THE RICH MAN & LAZARUS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 12, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: May 12, 2021 from Luke 16:19-31

Theme: Now is the time to hear the gospel, believe, and repent—because there is coming a day when it will be too late.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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This morning, we come to Luke 16:19-31; and to one of our Lord’s most famous lessons. Almost everyone recognizes it. All you have to do is say the names of its two main characters: ‘the rich man and Lazarus’, and the whole story almost immediately comes to mind.

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There are a couple of important questions to ask about this story. First, is it a parable or is it a true story? If by ‘parable’ we mean that it’s a story that symbolizes certain principles and teaches important lessons, then yes—it is a parable. But is it only a parable and nothing more? Though we can’t say for sure, it seems to also have the marks of something that is meant to be taken as a true story. Our Lord doesn’t begin by announcing that it is a parable—as He does on other occasions. In this case, He speaks as if He was giving the report of something that actually happened—something that only He, as the Son of God, could know about and report to people alive on the earth. He doesn’t speak in generalities; but speaks of ‘a certain rich man’. And in the case of at least one person in the story, He even gives a name. That’s not something that He does in any of His other parables. So it’s very possible that this is a ‘parable’ taken from an actual event.

And another important question to ask is, what is this amazing story—perhaps the report of an actual event—meant to teach us? The clue is to remember that this story comes to us in the context of a larger discussion. It began in Luke 15:1-2 when the Pharisees were expressing surprise and contempt over the fact that Jesus ‘receives sinners and eats with them.’ The Pharisees felt that they were much more righteous than the sinners who were coming to Him in repentance from sin—and so, they themselves didn’t come in repentance. And more, as we’re told in verse 14, those same Pharisees even ‘turned up their noses’ at Jesus because they themselves ‘were lovers of money’. Though they were the religious leaders of the people, and though they projected an outward image of ‘piety’, they were really very content with the riches and comforts of this life and didn’t give much thought to what happens afterward.

Perhaps you remember that our Lord once summed up the law of God in this way:

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27).

The Pharisees to whom He spoke in this larger discussion didn’t do either of those two things. And so; this story was told to them in order to warn them that now is the time to hear the gospel, believe and come to Jesus in humble repentance—because the time is coming when it will be too late to do so.

In a secularized culture such as ours today, it’s hard to think of a lesson that is more important for all people to hear than this!

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Let’s just walk through this passage verse by verse. It begins in verse 19 by our Lord saying;

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

Many people would—right away—take this to be a passage that suggests that riches are evil and that all rich people are to be condemned. But it would be a mistake to think that way. There are many godly people in the Bible who were rich—just as there are today. In fact, if you think about this story carefully, you find that it teaches us about a poor man on earth named Lazarus who went to the bosom of a wealthy man in heaven named Abraham.

The kind of rich man that Jesus was speaking of was among what might best be called ‘the wicked rich’. This man would be like what Pastor James wrote about in James 5:1-6;

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you (James 5:1-6).

This is speaking of the kind of people who used their riches to elevate themselves above others, and who even took advantage of and oppressed others in order to gain and hoard those riches. Notice what Jesus says about this ‘certain rich man’. He was ‘clothed in purple and fine linen’ This is put in the form of the verb (the imperfect tense) that would suggest that it was the man’s habit to walk around in this way. Plus, we’re told that he ‘fared sumptuously’ or ‘lived in luxury’ every day. This was not something that the godly wealthy people of the Bible did.

And the evil nature of this particular rich man’s constant display of high-living is made clear by what Jesus tells us in verse 20-21;

“But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores” (vv. 20-21.

The man’s name—Lazarus—is a form of the Hebrew name Eleazar; and it means “God Has Helped”. But he was a truly pathetic man. We’re told that he was a beggar—which was the most destitute kind of person someone could be. He was ill of health because he was full of sores. He must also have been crippled; because he had to be carried and laid at the rich man’s gate. He desired to be fed from the crumbs that fell from the man’s table—which may mean that he hoped for the garbage that the rich man threw out the back door. And we’re told that the dogs came and licked his sours. Some have thought that this meant that the only ones who would show him any compassion were the dogs; and that may be. But the word that Jesus used for ‘dogs’ can refer to the more dangerous kind of wild dog that roamed around in packs; and so, the fact that they licked his wounds may have even added to his personal danger and misery.

I wonder if this may be giving us a picture of the kind of attitude that prevails in people who are completely secularized; and who have no fear of God and no concern for what happens to them after they die. Even though they may not come right out and say so, they don’t believe that anything at all happens to them after they die—that the only life that anyone can have is whatever they are able to make for themselves in this life right now. They secretly—or sometimes openly—scoff at the Bible’s teaching, and believe inwardly that it doesn’t matter what one does to other people in order to obtain comfort in this life; since nothing will happen afterward. After death, they simply cease to exist; and so, all that matters is the right-here-and-now of life. There have been entire philosophies of life built around such inhumane thinking. I feel sure that there have been political and cultural leaders and and business leaders and influential people who secretly held to this kind of thinking; and who were therefore willing to destroy the security of future generations in order to take what they can get and enjoy whatever of life they could obtain now.

