THE GREAT REVERSAL: Success and prosperity in this life is not an indicator of our eternal situation.
- Luke 16:19-31.
- Matthew 19:23-26; Luke 13:30.
- Often times with this story the focus is set on the reality of hell and the punishment that is there. That is certainly in this story and I will discuss that later, but I don’t think that's the main point.
- The main point, I believe, is the Great Reversal.
- Lazarus has a horrible life on earth. The rich man has a life of ease and pleasure. Our presumptions would be that those states would continue in the life to come. We just generally presume that things are going to continue the way they are going right now. Call it the law of inertia.
- Consider Matthew 19:23-26. The disciples are shocked to learn that it is difficult for a rich man to get into heaven. Why are they shocked? Because, like most people in their day, they presumed that wealth was in some way a sign of God’s blessing and approval. The corollary truth is that poverty and struggle was a sign of God’s rebuke. So it naturally follows that a person’s earthly life was a good indicator of their eternal situation. But Jesus shocks the disciples by saying that is not true.
- Instead, we see a Great Reversal here in Luke 16. The rich man is in Hades; Lazarus is in Paradise. (These are temporary precursors to the permanent thing. They are awaiting the death and resurrection of Christ to make things permanent.) This is a Great Reversal to the way things were in their earthly lives.
- This is a crucial spiritual truth to understand because we obviously don’t want any surprises on Judgment Day. Presuming that our earthly blessings are a guarantee of eternal blessings can lead to just such an unpleasant surprise.
- Luke 13:30: “There are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
- This is an idea that shows up multiple places in the gospels. Most of us have heard these words and understand them. They mean that there is a coming reorganization and things are not going to be the way they are now.
- Probably the most obvious example of this right now is the Epstein scandal. As I write this, another large cache of documents has recently been released and it is wreaking havoc on the lives of many powerful people. People who thought they were above the law and beyond rebuke are finding their lives crashing at their feet. That is happening in their earthly life but we all know that there are countless examples of people who act questionably their whole lives and die presuming they got away with it (or had become so morally calloused that they had fully justified their actions to themselves). To enjoy the pleasures of a questionable life and then have it all come crashing down around you is what we’re talking about when we look at the Great Reversal.
- Many who are first will be last. That means that there are many who are at the front of the line in terms of earthly success and prosperity who will find their eternal situation is abysmal. (More on this later.)
- The Great Reversal is something we need to consider as a reality, lest we get into a situation where we lie to ourselves about what is ahead for us.
- Verse 25 is not a guarantee things will always reverse like that but it is an insight that things may not continue in the next life as in this one.
- This parable is not saying that everyone having earthly success will be in hell. This parable is not saying that everyone with earthly struggle will be in heaven. This is not an absolute law.
- You have some people who are well off financially who use their money, power, and influence in order to try to bring about good things. You have some people who are in poverty because they have made horrible life choices that put them there. This is not a principle that is fated. We each need to make the right choices in the life situation we find ourselves.
- This parable is simply a warning that things often change dramatically on the other side of the curtain.
SHORT-TERM THINKING: Most people don’t think eternally.
- Most people don't think about the life to come. They are consumed with the here and now.
- This is, sadly, true even of most people who claim to be Christians. We all get caught up in the here and now.
- And the point I am making here is not even to the degree of what I discussed under the point: that there is a Great Reversal in the life to come. No, here I just mean thinking about eternity at all in any way.
- The closest most people come is having a vague hope of reunion with loved ones in heaven. But that is honestly more sentimental than aspirational.
- What are some proofs of how people don’t think eternally?
- a. Money
- Jesus spoke of storing up treasures in heaven. We do that by investing in the Kingdom of God in order to see more people in Christ in eternity. It’s not that we are wanting to be rich in heaven, as though everything will not be provided for us. No, it’s about receiving great rewards and praise from Christ. It’s about the joy of seeing more people who are followers of Christ. It’s about the satisfaction of seeing people we invested our lives in rewarded greatly for their faithfulness and knowing that we were a part of that.
- Instead, most of us are caught up in the pursuit of the American Dream. This, of course, is terribly short-sighted and unwise. The possessions of this world will be burned away in judgment someday. Jesus is giving us insightful instruction concerning where to invest your money.
- Now, certainly, we need to have somewhere to live and clothes to wear and food to eat. But we are in a society that is constantly striving to have a higher standard of living. And we tend to buy into that more than we should. Rather than asking what we need, we ask what we can afford.
- The giving to the Kingdom is abysmal. In what may be the richest nation in the history of the world, the giving to the Kingdom among American Christians is somewhere around 2%. That is a far cry from the tithe that I would argue is the minimum standard of giving that Christians should consider. Jesus doesn’t set the tithe as an upper limit but instead calls us to radical generosity that can go well beyond the tithe. And that's a great opportunity because of the eternal nature of the Kingdom.
b. Life goal.
- Many have a life goal of career success. Many have a life goal of maximum pleasure. Many have a life goal of possession accumulation.
- Jesus tells us our life goals should be bringing people into the Kingdom and helping people in the Kingdom to become more like Christ.
- Those goals are not as much fun if you’re only thinking in terms of this life. The more typical goals seem more enjoyable.
- But if you believe that our earthly life is a blip compared to our eternal life, you would want to live for the things that are lasting.
- Otherwise you’re like a sandcastle artist who builds something knowing that the tide will destroy it in four hours at high tide. It’s very transient.
c. Character.
- Should we live to become better people or choose the path of least resistance?
- Improving our character is difficult. It requires sacrifice. It requires discipline.
- But we are called to become like Christ. Christ’s path is aspirational. Christ’s path requires changes. Christ’s path demands obedience to His teaching.
