At this time, I invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16. Last week, we considered the first parable that our Lord tells in that portion of Scripture. The parable of the shrewd manager. And this morning, we consider a parable that is familiar to us. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We want to read together, beginning at verse 14, overlapping a little bit from a week ago, but beginning at verse 14 through verse 31, our text being verses 19 through 31, the parable proper that we find there. Luke chapter 16, beginning at verse 14, as we hear now the Word of God. The Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. he said to them you are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men but God knows your hearts what is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight the law and the prophets were proclaimed until John since that time the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached and everyone is forcing his way into it it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. And now the text for this morning. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried in hell, where he was in torment. He looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 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. But Abraham replied, 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. 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. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. 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. beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ a picture is worth a thousand words that means that sometimes a picture tells a story so much better than you or I ever could with words or maybe you might be trying to explain something to someone and they just don't seem to be getting it so therefore with frustration you say well do you want me to draw you a picture and I'll make it clear to you you see Jesus warned of the Pharisees. He warned the Pharisees about the misuse of worldly wealth and that you cannot serve both God and money. He taught that God is the true owner of everything and we are to use all that God has entrusted to our care, all that God loans to us in this life, we are to use it for His glory, for the benefit of Him and His kingdom, and to do as Jesus said in the previous parable to gain friends by means of worldly wealth. In other words, to use the wealth, the riches, the blessings that God has given to us in this life to seek to advance His kingdom, to preach the Gospel, to show the love of God to those who need it. And with regard to the Pharisees, we read again in verse 14, the Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. You see, boys and girls, these Pharisees, these religious leaders of their day, they claimed to be a part of the Kingdom of God. But they didn't care about it. They didn't care about the lost sinner. They didn't care about the law of God. And instead, they served their money. They served themselves. And Jesus says in verse 15, if you allow me to paraphrase, you guys just don't get it, do you? You live and you love to be seen and congratulated by men. But that's exactly what God hates. And therefore, with another parable, our Lord teaches a powerful kingdom truth as Christ teaches the truth of misplaced allegiance. He draws them a picture with this parable, with this story. A clear, clear picture which includes an unmistakable example, an irreversible end, and the only means of escape. And we need to understand at the very beginning that Jesus teaches this important kingdom lesson by using extreme opposites, examples that are extreme opposites throughout this parable. And therefore, first of all, we see the unmistakable example of misplaced allegiance. The two main characters in the story, of course, are the rich man and Lazarus. And in this parable, these two men are contrasted. They are extreme opposites. In verse 19, we read of the rich man. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. He was a picture of worldly success. He was a picture of worldly satisfaction. His clothes were the finest and the best that money could buy. He wore clothes that were the same as the king's robes. Purple linen. With regard to his lifestyle, he lived in the lap of luxury. He lived like royalty. He surrounded himself with splendor and the choicest of foods and the finest of wines and the best friends that money could buy. His life was one of ease and plenty that's coveted by many, but it's achieved by few. We can say that he had it all. And then there's Lazarus. In verses 20 and 21 we read, At the rich man's gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. Boys and girls, even you can see that Lazarus was a complete opposite of the rich man. There was a night and day difference between the two. With regard to possessions, he was poor. He had nothing. Anything he did come by, he had to beg to get. He didn't even have his health. He was crippled. He had to be carried to the rich man's gate. And when the Bible says that he was laid at the gate, that literally means, the Greek there literally means, that he was dropped on the ground. He was brought to a place. He was dropped on the ground to the relief of those who were carrying him. Because to them, he was nothing more than a burden. He was an inconvenience. The Bible says he was covered with sores. No one would even bother to relieve his sores with any sort of soothing ointment. And as far as food, he considered crumbs to be a feast. He had a longing to eat that which fell from the rich man's table. And that longing, we need to understand, was an unsatisfied longing. It was an unfulfilled longing. It was a longing that never went away. You see, beloved, we throw so