Sermon # 19 - The Eternal Perspective Series

We read in Luke 23:43, Jesus said to him, "I can guarantee this truth: Today you will be with me in paradise." (GW)

These are the words of Lord Jesus as he hung on the cross to the thief who was also hanging on a cross adjacent to Him. In his last dying moments, the man called out to Lord Jesus to have mercy on him, and these were the comforting words of Lord Jesus to him. Our Lord Jesus assured him that there was a certainty of life after death, and He also ensured him that he would have a place with Him in paradise.

In Luke 16:23 we read, “And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he was in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side.” (LEB)

For a background to the above mentioned verse, this was an incident that Jesus shared with the people about a rich man, and a poor man named Lazarus. In this event, Jesus is talking about a place called Hades or Hell that the rich man found himself in after his death, a place of intense torment.

Many people in the world today live complacently, completely engrossed in the temporal, giving no thought whatsoever to what lies ahead after their death. There are others who when faced with struggles and hardships decide that the only option for them is to end their own lives, not realizing that their life is not just for here and now, but that they have a soul that lives on to eternity. As much as our physical life on earth is a reality, we must constantly remind ourselves that the life after death is also a reality. The important thing to realize is that while paradise is a place of joy and comfort, hell or hades is a place of unending agony and torment.

In Luke 16:19 we read, “There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:” (Webster)

This is the description that Jesus gave about the man mentioned in the verse above; He was a rich man, dressed in expensive clothes, ate the best of food and had a good house. Here was a man who had everything that a person on earth would wish and desire to have.

In Luke 16:20-21, we read, “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.” (Webster)

If one were to compare the poor beggar Lazarus with the rich man, he had a very pathetic life. He was a poor man, with no proper clothes, a body filled with sores, had no food and longed to be fed from crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, he was also so weak that he couldn’t even drive away the dogs that came and licked his sores. Obviously he had no home as he lay helplessly at the gate of the rich man. However the Lord referred to the poor man by his name Lazarus, which means ‘God is my helper’ and true to the meaning of his name, God helped him.

Both of them died, but after his death the rich man went to Hades while Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Strangely the Bible says that when the rich man looked up from the place of torment, he recognized Abraham and Lazarus in paradise. The fact that he identified Abraham implies that he must have been familiar with the scriptures and probably went to the temple regularly. Though he was a man with great affluence and pomp, the Lord Jesus did not even care to mention his name, except for the fact that he was a rich man.

The rich man had his trust placed entirely on his wealth, and didn’t care one bit about poor Lazarus. When the Lord looked at the rich man, he saw him as one in deep poverty with no empathy whatsoever for the one who was destitute and helpless. Moreover the rich man had the wrong perception that because of the kind of wealth he possessed, he could continue to live in ease and extravagance forever. The poor man Lazarus on the other hand had to depend on the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table for his very sustenance.

In Luke 12:21, we read "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God." (NLT)

The Lord calls him a fool who has all of the worldly wealth, and is so obsessed and enthralled by it, that he misses out on having a relationship with the God of the universe. There are so many who are simply satisfied with the thought that all is going well with them and do not care to reach out the lost, the sick, needy or anyone else.