That seems to be the attitude of this rich man. He was willing to grab hold of whatever good things he could enjoy without regard to the needy man Lazarus who was laid at his gate; and all with the thought that it didn’t matter because nothing will happen to him after life is over.

How terribly wrong this man was though. Jesus went on to tell us in verses 22-23;

“So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (vv. 22-23).

Now; we need to be careful not to draw the conclusion that Lazarus was carried by the angels to eternal comfort simply because he had been poor. We are not saved by the degree to which we may have suffered in this world. Rather, we’re saved only by God’s grace. There will be rich people who go to heaven to be even richer because they had faith in God’s grace; and there will be poor people who will go to hell to be even poorer because they refused to accept God’s grace. Clearly, Lazarus was a poor man saved by God’s grace. And anyone—rich or poor—can be saved in the same way.

Jesus tells us that the beggar Lazarus died. We’re not told that he was buried. Perhaps he was—or perhaps his body was simply discarded in an unceremonial manner. But after his body died, his spirit was carried by the angels to ‘Abraham’s bosom’. What a wonderful name for heavenly glory! The Bible tells us, in Romans 4:11 that Abraham was declared righteous in God’s sight by faith, and that he is “the father of all those who believe”. To be gathered to his bosom is to be like children who—at the end of the day—are gathered into the arms of their loving father. And because Abraham was saved by God’s grace through faith, then to be gathered to him is to be gathered to the place where the Son of God—Jesus our Redeemer—gathers all those who are saved by faith in Him.

But look at the rich man. We’re told that he also died. He was buried. Perhaps as a rich man, he had a splendid funeral. Perhaps many people came and eulogized him. Perhaps it was a big event. But while his life was being eulogized, and while his body was being formally and ceremonially buried, he himself was in Hades. If we could only see the truth of where people’s spirits were, it would probably change the whole atmosphere of their funerals!

Jesus said that, in Hades, he was in torments. People don’t like to hear that kind of talk. But these words come from Someone who was the most compassionate and gentle Person to ever walk the earth. If it were any other way, He would have told us. But He’s telling us the truth. And remarkably, Jesus tells us that the rich man in torments could lift up his eyes and behold Abraham—and Lazarus safe in his arms. He was conscious, and could see and recognize others. Jesus tells us; in verse 24;

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame’” (v. 24).

Isn’t it remarkable that—even in the midst of the torments of Hell—he still behaves like the rich man he once was? He thought he could make the demand that Lazarus serve him.

“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us’” (vv. 25-26).

Our destinies after death are permanent. Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” The rich man had lived as if nothing would happen after this life; and now that he found out he was wrong, there was no turning back. Neither could Lazarus come and comfort him even if he had wanted to. Does this sound harsh and cruel? If so, remember that Jesus is compassionately warning us in advance that this is the case—now—at a time when we can do something about it.

And notice that the rich man then thinks of his family. His brothers—like him—did not believe. They didn’t think about what happens after life is over. And so, in verses 27-31, we read;

“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” (vv. 27-31).

There actually was a man named Lazarus who was raised from the dead. We read about what Jesus did for him in John 11. And when he was raised, did everyone believe on Jesus? No. Some did. But John tells us that others went and reported what had happened to the Pharisees; and together, they plotted how they might kill Jesus … and how they might put Lazarus to death again too.

Jesus Himself was raised from the dead. Did everyone then believe on Him? No. Some did. Some of the women at the tomb saw Him and believed; but amazingly, after Jesus sent them to tell the news to His disciples, Matthew 28:11-15 tells us;

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day (Matthew 28:11-15).

And today, the Scriptures are available for everyone to read. They bear the testimony of Jesus in both the Old and the New Testaments. And yet, if people will not believe what the Scriptures say, then they won’t even believe if someone rises from the dead.

The time will eventually come when they will regret to the deepest level of their being that they would not believe. But then, it will be too late.

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So; the great lesson of this passage is for us who are alive right now to hear our Lord’s words. The testimony of Jesus has clearly been given. And now is the time to believe. Don’t dismiss our Lord’s words from out of the false belief that nothing will happen after this life. Don’t excuse yourself as someone who is more righteous than others, and who doesn’t need—like them—to repent and to come to Jesus in humble faith.

As the apostle Paul—who was himself a great repentant sinner—once wrote;

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “’Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:6-13).

EA