much away. We have so many options. Even one of my sons this morning, I don't feel like having that. But we have plenty of that. We throw so much away. And he couldn't even get crumbs. His friends were the neighborhood dogs. His condition? He was the most pitiable of all men. He was despised. He was ignored. He did not count in society. He was dirty and with sores covering his body. He wasn't even fit to look at. These two men, complete opposites. Night and day difference. And with these two opposite men, then we also see the misuse of riches on behalf of one of them. Now remember, riches are not sinful. But the love of them is. It's not sinful to enjoy your riches. It's not sinful to live within your means. With regard to the rich man, we're not told that he was any sort of a hardcore criminal, like a mob boss who gained all his wealth by unlawful means. We're not told that he's accused of any other gross sins. He might have been a really nice guy. He might have been a great neighbor in many respects. But you see, the rich man's sinful conduct is seen in his misuse of riches. You say, well, wait a minute. it says there was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. It doesn't say anything about sinful conduct. But we need to understand that this beggar, Lazarus, illumines the sinful conduct of the rich man. Lazarus shows us that the rich man was guilty of improper stewardship. He was guilty of selfishness. He was guilty of not seeing wealth as belonging to God and only being on loan to Him. He was guilty of not using his wealth for God's intended purpose. His God, as Paul would have said, was his belly and his riches. Now Jesus had just said, He had just said that one cannot serve both God and money. And now He places before the mind's eye of the Pharisees a picture, the truth of one who thought he could. This rich man thought that his riches and his pedigree. Remember, he was a natural child of Abraham. No doubt he had the family tree to prove it. But he thought that his riches and his pedigree gave him a privileged position in Palestine and a personal place in heaven one day. He thought that those things meant that he was set like some today think who grow up in a Christian home and who attend a Christian school and become a member of a Christian church and give generously and do all kinds of good things They think because of all those things, they must be set. However, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. And Lazarus here brings out the true character of the rich man and his misuse of his riches. Lazarus illumines the sin of the rich man, his sin of selfishness and covetousness and money worship. Lazarus brings out this rich man's hatred for the poor and for God and for the heart demands of God's law. Again, we read that Lazarus was laid at the rich man's gate. That was the main entrance. That was the front door. And the point there is that the rich man could never, ever, ever, ever, ever say, I never saw him. He could never say like those in Matthew 25, When, Lord, when did you lay that beggar in front of my house? He had to step over Lazarus. And as the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us, your neighbor is one who lies in your path ahead. He is one whom you must purposely go around, step out of the way and go around to avoid. This rich man, through Lazarus, was given every opportunity to be obedient to the law of God. To demonstrate love for God by showing love for his neighbor. He was given every opportunity to show mercy and lend a gracious hand to Lazarus. But the sad truth is that even the scavenger dogs illumined the mercilessness of the rich man because they at least paid attention to Lazarus. Now, our Lord gives us the most extreme of cases here. And it includes all lesser cases. It doesn't get much worse than this. But again, the point is the rich man failed to gain friends by means of worldly wealth. He failed to show the love of God by reaching out with love toward his neighbor. He failed to do this because he himself did not know God. He himself did not know the saving grace of God. And therefore, with money as his God, he despised the true law of God. And therefore, this picture also then includes in the second place an irreversible end. And we need to notice as we continue on through this parable that now we have a shift from the picture before men, how it's seen before the eyes of the world, to the truth before God. We now see it how God, we're given it how God sees it. Again, before men, the rich man had everything. Lazarus had nothing. But notice, before God, one of them was known, one of them was unknown by their names. The rich man, we're not given a name for the rich man. Lazarus is mentioned by name. The rich man, no doubt well known and popular on earth, had no name in heaven. But Lazarus means whom God helps. As one commentator says of Lazarus, it is as if Jesus had looked into the book of life and found His name there, but failed to find the other man's name. And notice, beloved, the unselfishness of death. They both died. Death is not picky. Death doesn't pay attention to status, position, or wealth. Now again, before the eyes of men, the deaths of the rich man and Lazarus, no doubt, were similar to their lives. See, nothing is said about Lazarus' burial. Because no doubt he died as he lived, unmourned, unwanted, unmissed, without dignity. Most likely he was buried in some poor man's cemetery and wasn't even given the dignity of having a marker to mark his grave. But the rich man, on the other hand, no doubt in death, his estate could afford a lengthy obituary in the Jerusalem Gazette and maybe an article highlighting all of the great accomplishments that he had done in his life. And his funeral service