Our text this evening is from the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 16, verses 19 through 31. In your pew Bibles, it's found on page 1041. Luke, chapter 16, verses 19 through 31. This is the Word of God.
There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame." But Abraham said, "Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us." And he said, "Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment." But Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." And he said, "No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." He said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."
Now, when I was a child, I remember my parents would often take me to this old church in Aleppo, which was built in the late 1400s, and we would worship there. Now, one of the things that was memorable in that church, and when I later had conversations with people, they also told me the same thing was this large picture on one of the walls of the church that was allegedly depicting the last judgment. Now, I don't remember much about it, but one thing I remember for sure: the lower side of that picture. And it was very frightening for me at that age. You could see the miserable faces of the people who were being led to these big and very hot pots of fire. And then the little servants of the devil with their ugly faces, very happy with what they were doing, and then tridents in their hands. And every time I read this parable or this story, my mind goes to that picture, especially to the desperate faces of the people in that picture, because they knew that it was late and they couldn't do anything to change.
Now, what's interesting in today's parable is that it's a bit unique. It's the only parable where we know the name of one of the main characters, Lazarus, and of course, the name of someone that every Jew would know: and we know, Abraham. But also when we usually talk about the parables, we understand them to be earthly stories that concern about the kingdom of God, usually a story taken from our daily lives in order to tease our imagination, as one commentator puts it, and think about heavenly things. But not this one. As one preacher puts it, this parable, instead of being an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, is a heavenly story with an earthly, or actually it's a hellish story with an earthly meaning.
It's the story of this rich man who liked to dress the most expensive clothes in his day: purple, and also an underdress which was made of fine linen. One writer says that this was the most expensive fabric known to the ancient world. So basically, we have here a person who was dressing designer clothing every single day. A Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Dior, you pick it. But not only that, he was feasting, he was partying splendidly. This man wasn't only rich; he didn't have a normal life. I mean, even parties and feasts, in order not to lose their uniqueness, they have to take place every once in a while, right? Like no one celebrates his birthday party every single day or goes to a dance event every single night, right? Besides that, eating caviar and having a Dom Perignon every day would be too much for most people. And yet Luke makes it clear that it wasn't a problem for this rich man because he had such an extraordinary life.
And the irony is that right at his gate, right at his doorway was laid or even thrown someone who was living a different life. Actually, the opposite of this man's life: Lazarus. His only desire? To eat from the crumbs of the table of this man. And the Bible says that the dogs even would come and lick his sores. Now some people, when they read this, they think that even the dogs were compassionate to Lazarus more than the rich man. But when I read this, something disgusting comes to my mind: that here was a man who was homeless, unclean even, and the dogs would come and lick his sores. Two people living so close to each other in the same world, but their lives were dramatically different from each other.
But then after they die, their lives radically change, as is so often the case with the parables of Jesus. The rich man dies and is buried. Who knows what kind of a large funeral he had? Probably everyone in town participated and paid their last respects. Then we are told that he is in Hades, being in torment. Now, this word Hades originally meant the place where the souls of all were gathered after their death, regardless of who they were. But later, at the time when Jesus was telling this parable, it meant the place or the state where the souls of only the unrighteous and the ungodly were gathered and punished. So this man finds himself in punishment.
And what's even more interesting is that he sees Abraham and Lazarus at his side, or at his bosom, a very intimate scene. Since Abraham is the father of the multitudes of people who believe, then Lazarus being at his side means that he was a true child of Abraham, a true child of the covenant. And what is significant is that since this is the only parable where names are mentioned, and the name Lazarus in Hebrew is Eliezer, it means "God's help" or "God has helped," which also points us to the fact that we have here a person who was dependent on God. And this is why he was next to Abraham.
And in verse 24, we read: "And he called out, meaning the rich man, Father Abraham." Remember that Jesus told his parables and stories with characters that concerned Jews at the time. The point is that this person knew who Father Abraham was. He probably learned about him when he was growing up. And in his agony, in his torments, he wants something to happen. We read verse 24: "Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in anguish in this flame." The imagery here is great. And we shouldn't think of a literal fire burning the soul of this person, but the idea is that the misery and the torment that he was going through were real, because hell is real, because this was simply tragic. This is why he wanted some help, some comfort, especially that Lazarus seemed to be in comfort where he was.
Well, Father Abraham tells him the bitter truth. It's too late. And see that in verse 25, he addresses him as a child: "But Abraham said, child. Even though he was telling him something he wouldn't like, even though he was on the other side, but you could get a sense of the tragedy behind this word. A child who missed it, who was so preoccupied with his wealth, his lifestyle, that he found himself in Hades.
