lazarus each day and wondering what great sin he had committed to cause God to inflict such punishment upon him. They may have even for a quick moment thought to give him some silver or had a servant bring him some bread. But then they would have remembered that he was probably a street person because of some horrible sin. He was probably homeless because he had been cursed by God. They could then have walked past him knowing that the God they served was giving each their due - the righteous the blessings, the sinner the curses.
But then they hear as Jesus turns the tables in his parable. The fate of the rich man is unthinkable. In no version that they had ever heard was the rich man in Hades while the poor beggar was found in the arms of Abraham, the father of the faithful. In their theology that was not the way the story was suppose to end. Jesus was attempting to turn their theology upside down.
Suddenly, Jesus paints this picture of the Rich Man engulfed in the lake of fire. His fine clothes are gone. His wine is all gone. His house with all its luxuries is gone. All he desires now is a drop of water from Lazarus' fingertips. Arrogantly, he asks Lazarus to come and give him some relief. He asks him to leave the comfort of Abraham and travel to the lake of fire to do his bidding. He asks Lazarus to wait upon him like some servant. Somehow, the rich man still thinks that he is in control. He still thinks that he can command others to do his bidding. Even in Hades his sins of conceit and arrogance remain. Even as the fire torments his soul he holds on to his vision of self-grander and importance.
The picture Jesus paints of Lazarus is far different. He has been ushered into the presence of Abraham by God's Holy Angels. Lazarus is resting, rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of His Heavenly Father. His resurrected body has no running sores, his lungs no longer gasp for air and all around him is a banquet of heavenly riches. Lazarus who did not complain about his plight in the earthly world now does not gloat about his riches in heaven. He simply continues to live in faith accepting whatever comes from God's hand.
So, exactly what does Jesus really want us to understand from this parable? What is it he wants us to take away this morning?
I believe these verses tells us that if we have the resources to help and choose not to we will be judged and judged quite harshly. Not just the rich but the poor as well. The secret is to understand that what each of us has is not ours. Everything is on loan. We are mere stewards but we are stewards under divine authority. We are under God's authority to reach out and help the poor, the disenfranchised and the needy. We are also commanded by God to reach out and help those who materialistically have plenty but may have emotional, physical and spiritual needs. The truth is no one should be out of the reach of our compassion, mercy and grace.
The Rich man could have attempted to defend himself of not helping Lazarus with the argument that to have done so would have been going against God's will. After all, if poverty and disease are a result of sin then one should not interfere with God's judgment. In fact, doing so would have been the greater sin. But sitting there in Hades he knew he had lived on the wrong theology. He knew that he had wrongly interpreted God's Word. God doesn't care about how much or how little we have. God cares about the core of our being. God cares about our heart. God cares that we love him with all our heart, mind and soul and that we love others as we love ourselves.
In verses 27ff we see that the Rich Man reaches out to Abraham to do something spectacular to warn his brothers. He doesn't want them to experience the same fate. Father Abraham replies that all has been done that is necessary. They have the words of Moses. They have the law and the prophets. They have all that is necessary to lead them to a life of faith and righteousness. It is up to them to spend enough time in the Word to understand it. It is up to them to spend enough time in prayer obeying and listening to the Spirit of God.
We see then that Jesus was warning the Pharisees the danger of their misguided theology. He was warning them that they were interpreting God's Word incorrectly (see Isaiah 58:6-7 and Deut. 15:7-11). Jesus did not want them to think that just because they had been given some earthly goods that automatically their souls were true and righteous. He did not want them to waste their lives and experience everlasting death in the Lake of Fire. Jesus is reaching with a heart of agape love to these men. Jesus was not interesting in condemning the Pharisees. He was not telling them that they no longer had an opportunity to repent. That is not the way of Jesus. Jesus was interesting in reaching them. He was interesting in touching their hearts before it was too late. Jesus came to save everyone - Rich Man, Poor Man, Pharisee, scribe and disciple.
You see, Jesus knew that if people kept or even adopted the type of wrong theology these Pharisees possessed it could lead to even more wrong thinking, theology and practice. Jesus knew that they could do even greater damage in interpreting God's Word.