must have been filled to capacity, standing room only, with eulogy after eulogy after eulogy being spoken to sing his praises. And if you couldn't make it to the service, you didn't have to miss it because no doubt it was televised on PBS, the Palestine Broadcasting Service. See, like so many today, beloved, so many of the rich and famous, This rich man's funeral tried to hang on to some of his former greatness because that's all he had. Yet notice, before the eyes of God, there is a complete role reversal. Before death, Lazarus was a picture of those who in this life, even we sometimes think, they have no hope. Not even of heaven. Isn't it true we often want to pass judgment on some we see walking down the street? Why don't you go get cleaned up? Why don't you go get a job? Why don't you go to church? We think they have no hope of heaven. But God looks at the heart. And in His rotting body was lodged the soul that was unspeakably precious to God, so precious that we're told the angels carried it to Abraham's side. We don't know if angels actually carry our souls to heaven, but the point is, he went to heaven. Abraham, Paul says, is the father of all believers, and his side is a reference to heaven. Lazarus was received into the eternal dwelling of glory. And he could confess with Paul for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. But the rich man says he was buried. Lazarus goes up. The rich man goes in the earth. And even more than that, notice what's missing. No angels. He finds himself in hell. Now, we cannot miss the extreme contrasts here. Heaven took notice of Lazarus' death. But not the rich man. Lazarus was accompanied by heavenly angels, but the rich man was alone in his death. His glory died with him. His riches failed him in death. Lazarus traded the poverty and the suffering of earth for eternal riches and for never-ending nourishment and for fellowship, greater fellowship than he could have even hoped for on earth. but the rich man traded all that the earth had to offer for the emptiness and the torment and the suffering of hell. Someone has said of the rich man, he is like one with a parched tongue on the very edge of a river, but the waves are constantly receding, pulling back from him. Boys and girls, when you go to the beach, you can understand that. When the waves come in, then they go out and they're being sucked back out to sea. You've got to run to stay up with them. That's what this is being described as. He's parched. He's burning in the torment of hell. And it's as if he can see the water, but it's constantly pulling back from him. He can never, ever reach it. What a reversal, huh? From Lazarus to the rich man, unsatisfied desire. Now we need to understand, as I trust we all do with regard to parables, that not every detail of a parable is meant to have some sort of specific application or point to some actual truth with regard to the kingdom. And here too, not all the details point to some sort of fact with regard to the afterlife. For example, Jesus is not teaching us here that there is actually conversation between those in heaven and those in hell. He's not teaching us here that those in heaven would even begin to entertain crossing over that great chasm if they had the opportunity. He's not teaching here that those in hell soften up a little bit and maybe even come close to repentance. But notice the grip of death here. For the believer, that last enemy death, it leads to freedom from sin. It leads to freedom from the bondage to the troubles of this life. But for the unbeliever, that last enemy death leads to that second, to that eternal death, the torment of God's wrath. And again, for story purposes, the rich man, Jesus says, sees and understands this reversal. He caught on to what was going on. This natural son of Abraham was not a true spiritual son of Abraham while the one that he thought was not a son of Abraham, one whom he left in the company of the dogs, he's at Abraham's side. And in his vanity, The rich man does not learn his lesson. He still calls Abraham father. And he even has the nerve to request mercy. He who knew no mercy when human need through Lazarus cried out for day after day after day, he now begs for mercy. Just one drop of water on Lazarus' finger. Just one. But you see, beloved, all mercy is ended. in hell. That's the lock of death. Abraham makes it clear that this reversal is right. The rich man had his good things in life. He placed his trust in those good things. He laid up his treasures on earth. He desired the temporary things of this world with no thought to or about or for God. He who had everything on earth was deprived of every good thing in hell. In this life, His tongue tasted only the finest of wines and the coolest of drinks, but in hell, it burns with a never-ending flame. All because He sought Himself and not God. All because He trusted in His riches and not in the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. One thing we are to learn, one fact that is clear here is that hell is real. And hell is a place of torment. And hell is where those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will find themselves after this life. The rich man received the reward of his unpitying, unloving, selfish, and disobedient life. Lazarus had nothing but bad things in life. Everything was against him, yet he endured his cross patiently by faith. He was refused the comforts of life in this world, but in heaven He received a crown of glory. He was transformed from being poor to rich, from ill to glory, from wretched loneliness to supreme happiness, from rags to the robes of Christ's righteousness, and from unsatisfied hunger to the tree of life. Death's lock, beloved, is irreversible. There are no