Heaven or Hell
Luke 16: 19 - 31
Intro: On Sunday, April 5, 1987 at 10:40AM a bridge on the New York State Thruway collapsed even though people in 4 cars and a driver of a semi-truck traveling at 55 to 65 mph all believed that the bridge was safe. --- Believing it was safe did not MAKE IT safe. The bridge collapsed in spite of what people believed. What people believe about heaven or hell does not make it so!
1 Jethro was on hospice care. Laying in bed, he called his wife weeping wife, Lilly, to his beside. “Lilly,” he said, “I want you to go to the fireplace and pull out the fourth brick from the top on the right. Reach in there and pull out the tin box full of money and take it to the attic. I’ll grab it on my way to heaven. After the funeral, Lilly remembered the tin box and went to the attic. There it was just as she had placed it by the window. She thought to herself, “I should have put that box in the basement because I knew Jethro had his direction confused when he said he was going to heaven.”
A VSS 19 – 21 introduce the main Characters of the parable. Of the 44 parables of Jesus, this is the only one where a character is named.
B. Lazarus (not the brother of Mary and Martha) The name comes from the Hebrew Eleazar which means GOD HELPS. Laid before the rich man’s gate longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. (Custom was to wipe grease from one’s hands with bread and they throw it under the table for the dogs to eat.)
C Dressed in purple and fine linen = upper class. He is often referred to as DIVES, the Latin for rich man. FEASTED = EUPHRAINO – “TO MAKE MERRY” / SUMPTOUSLY = LAMPROS “SPLENDID” NIV translates as “lived in luxury every day.”
II VS. 20 – Lazarus laid before the rich man’s gate.
A Did the rich man “see” Lazarus laying at his gate (built to keep people out).
B I don’t think the rich man is a particularly evil person. So, why does he find himself in hell according to VS. 23?
C VS. 24 tells us that he recognized Lazarus beside Abraham and even knew his name.
III Did the rich man go to hell because he was rich? Did Lazarus go to heaven because he was poor? I don’t think either one is the case.
A The sin of the rich man is not what he had done to Lazarus ; but, what he had NOT done. He saw; but, he did nothing.
B The rich man had no feelings, no compassion, no heart for the outcast of society. He was not only indifferent, he was calloused and uncaring, pretending to not see or hear.
C Often, like the rich man, we believe we have the right to do with our wealth whatever we please. We often ignore the poor laying albeit figuratively, at our door. We are often so focused on our petty problems that we ignore the greater need around us.
Concl: In Verses 27 – 31 we read the message of the parable. The rich man pleads with Abraham to send a messenger to his brothers so that they do not suffer his same fate. Abraham says: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
God does not send anyone to hell. Their sins take them there. Those who intentionally or unintentionally ignore or reject the gospel of Christ Jesus will end in hell not according to me; but according to the word of God (the Bible).