Then Abraham continues: "Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in anguish." In other words, a great reversal has happened. Even though it might be a shock to you, O rich man, but you should know that when you were having the best of the times, Lazarus was suffering right at your door gate. But now, even though it's very difficult for you to accept it, you should realize that things have changed. And they have changed permanently.
This is the same thing about which we read in the Gospel of Luke. In the same Gospel, Jesus says in chapter 6: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." This person had already received his consolation. Or what we read in Psalm 17: "Arise, O Lord, confront him, subdue him. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from man by your hand, O Lord, from man of the world, whose portion is in this life." Indeed, this man's portion was in this life. And what's even more tragic was that this great reversal was going to be lasting. It wasn't going to be changed.
This is the idea behind the great chasm that we read in verse 26: "And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us." Not that there was going to be crossing from one place or one state to another, but what Abraham was saying is that there isn't going to be another reversal anytime anymore. Because of that, the rich man couldn't have even the slightest comfort in his agony and in his torment.
Now, all this drives me to think: about what is the point of this parable? Is it about, or is it only about, the theme of the poor and the have-nots who, since they do not have anyone to help them in the world, then God is their help? Because this is a major theme in the Gospel of Luke. Just remember Mary's Magnifica in Luke chapter 1: "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he sent empty away." Or the reading that Jesus had in the synagogue early on in His ministry in Luke chapter 4: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor." Or just before this parable, in the same chapter, verse 13, Jesus says the following: "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
So is this story simply about the poor and the rich, who because of some sort of a fortune ended up in the wrong place? Two things keep me from saying yes. One is the fact that parables are often riddles, and just as you think that you got them, as one preacher says, a trap door opens. And the second thing is what we see in the same gospel later on. Let's go to Luke chapter 19: the famous encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus, who was, according to Luke 19, verse 2, a chief tax collector and was rich. Fine, but he wanted to see Jesus, and Jesus went into his home. What happened at the end? Let's read verse 9: "And Jesus said to him, What? I thought the poor Lazarus only went to Abraham's bosom, and thus he was only a true son of Abraham because he was poor.
And here is how the trap door is opened. I think the chief thing in our text is what was happening not with Lazarus, but this unnamed rich man who found himself in misery. Why? Not because he was rich. We just read that Zacchaeus also was rich, and yet he was declared to be a son of Abraham and was saved. But because he was so preoccupied with what he had, the rich man in our parable he was so busy with his lavish lifestyle that he didn't see Lazarus in his life. And when he saw him later, you know that it was late. too late.
See, the problem isn't with riches, per se. We have examples in the Bible of rich people who were also pious. Remember Cornelius the centurion, who according to Acts chapter 10, and Acts was written by Luke, gave alms generously to the people. Or Lydia in Acts chapter 16: "One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul." Then in the same Gospel of Luke, chapter 7, we read about another centurion who had a very sick servant, about whom the elders of the Jews go to Jesus and they talk with Him and say, "He is worthy to have you do this for Him, for He loves our nation and He is the one who built us our synagogue." Later, this man believes, and Jesus is marveled at His faith and He says, "Not even in Israel have I found such faith."
Now, the rich man in our parable lived as if he was the master of his life, that he could party in an unlimited way and then disregard and ignore Lazarus, who was there, right at his doorway, put there by our sovereign God in order to make him rethink what he was doing, or even more correctly, to make him repent of his ways. And yet, he didn't do it. All these years, he refused to repent and died unrepentant. And now, it was too late.
In our personal experience, doesn't this happen often? Like when we are at the moment, we don't realize what we are supposed to do. But only then, after some time, we say to ourselves, "I wish I did it the right way." But then that feeling, that awareness that it's basically late, it's very bad. You become angry at yourself by saying, "How could I miss it? How did I not see what was I supposed to do? It was there in front of me. How could I ignore it?" But then you know that it's too late. You cannot change it.
Tracy Kidder is an author who wrote a book called Old Friends, and it's about life in a retirement nursing home in New England. Actually, Tracy Kidder lived there in this Massachusetts retirement home and experienced the daily life there. He met people, he asked them questions, and then he wrote about their experience. He recounts the story of one man who, unlike the residents of this place, wasn't plagued by a loss of memory, but just the opposite. He was haunted by his old memories. His name was Art, and since his wife's death, he was suffering from memories. When they were newly married, his wife accidentally dropped the frying pan, and he yelled at her. If she could come back to life now, she could drop a hundred of them. It was late. too late.
