“The Stories that Jesus Told”
Sermon # 4
“What Happens When We Die”
or
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
Sometimes “The Stories that Jesus Told,” which he called parables, relayed uncomfortable and even unwelcome truths. Such is the case today as are going to look at the subject of “What Happens When We Die.” The story we are going to examine today has come to be known as the “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.” We find this story in Luke chapter sixteen, beginning in verse nineteen. The real subject of the story is found in verse twenty-two where we read, "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.” Death is never a very pleasant subject, and perhaps it is our reluctance to discuss it that causes so many misconceptions about what happens when we die.
Over the last twenty-four years of ministry I have had the occasion to be involved in over 118 funerals. I have to admit that I have had some pretty interesting experiences, but nothing as funny as the true story of the experience young preacher I read about. “A man died who had no friends and only distant relatives who lived in another state. The funeral home called this young preacher and requested he do a simple graveside service. They told the preacher that nobody would be present at the service except the funeral home directors and the men who worked at the cemetery.
On the way to the unfamiliar cemetery, the young preacher got lost. Finally, he saw a little church with a cemetery and he assumed it was the right place because he saw three guys leaning on their shoves next to a large pile of dirt near the back of the church. The hearse was nowhere in sight, so he figured they has already given up on him and left. He quickly got out of his car and walked to the grave. He said to the workman, “I see that you’ve already buried the vault, let’s pause and let me say a few words and pray.’ The workmen removed their hats, and he began the service. Afterwards, one of the workmen smiled and said, ‘Preacher, I don’t know who you are but that’s the best funeral service for a septic tank I’ve ever heard.” [David Dykes. “What Happens After You Die.” www. GreenAcresBaptist]
But honestly when I preach a funeral message, it is always with the realization that it is a great responsibility, for I realize that I represent Jesus Christ and am charged with the responsibility to proclaim the good news of the forgiveness of sin and the salvation that is possible to all that call upon him.
The story I want to share with you today begins by contrasting the difference between the lives of the two men, one rich and one poor; it is not only a contrast between their circumstance in this life but of their destinies in the life to come.
In verses nineteen and twenty we are introduced to two men, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.” (20) “At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores (21) and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”
“The rich man is clothed in purple and fine linen, the beggar in rags; the rich man lived in a stately mansion; the beggar was laid by sympathetic friends at the gate of the mansion; the rich man had a healthy, well-nourished body, the beggar was full of sores; the rich man fared sumptuously every day, the beggar lived on crumbs from his table; the rich man had physicians to care for him, dogs licked the sores of Lazarus.” [Herbert Lockyer. “All the Parables of the Bible” (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1963) p. 293]
Yet both men died and death changed everything. In verse twenty-two we read, "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.” All that we are told about the beggar is that “he died.” Nothing is said about his burial. And the fact that we are not told of his burial leads us to believe that when Lazarus died his body was probably carted away to the city dump and burned along with the trash. The rich man also died. And although we are not told so, we can imagine that he was given a glorious sent off, the finest funeral that money could buy.
As both men died and passed through the death’s portal an amazing reversal occurred. The beggar died and angels carried him into God’s presence. The rich man also died but no angels carried him into God’s presence, a split second after he died he woke up in a terrifying place called Hell. I want to suggest to you the possibility that this man was shocked to find himself in Hell.
I believe that a few moments after death the rich man changed his mind about a great many things.
First, I believe he changed his mind about what was important in life.
He probably considered himself a religious man; he may have been faithful to the synagogue and had given lots of money to religious causes. The revelation of where each man ended up after death would have astonished Jesus’ original audience and shattered their long held assumptions about wealth being a sign of Gods’ favor and blessings. The rich man had lived without God in this world, so he would live without Him in the next. But not only did the rich man having no share with God, and thus lose God – forever, he lost even those things which had in this life.
I believe he changed his mind about what was important in life and ….
Secondly, I believe He changed his mind about the reality of eternity.
We have before us the only place in the word of God where we are told the actual thoughts, emotions and words of someone who is in Hell. The rich man’s experiences sets before us some terrifying realizations.
• Hell is real. We don’t like to think
about the reality of Hell and we often hear the statement, “I don’t believe that a good God will send anyone to Hell.” That statement is based on error and inconsist-ency of the highest order. We never make the statement, “How could a good judge sentence a mass murderer to death for his crimes?” We don’t say that because the judge is not responsible for the man being sentenced to death, his actions are. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 11:22, “Therefore consider the goodness and the severity of God…”
“A new U.S. News poll shows that more Americans believe in hell today than did in the 1950’s or even ten years ago. But … most now think of hell as ‘an anguished state of existence rather than a real place.” [“Hell Hath No Fury.” U.S.News & World Report. Jan 31, 2000. p. 46].
George Barna, the church statistician, reports that even among people who claim to be born again, 10% say they believe in reincarnation. [George Barna. The Barna Update. “Americans Describe Their Views About Life After Death.” www. Barna.org]
But frankly folks, if Hell is not real, and everyone is going to get to Heaven eventually, we might as well close the doors to this church and go home.
