Rich Man & Lazarus

Intro

We are on this three week mini series that I am simply calling enough

Last week we talked about the rich young man and how he came so close to following Jesus, but he couldn't get past that money was his God.

We have been talking about the way our world is organized is to get you to believe that you never have enough

that there is always something else you need

So many times when we read stories of rich and poor in the bible, we automatically identify with the poor people

Why? because we are conditioned to believe by the world around us that we never will have enough

But we live in the richest country and in the wealthiest time in the world so it helps to get some perspective as it pertains to the rest of the world

The Median household income (Meaning multiple incomes) in the united states is 71,000 and so if you make just the Median income then you are in the top 4% of the worlds wealthiest people

If you are here and you are a single income earner and you make $60,000 a year then you are in the top 1% of the worlds income

Americans makes up 31% of global wealth

There was a new study that just came out by a group called “Just Facts”

the poorest 20 percent of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries.

So Just reading this statistic alone…Its hard to say that we don’t have a problem being satisfied with what we have

In America the problem that we have is the thought that we always need more when in reality we have more than enough!

Our lives are defined by plenty but we are deceived into believing that we never have enough....

Its why Americans as a whole has $887 Billion Dollars in credit card debt

Because whatever we have is never enough

Listen: You guys, I am not just preaching at all of you think you have this problem, I live in America too…This is a struggle for me too

While the average guy struggles on instagram at looking at women in bikini’s

My instagram is filled with the newest bikes out there

The instagram marketers know how to get me...

The latest wheel set

The newest helmets

and bike shoes

And I have notice myself thinking man I just need this new thing…And Finally I have had to just say enough of all of that God has provided for me up to this point I am not going down that road of coveting

And here is why it is impotrant that we look at these statistics and that we recognize that we live in the wealthiest country in the world and that we are all among the wealthiest people in the world...

It affects the way we read scripture:

Today we are going to look at a parable called the rich man and Lazarus

Most people know this parable very well

But so many times when we read parables like this we identify with Lazarus because he ends up being the hero

So we identify with the poor guy in the story when in fact we are all the rich man

And because life is expensive and getting more expensive we forget that we are either in the top 1%-4% of global income...

We forget that we are the rich man in this parable and that we need to read it through that lens..

The commentator, Klyne Snodgrass says this

“Parables are subversive critiques of the world around us”

The parable before that Jesus taught was about money and he starts this teaching the same exact way

Jesus was using this parable to give a powerful teaching to his disciples but to also critique the world around him

So what I want to do is to read this part by part today:

Luke 16:19 NIV

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

In the ancient world the color Purple came from a fish that was rare, in the book of acts we know of a very wealthy woman named Lydia who was a trader in the coloring purple.

Purple was so rare that it was reserved for royalty in the ancient world.

And the phrase that he lived in luxury every day literally translates to that he celebrated with “ostentation” which means that he was showing off, he was a consumer among consumers

Going to the mall every day, always walking into his house with something, never coming home empty handed...

Luke 16:20–21 NIV

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.

At his gate: Jesus really wants to make the point in this parable and you will see it three times that this poor Beggar named Lazarus was separated from the rich man...

At first the gate separates him

Then there is a grave that separates them then there is this great chasm that separates the rich man from Lazarus

What Jesus is saying is that the rich and the poor are kept at distances in society, we organize it that way...

And its really too bad for this rich man that he does this because he could help but he doesn't…and maybe its because of the seperation that he creates

Jesus is even playing around with his listeners, he is really messing with them

Because the conventional wisdom is that the one who is really blessed in the ancient world is wealthy and the ones who are not are the “unfortunates”

In fact there was a wildly held belief that the station you had in life was ordained by God, so if you were poor it is because God ordained it

But Jesus is messing with these guys because the name Lazarus means “the one God helps”

Jesus’ listeners would have though that the rich man was helped by God...

Everything about this story says that there is a reversal coming

And you look at him and he is the poor beggar who is covered in skin sores longing to eat the left over food.

Its like…How is God helping this guy?

Jesus is also messing with us in another way

What’s the rich man’s name?

We don’t know? In the ancient world, you always know a wealthy man’s name

There was something called a patron client relationship where the wealthy would help the poor and these peoples names we find etched on walls on tablets and with all kinds of prominence

So, here is this super prominent man…important man…wealthy and maybe royal man…and his name is never mentioned

But we know the name of the filthy homeless guy who is starving and has dogs licking his open wounds

And by the way the the fact that this guy has open wounds and dogs are licking them, these are wild dogs we are talking about not domesticated pets…This makes this man very unclean

What is Jesus trying to say here?

Maybe there is a great reversal coming?

Luke 16:22–24 NIV

“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 Hades, 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.’