For nearly 60 years of their marriage, there was a disagreement between them of how he, Art, was supposed to express his feelings to her. His wife would often say, "Honey, I wish you could tell me how much you love me." And Art will always protest and say, "I don't do that kind of a thing. I don't like to talk about it, but to show it." But "Sweetheart," she would reply to him, "I know that, but I need to hear it from you." "No," he would say, "that doesn't run in my family to be like that." During the weeks before she died, he started telling his wife he loved her several times a day in their room on sunrise. But she never said a word, he said. Not "Yes, dear, I forgive you." "I would have liked that. It seemed it hurt her all her life. But it was late. Too late."
Now, what was the rich man was supposed to do in order for him not to be late? Hear Moses and the prophets. In other words, hear Scripture. Because Scripture is enough. This is what Father Abraham tells the rich man when he asks him to send Lazarus to his brothers. Let's go to verse 27: "And he said, Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.
See, Abraham isn't saying that they had to find about Moses and the prophets. I don't think that neither the rich man nor his family members were unaware of Moses and the prophets or of Scripture. Because this conversation makes it clear that the rich man knew about them, knew about Moses and the prophets and Scripture. But the problem was that he didn't hear a Scripture. This hearing in Luke often signals to faith and repentance. In Luke chapter 8, verse 21, Jesus says, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." Or in chapter 11, verse 28, he says, "Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it." Just as Abraham says his brothers must do, the rich man had to hear Scripture and to believe and to repent.
Verse 30 also makes it clear that this hearing entails repentance: "And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. Now he's asking for a sign. He wants something as if Scripture isn't enough. But Abraham is adamant that signs and miracles don't make people believe if they do not believe in Scripture.
Verse 31: "He said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. If people do not believe in the gospel, even if someone rises, they will keep the hardness of their hearts. Remember the story of Lazarus of Bethany? After Jesus called him out and he came to life, in chapter 12, we read that the leaders at that time they wanted to kill him. Here was a sign, and yet the people didn't believe. They were not only not happy that Lazarus came to life, but they wanted even to kill him. Because they didn't believe in Moses and the prophets who spoke about the coming Messiah, Jesus, and his salvation work for the people of Israel and for all God's elect.
"They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." Did the rich man in our parable lack something tangible to call him to repentance? Lazarus' whole existence and proximity to him were a sign that he had to believe as Scripture teaches. And then the fruit of that faith was going to love his neighbor as himself. Wasn't Lazarus a neighbor to him? He was there, right at his gate. And yet he didn't believe. And so we didn't see any fruit in his life.
Now, beloved, it could be very tempting to say, "Well, I'm not like this rich man. I don't wear designer clothing every day and eat the best of the best every day and party all the time." Because if we zoom out a little bit and see ourselves comparing to the rest of the world, we are right at the top. And this could mean that the cares and the concerns of this world, the blessings that we have in our lives, and the opportunities might hinder us from living a repentant life or a life of faithful repentance. We might think that just because we are in the covenant that we are safe and secure. But this person also gives us thoughts that he was probably also in the covenant, but externally.
Remember, he called Abraham father. He knew about him because he must have known about Scripture. We also know Scripture. We have the Scripture. We read it often. We even attend church and listen to the preaching. But do we hear Scripture in order to believe Moses and the prophets who spoke about the coming prophet and the suffering servant? Just as Philip said when he found Nathanael, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
This Jesus, the seed of the woman to whom point Moses and the prophets, is the one who became incarnate, lived the perfect life, suffered, was crucified, and died on the cross for our sins, descended into hell and rose on the third day for our justification, and ascended into heaven, and we have him as our intercessor. What a great news! We should believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who not only saves us from hell, but also grants us new life to love our God and our neighbors as ourselves.
This is why, dear brothers and sisters, hearing Scripture, believing, and repenting should never be postponed. This is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 6: "Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation." Our God is patient with us, and yet this patience isn't for abusing it, especially that we are neither the authors of our lives, nor control the events around us. Don't delay your repentance. Otherwise, one day, it will be too late.
And don't say that "I am a Christian, I am a church member at Escondido URC. I have repented once, and so this applies to people who haven't repented in their lives." Luther, in his first thesis of the 95 Theses, wrote about this biblical and correct idea of what repentance is. He said, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."
2 Peter chapter 3 says: "The Lord isn't slow to fulfill His promise, as some count as slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief." This is a call to turn to God in repentance before it's too late, because you have the good news: Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen from the dead for us and for our salvation. Amen.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gospel that You have given us. And we thank You for sending Your only begotten Son who went through the torment in His anguish of His sufferings for our sake. Let's learn from this parable to not think that just because we are in the covenant then we should be careless people. But instead, let us daily repent and in faith come to You. And by the work of Your Spirit in our lives, may we produce fruit by loving those whom you put in our lives, only for your name and for your glory. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.