- If you think only in terms of this life, it might seem like more trouble than it’s worth. If you think eternally, though, it’s obviously worth it.
DO WE NEED A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO THINK THAT WAY? The Old Testament was sufficient for the rich man.
- Luke 16:29-31.
- Is this a truth that could only be arrived at by someone who had seen Jesus’ life? No.
- At the end of the story, we have this allusion to someone coming back from the dead. Given what we know about how Jesus’ life ends, we can say with certainty that this resurrection mention points toward Jesus. To put it directly: the story is saying they’d change their mind if they saw a dead man come back from the dead.
- It turns out that would not be sufficient. Abraham says that someone rising from the dead would not convince those who were unconvinced by Moses and the Prophets.
- The point: if they weren’t already convinced, seeing Jesus rise from the dead wouldn’t sway their thoughts.
- The other thing we see here is that knowing Moses and the Prophets should have been sufficient to point them in the right direction.
- In other words, there is plenty of truth in the Old Testament to let people know that they should know that the way things are in this world isn’t necessarily the way things will be in the life to come. Where would they learn that?
- a. One place is the number of prophets who faithfully shared God’s message and never saw praise and success.
In fact, in a great number of cases, they were killed.
- Often they were the only ones in Israel still standing for God’s truth. The whole nation had gone off the rails. And yet they never got a ticker tape parade.
- b. A second example is how many Israeli kings lived the majority of their lives in splendor, even as they pursued evil.
- All told, it was clear that your circumstance in this life was not directly related to your eternal destination. That was clear from the Old Testament.
- We see a similar idea for today early in the book of Romans.
- In Romans 2:12-16 we see a discussion by Paul that those who are apart from the Law will be judged apart from the Law. It talks about how creation and conscience both point people to the reality of an all-powerful God.
- This, again, points us in the direction that even when you don’t have direct knowledge of Christ you still have sufficient knowledge to discern some big truths about God.
- This helps us to understand that this is not a truth that requires deep knowledge of Christ to grasp.
IS THIS FAIR? The consequences are serious, permanent, and just.
- Luke 16:23-24, 25, 26.
- Let’s talk about each of these in turn.
a. Serious.
- Verses 23-24.
- This is a picture of torment.
- Let me handle a small technicality before we get to the larger point here.
- The technicality is that this isn’t Hell. This is Hades. Note that word in v. 23.
- What’s the difference? Hell is the permanent place of separation from God that arises from Final Judgment. Hades is a temporary holding place for those awaiting judgment. It’s the parallel truth to the fact that Lazarus is not in heaven. He’s in “Abraham’s bosom,” as many have called it down through the years. This is a temporary holding place for those awaiting the resurrection of Christ and being able to be in God’s presence.
- Having noted that, we have to acknowledge that without question this is a place of torment and punishment. The verses paint a picture of physical pain.
- There are many questions about what eternal punishment looks like. It’s been a subject of debate for centuries. And it’s an important debate because these are incredibly important matters.
- I don’t have the time or space to fully unpack those matters here but vv. 23-24 give us a picture of Hades that is horrible, agonizing. We should not rush past it. We should dwell on it for a while.
- This is an understatement, but it tells us that this matter is serious.
b. Permanent.
- Verse 26.
- The second thing we see is that the consequences are permanent.
- The rich man has begged for permission for Lazarus to cool his tongue (vv. 23-24). Part of Abraham’s response is that the situation the rich man is in is permanent (v. 26). It can’t be altered.
- We are so used to second chances that we find it hard to believe that there could be a situation where we find ourselves in an unalterable position. Yet here we are.
- This should, of course, give us greater burden and urgency concerning the need to evangelize. There is not another round coming up where we can do better. This life is our opportunity.
c. Just.
- Verse 25.
- Finally, and most importantly, it is just.
- Eternity is in part about setting things right. The way things are in this earthly life are not the full picture. Everything will be set right but it won’t be until Final Judgment.
- God is just. His judgments are just.
- That is good news and bad news.
- The good news is that we do want a God who is fair and not one who plays favorites.
- The bad news is that people have a lot of sin to account for.
APPLYING IT TO US: This should create a concern within about the dangers of wealth, complacency, and self-centeredness.
- Let’s bring all of this to a conclusion.
- This parable, as I said at the beginning, is focused on the Great Reversal.
- What are some of the things that understanding that should bring to the forefront of our minds. Let me close out with three.
a. The dangers of wealth.
- The rich man was, obviously, rich.
- Wealth can be a blessing in many ways but it can also distract us from the spiritual and moral realities of this world. Wealth can allow us to gate off (see: gated communities) ourselves from the pain and struggle in the world.
- That can be a dangerous place to live. It can be a place that puts us in peril because we avoid having to confront the realities of suffering and the need for mercy.
b. The dangers of complacency.
- Along similar lines, we can become complacent.
- We may find ourselves sufficiently isolated from the struggles that others are dealing with that we become indifferent.
- Do we need to do something about the neighbor who is struggling? Not if you don’t know about him.
- Do we need to reach out to the co-worker who is sick? Not if you don’t know what’s going on in his life.
- Do we need to give to those who are in need? Not if you are isolated from the lives of those in your town.
- It’s easy to become complacent.
c. The dangers of self-centeredness.
- Finally, all this points us toward self-centeredness.
- One of the most telling details in the story is that even in Hades the rich man still sees Lazarus as his inferior. He wants Lazarus to serve him by cooling his tongue (v. 24) and he wants to send Lazarus on his requested message trip to his brothers (vv. 27-28). He continues to see Lazarus as someone beneath him.
- This is, of course, what wealth and complacency do to us. It constantly pushes us toward greater and greater self-centeredness. Everything is about our desires, our pleasures, our wants. And we fail to see anything wrong with that.