second chances. It is permanent. There's no crossing over. That great chasm is fixed. At death, things are fixed forever. Those who rejected the call to repent of their sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ because our only hope is in Christ alone. Those who rejected that call will no longer hear it once they die. But those who received and believed that call by the grace of God, at death, they are secure. in His presence forever. And that means, beloved, heaven will forever be a place without sin. Without sinners. No one will be able to sneak into heaven whom God was not planning to bring there. At the same time, not one whom Christ saved will be left out. And as the rich man suffers in the torment of hell, Jesus, through Abraham, teaches then finally of the only means of escape. At the same time, it's the only means by which to know Jesus Christ and His saving love. But the rich man, we're told, makes an appeal. Send Lazarus. Send him back to this life. Send him to my brothers so that they might not go to hell. Well, now this is an interesting detail and we need to understand that, once again, it's in the story simply for story purposes because it almost seems like the rich man now has a soft heart that he wants to save his brothers. But really, the words he says highlight his unbelief. His proposition is this. He claims to know how to save his brothers. How salvation can be accomplished. Surely, it will get their attention if the dead beggar goes back to talk to them. No doubt it would. It might scare them straight, he thinks. Obviously, they knew this beggar. They might have picked on him. They might have hurt him. They might have joked about him. They knew who this man was. But as well, the rich man is saying, in essence, that surely he himself would have been saved if God would have done this for him. Because then he would have known that God means business. But do you see, beloved, what he's doing? he blames God for his new home in hell. And the truth is, as he suffers, the rich man still misses the fact that it is his sin and his unbelief that earned his home in hell. He thought that his riches and his pedigree earned him a place in heaven. But it was his sin and his unbelief that earned his home in hell. And again, so many today want to blame God if they will even concede that there is a hell and that there might be some who go there. They want to blame God for those who spend eternity in hell. It's His fault. They want to accuse God of being unfair, but the fact is that all who will suffer the torment of hell get what each and every one of us deserves. while those who are saved by the grace of God and who will rejoice forever in heaven receive what they don't deserve. Notice Abraham's answer, his declaration in verses 29-31. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. 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. Abraham says in essence, they have the Bible. They had the Old Testament of their day, the Bible of their day. Abraham says that is sufficient. He speaks of the sufficiency of the Gospel, that Gospel which was rejected by the rich man. He didn't believe Moses. He didn't believe the prophets. He thought that he was above the law of God. He never saw the convicting power of the law. It wasn't for him. He canceled out the Old Testament and the message of salvation. And Abraham says, if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets which contain the divine law that convicts us of sin through which God tells us that He means business. And then it points to the heavenly Gospel through which God shows us He means business. Which teaches of and provides release from sin and saves from hell and brings to heaven all because of Christ alone. then surely they will not listen to a dead man walking. That's not what they need. Beloved, the Word of God has power by the Holy Spirit to save those who believe. The Word of God which indeed through the law convicts us of our sin and misery and drives us to the Lord Jesus Christ who has kept that law perfectly in our place from whom we get our righteousness. And by the Holy Spirit's power, it has power to save those who believe. The Pharisees wanted a sign. And they boasted in their knowledge of Moses and the prophets, yet they rejected the sign of Moses and the prophets, even Jesus Christ. And even at the foot of the cross, they cried out, let Him come down from the cross and we will believe Him. But many have not believed Him, even though Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. And the only way to escape the wrath of God to come, beloved, is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust Him and His saving work alone, to believe God's very own Word. You see, this life and all the good things that we enjoy in this life will end. The Pharisees knew their Bible, but they did not believe it. And the truth of misplaced allegiance is that those who have everything in this life except Christ really have nothing and their end is destruction. But those who have nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ have everything and they will enjoy for eternity the riches of salvation with their Savior. Oh, beloved, as you can see, the Lord's table is before us this morning. It's prepared, ready for us this morning. And that table, as you look at it, look at it. That table is a picture of the abundance that we have in Jesus Christ. That table is not a table of crumbs. It is not a table of the leftovers of the work of Jesus. But that table is a feast of the fruit of His work, accomplished for you and for me. He alone satisfies our longings and our desires. And He alone feeds us, beloved, so that we will never be in want again. Blessed is He whose God is the Lord. Amen.