First of all: Here is what you need to know

This is a parable, if you are treating this as a video camera footage in heaven, this is the wrong way to look at this parable

Many scholars believe it could have even been a well known Egyptian parable that Jesus took and twisted for his purposes

The point is that Lazarus went to a place of privilege and the rich man went to a place of torment

So when Jesus is telling this story he talks about Lazarus going to Abraham’s side or you may have heard it as Abraham’s bosom…What it would mean is that it is a picture of Lazarus reclining sort of nuzzled up to Abraham in comfort.

There is this sort of picture all through the bible of the Wedding feast in heaven and this is what we are supposed to imagine here, that Lazarus is at the Messianic wedding feast

So now lets focus on this unnamed rich man…He is in this agony and fire and what did he ask of Abraham

Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and to cool my tongue...

Even from Hell this rich man is treating Lazarus like a slave

Clearly this guy isn't repentant and doesn't know why he is there...

He is only thinking about himself and really his rich friends

But I think what Jesus doesn’t say but we have to ask is what crime did the rich man commit

Was it being rich?

No not at all…His wealth didn’t convict him

It was the fact that Lazarus was living in agony every day and while this man had all the resources in the world, he just let it happen

he lets Lazarus die when he could have prevented it

When The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to get him water, here is the reply by Abraham:

Luke 16:25–26 NIV

“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 set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

This more than anything seems to be the point of the story...

So just as there was a gate separating the rich man and Lazarus

Now there is this great Chasm

Now the rich man is on the outside of the gate

This guy whose wealth got him on the inside of all the parties, of all the big invites now finds himself on the outside

What Lazarus found out is that with God, A great reversal is coming

So this is what happens next:

Luke 16:27–31 NIV

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 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.’ ”

Again the rich man still doesn't get it…At least Send Lazarus to warn my family about this great reversal

Twice in the story the rich man from hell tries to boss around Lazarus

And then what Jesus says is

Hey they have the Bible…They have available to them moses and the prophets…what else do they need

So the rich man says…but hey if they had someone from the dead go to them then they would repent…then they would know about this great reversal that is coming

But then Jesus says something that will echo forward from here to the time when he dies and is raised again.

Hey if someone doesn't care about moses and the prophets then they are not going to listen to someone if they are rased from the dead!

This is an obvious reference to the fact that Jesus will raise from the dead and some will accept this and some would not...

But I think this parable tells us a couple of really core and key things about the heart of God:

There is a great reversal coming

Jesus is the embodiment of the great reversal and if they don’t listen to him then they are not going to listen to anybody

You will be held responsible for how you live your life now

Jesus is the reversal of all human values, and by this story he is saying the first shall be last and the last shall be first

You know the reversal is coming

So start living like it now

Start living like all you have is enough

Again, The rich man here was not at fault for being rich.

Maybe your here today and you do fine financially, Awesome! That is a gift, you can either be a blessing to others or you can ignore needs, thats up to you

His big error was that he had to step over Lazarus to get into his house every day and he didn’t even think about getting him the leftovers

His big error was that by his life choices, he showed that he values money over people

And what Jesus is trying to say in this parable is that we need to value people over money

people will always be more valuable than

True faith in Jesus will never neglect the poor

When Jesus says, hey Rich man…your family has moses and the prophets…well what did moses and the prophets warn Israel about...

Neglecting the poor!

When you read all the prophets, its like…Israel…you are going into exile because you lived at the expense of other people....

The rich man was condemned because he could have prevented Lazarus’ death but didn't

See our society is preoccupied with not just getting by, but by being fantastically wealthy, this is why when there is a 2 billion dollar power ball lotto everyone goes and waits in line.

Lazarus is still at the Gate

One of the things that we need to recognize today is that Lazarus is still at the gate

And maybe its not economic disparity but social disparity

You can teach your kids this princable…You can say…hey who is the kid that no one sits with at lunch? Why don’t you invite them to your table?

Hey who is the kid that everyone makes fun of?

Protect them ‘

You can do this at work...

There are people who for whatever reason are always kept on the outside of scoial structures…Love them with the love of Christ

You can begin living in the great reversal now

Because all it takes is noticing Lazarus

All too often, the Lazarus’s of this world are invisible

They are invisible at work

The poor are at a much greater advantage of relating to God because they have fewer idols

Response:

With all of this I still have to ask the question of what is enough?

I started this message with the idea that we are all the rich man in this story

We all have enough

Maybe you just need to come before God today and say, Lord I have enough…you have blessed me with enough....But now I need to put people above money

Maybe for you, you need to come before God and out of your enough, you need to identify Lazarus in your life:

Who is ignored at the gate

They have significance in God’s eyes

As we wrap up I feel like the best way to be faithful to Jesus and his parable here is to remind you that a great reversal is coming:

The rich man who was tormented every day in hell was separated by this great impassable chasm

His former status means nothing in eternity

And if your here thinking…I better give away all my money so I can go to heaven…Nope you’ve missed the point...

Live like Jesus is enough in everything you do

In that way you will put people above money

Treat things as temporary and fleeting

Treat people as God’s image

A great reversal is coming.....How will you treat it?