•Hell is terrible. Some people have
an image of Hell that is not based on reality. For instance Mark Twain said, “I’ll take heaven for the climate and Hell for the society.” People would not be so flippant about Hell if they understood the reality of it. Through the experiences of this man Jesus gives us a glimpse into Hell. It is brief but powerful enough to blow apart many of man’s misconceptions about Hell.
One of the misconception is Hell is a state of nothingness we will just cease to exist, hearing, seeing and feeling nothing. In this story we are made to understand that Hell is a real place of conscious anguish. This man was not dreaming. His hell was not on earth. He was consciously aware of his surroundings – he could feel, he could speak, experience thirst – and was in anguish. In verse twenty-four he pleads, “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.” Liberal Bible scholars have been telling us for decades that what the Bible says about Hell is only symbolic. William Evans points in his book “The Great Doctrines of the 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.” [William E. Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974) p. 262]
But in fact, this is not the only place that the Bible uses vivid language to describe Hell. In Matthew 25:30, Jesus describes Hell as a place of “outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Hell is also described in the Bible as a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). In the book of Revelation the Final Judgment is described as a “lake of fire.” Every description of Hell is one of suffering, torment and agony. In this parable we see the word “torment” used four times, and it speaks of definite pain.
Beyond the fact that Hell is a place of conscious anguish also see that Hell is a place of profound regret. A tragedy greater than the one being described is hard to imagine. To miss an opportunity for something good is bad. To miss the greatest opportunity of all – the chance to go to heaven is terrible. But to miss it forever, and to know that you have missed it forever, is almost unbearable. One of the greatest torments of Hell will be everlasting regret!
Hell is final. A second misconception about Hell is in not realizing that the choices we make in this life fix our destiny in the next. There are no second chances after death. Surely one of the most fearful horrors of hell is the undying memory of what could have been. Abraham responds to the rich man in verse twenty-five with the words, "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.”
This story also addresses the miscon-ception that there is some kind of purgatory, that after we spend sometime in Hell we will be able to get out. (v. 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.” The gulf that could have been bridged while alive is now un-crossable. The gulf is un-crossable because Scripture makes it clear that our time on this earth is the place for personal decision: one’s eternal destiny is determined by what one does and believes on earth. There is no purgatory, no reincarnation, no chance for relief, no way out, no end, no kidding. In Hell it is too late to change your life and it is too late to repent. Hell is a place without hope.I believe He changed his mind about the reality of eternity and…
Third, I believe He changed his mind about prayer. (vv. 27-31) He began to do something he had not done before, pray. Oh, I don’t mean that he had never prayed. I suspect that he had done what we sometime call “saying his prayers.” Perhaps he had gone to the synagogue, and recited his prayers. Yet never in his rich life had he really prayed. But this was different now, he prayed convinced that there was a reason to pray and something to pray for. It says in verse twenty-three that “in hell he lifted up his eyes” and verse twenty-four that he “cried out.” And in verse twenty-eight he says, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, (28) for 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." We don’t see the rich man reveling in fellowship with his friends, he is very much alone. He didn’t say, “I’m glad my brothers will be joining me here. We’ll have a wonderful time together.” In fact the rich man expresses concern for his five brothers and he asks that someone be sent back to warn them that their choices in this life have consequences in the next.
This man knew that even now his brother’s had the same attitude that had characterized him and that had brought him to his present state. He is concerned that they do not end up in this place. Implied in the rich man’s argument is that Moses and the Prophets, the word of God, was not enough. The rich man is saying, “I didn’t have a fair chance. I was not sufficiently warned, otherwise I would not be here. My destiny is God’s fault not mine!” He is saying that God’s warning through his word (Moses and the prophets) was inadequate and impotent.
While this verse teaches that God will not give people supernatural signs and wonders to get them to repent. This verse also teaches that a person can avoid Hell if they listen to God’s word and repent. They have all the information they need; they just need to heed the information they have. Only one thing will prevent this man’s brothers from joining him in Hell, to hear the word of God and respond to it in faith.
God has spoken in His creation. He has
spoken in history. He has spoken in His word. Above all he has spoken in his Son, the writer of Hebrews (1:1-2) states, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, (2) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son….” Therefore no one is without
responsibility or has a valid excuse.
I believe He changed his mind about prayer...
No matter who you are or what you have done, you are not yet in the position of this man who prayed but prayed too late…
Conclusion
There is a story that I love, I have told it before so if you have heard it bear with me. The story goes that “One day, when Vice-President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Coolidge looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate and wittily replied. “I’ve looked through the rule book,” he said, “You don’t have to go.” [Crossroads. Issue 7, p. 16]. The good news today is “You really don’t have to go,” you can heed the Word of God, repent and be saved.
Once we have that matter established in our own lives then we must think of others. Each of us today know people who have no idea where they will spend eternity. Some of you even know people who are positive that they are going to hell. And yet you refuse to say anything to them about it. When you keep your mouth shut you are really shouting at the top of your lungs, “You can go to hell!” Is that really what you mean to be saying? Think about it.