Jesus knew that others could later believe that just because some people are born into poverty or in the wrong country it gives others the right to dismiss them or to put out an unwelcome sign. Jesus knew that it was possible for good people to think it was more right to put up walls instead of building bridges. Jesus is always about bridges, always about reaching out and welcoming the stranger, the disenfranchised and the broken hearted. We need to remember that especially in our world today.
It's too easy to think that we can wall ourselves off from others. That we can isolate ourselves and insulate ourselves to their needs. It's too easy to put a false face on those who need help or acceptance. It's too easy to label them as enemies, potential enemies or people cursed by God. It's too easy to think we can enjoy our riches while they are scrambling for a place to live, a place to raise their families or a place to discover the love of Jesus. They are Lazarus at the gate. The question is are we as the Body of Christ going to welcome them or avoid them? Are we going to walk by them as they wither away in pain and suffering or we going to welcome them into our lives, our country and our communities?
Jesus knew that wrong thinking could lead good people to forget that from the time of one's conception to the time of one's death all people are God's beautiful creation and not mere problems to be erased at will. Jesus knew that wrong thinking could lead to a society that forgets the beauty of its children, teens, young adults and senior adults. Jesus knew that wrong think lead to a society to view people as meaningless numbers and not God's precious creation.
Jesus used this parable to shake up the minds of the Pharisees. May this morning this Parable do the same for us. May it cause us to take some time and meditate on our own stewardship May it cause us to seriously examine how we handle the resources that God has loaned out to us. May it cause us to confess and repent if necessary.
May it cause us to sit down and seriously examine how we view people of other cultures, creeds and circumstances. May it cause us to think differently of that one beyond our gates that is need of assistance be that need medical, emotional, financial, social or spiritual. May it cause us to truly get into His Word so that we find ourselves rightly dividing the Word of God rather than trying to live by simply skimming over it.
The story is told that when Albert Schweitzer read this parable he was at first troubled and then transformed by its message. He believed that Africa was the beggar sitting at the gate of the Rich Man Europe. This Parable compelled him to leave his cozy life in Europe where he had five earned Ph.D degrees to go trampling all around Lambarene and take care of the poor and the destitute. Jesus used this parable to transform his life from one of self-service to self-sacrifice.
Years later, a young girl named Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu through faith came to see that the beggar outside of her gate was the poor people of India. Today we know her by another name - Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa could have lived a wonderful life anywhere she wanted too but she did her best to answer the call the LORD placed on her life. He called her to go outside the gate and take care of the poor and dying people of India.
This morning as we close let's ask ourselves a question - Who is the person or persons who are outside of our gate? Who is the person who needs some care, some love, some attention, some acceptance and perhaps even some assistance? Who are the people who live outside our gate as a local body of Christ?
Let us not leave today unchanged. Let us not leave today and still be able to callously walk by our gates focused solely on our wants and needs. Let us not leave today thinking that we are right for building walls, for insulating ourselves or for thinking that we can do nothing. Let us leave today ready to tear down walls, build bridges, open our hearts, our arms and our resources to help those who lie just beyond our gates. Let us leave today as the true Body of Christ reaching out to both the Rich Man and Lazarus.
As we come to the Table this morning we do so because one day Jesus saw us outside the gate. Jesus went to the Cross so that we could come inside the gate. Jesus went to the Cross for our redemption, renewal and restoration as His People. Jesus saw us outside the gate dying in our sins and He invited us to come in and receive His love, mercy and grace.
This morning, He invites us yet again. He invites us to share Communion. And He challenges us to go and find those outside our gates and do all we can to welcome them. To help them experience the joy of salvation. To help them find everlasting peace. All we have to do is to look around us. They are everywhere.
Come to the Table.
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
1 According to Jeremias - This is the Egyptian folk-tale of the journey of Si-Osiris, the son of Setme Chamois to the under-world, which concludes with the words: ‘He who has been good on earth, will be blessed in the kingdom of the dead, and he who has been evil on earth, will suffer in the kingdom of the dead.’ Alexandrian Jews brought this story to Palestine, where it became very popular as the story of the poor scholar and the rich publican Bar Ma’Jan. …[In a dream] the fate of these two men in the next world was seen: ‘A few days [after both men were buried the poor scholar was seen] in gardens of paradisal beauty, watered by flowing streams. Bar Ma’jan the publican was seen standing on the bank of a stream and trying to reach the water, but unable to do so. See http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/biblical_studies/parables/ma-lk16_19-31.htm
