No Second Chanes

Luke 16

New International Version (2011) Chapter 16

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

Two men.

Two men of different stations of life.

One living the good life

while the other struggles to survive.

We aren’t given much information on these two men

But we have enough to know that these two men were on the opposite ends of society.

Rich man had it all

Dressed in purple.

The rarity of purple in nature and the expense of creating its dye gave it a great deal of prestige.

It was the most expensive dye known to the ancient Israelites in the Bible.

It was the pigment of choice for those of noble or royal birth or

those who were high-level officials. Roman Emperors wore clothing colored purple.

At the very least it meant you had money because of its expense

And if you weren’t as important as you thought you were…it at least gave the appearance of such.

This particular man lived a life of luxury so we know he had the money to dress and eat and act the way he wanted to.

It does not mention to us how he got his wealth.

There is no real mention of him being a scoundrel, that he got his money in a wrong way by stealing or swindling it out of unsuspecting folks.

He could have simply inherited it.

It could have been made very honestly as well.

He may have just been a very good business man and he made good sound business decisions.

It doesn’t say here that he was a particularly bad person.

He was simply rich, he was very frugal about it, possibly a miser of sorts

and not very generous or compassionate towards other in lesser situations

New International Version (2011) Chapter 16

20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Lazarus the beggar.

Again we don’t get a lot of information about Lazarus.

We don’t know what made him so destitute.

We know that he has some sort of health problem.

Perhaps he was alone in the world.

It doesn’t say that he made poor decisions in his life

doesn’t say he was a drug addict or alcoholic and this is what made him this way.

He may have lost has family, they could have passed

he may have not had any siblings

had no one to take care of him really.

We do know that he was in poor health because the dogs licked his sores.

He sat out in front of the rich mans gate

I would imagine this erked the rich man to have Lazarus there but it might have even gave him some entertainment.

Every time he passed by it probably reminded himself of how rich and fortunate he was.

Lazarus was covered in sores and longed to eat anything.

When I read this I am reminded of those that came to teen challenge.

The lifestyle of drugs particular caused many of these men to lose everything.

Their jobs, their living arrangements, their vehicles, many lost their identities a license, SS card and even their birth certificate.

They came to the center with horrific stories of being hungry and having to rummage through dumpsters for food.

Not that this was the reason for Lazarus condition but I can imagine from Jesus’ description what Lazarus might have looked like and that he had the same desire to have the essentials to sustain life. like any other person.

Unfortunately for Lazarus the rich man took no pity on the him thus Lazarus did not receive any relief from his lot in life. Not one morsel of food nor any help for his health.

We then find that as time went on these two men experienced the same circumstance that all other humans will face, except those that participate in the rapture.

They both died.

They both came to a point in life that they breathed their last their heart stopped and life in the body stopped.

They were both buried and they both experienced the next step in all of our lives.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 

And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

New International Version (2011) Chapter 16

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

We see here a separation.

Really there was already a separation in that their social status, their economic status, their health status already showed they were on the opposite side of the spectrum from one another.

One had and the other didn’t

One ate and the other didn’t

One lived and the other barely survived

But now another separation of sorts took place.

It wasn’t just the physical body separation.

Yes, Both bodies were placed in a grave.

But their souls separated from their bodies and went separate ways from one another.

Lazarus it says here was carried away by the angels to Abrahams side.

I sat and contemplated this for a moment.

The first thought when i read this, that the angels carried Lazarus away was think the angels were all but dragging a tired worn out man to paradise.

But the more I thought about it the more i began to think that the angels carried Lazarus in a way of celebration.

you made it.

you fought the good fight

you kept the faith even under the difficult circumstances you faced.

And now you will enter your rest.

He was was strong and whole.

As he is welcomed by Abraham and brought in to meet the rest of the saints of God

I bet he had the biggest smile.

A smile of relieve and happiness that he had not experienced mush while on this earth.

Conversely, the rich man it says, was simply buried, he found himself in hades and was in torment.

While Lazarus encountered peace and joy, the rich man was experiencing the exact opposite of how he lived his life.

There was no more money

there was no more purple robes

there was no more exquisite dinner spreads on the table of what ever food he fancied that day.

He was now experiencing hell at its worse and there was no relief.

Tho he begged for it.

New International Version (2011) Chapter 16

24 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.’

Unfortunately people have the wrong idea of hell.

first of all it does exist.

Just as surely as God exists, Heaven exists, hell exists.

no matter if it was because they didn’t believe in God or they just simply refused to turn their lives over to the one that gives life.

And it is a place of pure torment for the punishment of anyone that refused to believe in Jesus.

It was never meant for humans to occupy

AS Jesus mentions in Matt. 25:41

““Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

We are told that this terrible place is where the fallen angels are now chained and awaiting their judgement.

Man is sent their for the same fate.

To be to separated from God, punished through torture because of their unbelief and wicked life they lived, until final judgement is pronounced.

There is only two places that you can go upon death.

there is no escaping and there is no relief.

The rich man begged Abraham for relief.

I thought this was interesting.

The rich man didn’t ask Abraham for him to dip his finger in a glass of water to cool his tongue.

He asked for Lazarus to do it.

Interesting huh?

Yet it was Abraham that reminded the rich man that he lived the good life while Lazarus had all the bad things happen to him.

New International Version (2011) Chapter 16

25 “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. 26 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.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “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.’ ”