Luke 16,19-31
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Dives and Lazarus
Two Sides of the Coin
Luke 16: 19-31
NKJ Luke 16:19 " There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "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. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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.' 25 "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. 26 '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.' 27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 "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.' "
Intro.: I went into a store the other day and I saw a sign posted behind the cash register that said, “In God we trust, all others must pay cash." I don’t know how much trust the storeowner had in God. It is open to our speculation as to whether God really did shop there at all; but it is obvious that the storeowner did trust money. Jesus’ story of the Rich man and Lazarus illustrates for us that there are consequences for the choices of the things we put our trust in. The choices we make now may effect us eternally. Jesus does not want us to be confused. He wants to warn us about wise stewardship. Most importantly he wants us to be confident and trust in His Word and in his death and resurrection.
Background: Jesus tells this story to the Pharisees; but it is told for the benefit of his disciples. He wants his disciples to be warned about the dangers of wealth. He wants them to be wise stewards of the blessings that our Heavenly Father gives to his people.
Now the Pharisees were the religious teachers of the Jews, at the time of Christ. They were the shepherds of the people. They were responsible for proclaiming the Word of God that was handed down to them from Moses and the prophets. These Pharisees deceived the people and hid the truth from them. One of the main reasons they did this was because of their greed and love for money. Jesus points his finger at them to convict them of the evil that they were doing so that they might repent and be saved. In return they rejected him and were more determined than ever to kill him. Their trust in worldly riches blinded them to the true riches that they had in their possession. Jesus tells us the story of the rich man to the Pharisees in an attempt to save them. It has been handed down from his disciples to us to guide us also.
I. Trusting in the blessings that our given to us instead of God who gives all blessings blinds us and leads us to selfishness and false trust.
a) For selfish use: The rich man lived a luxurious life. God truly blessed him. In the end though, he trusted in the blessings instead of God who had blessed him. He lived in a wonderful mansion. If he had lived in our day I imagine him living in Beverly Hills, Calif. His mansion would be filled with rooms. The rooms wouldn’t be filled with people they would be places for things. In the closets would hang the finest clothes. Every day there would be a party. It would be no small gathering of friends; rather it would be like a wedding feast with the finest foods being served. To get to the parties you would need to drive down a long driveway lined with palm trees. At the entrance to the long driveway there would be a gate with metal bars. Beside the gate would be a sick beggar named Lazarus whose name means “the one whom God helps.” Someone cast him like a burden beside the gate. Lying on the ground, his body covered by sores made raw by the tongues of dogs, he hoped to receive a scrap of food from the garbage. The rich man ignores Lazarus. We can imagine the rich man saying “Certainly he must have lived an evil life to be cursed the way he was.” We can imagine the rich man self-righteously patting himself on the back for the great life he had created. The rich man was blessed. His blessing turns to a curse though. He is blinded by his wealth because he does not honor God with what he has and he does not put it to wise use by helping Lazarus. The rich man is not a good steward. He fails miserably at keeping all of God’s law. For it is written, “you shall love the Lord your God…. And your neighbor as your self." Lazarus was the rich man’s neighbor; but the rich man loved neither him nor God. He loved only himself.
b) Trusting in things: The rich man was not only selfish with his blessings that he received from God; he put all his trust in them. He did not think about eternal life. His only concern was with what money could by, right now. He trusted in the good times that money could buy. He trusted that having money was the most important thing in life. He trusted that whatever he did with his money had no effect in his relationship to God. He was wrong! Dead wrong! Dead in Hell wrong. His money was given to him so that he could honor and glorify God and love his neighbor. His wealth wasn’t the problem. He was, living blindly in the sin of greed.
c) Applying the Story: What about us? For some of us it might be easy to ignore the story of the rich man. After all most of us wouldn’t consider ourselves rich. I would also venture to say that must of us consider ourselves to be charitable people. We would certainly help the “Lazarus’” at our doorsteps. Jesus is not just warning us about the risks of having wealth or even the desire to be wealthy which can be just as blinding (certainly we are at a greater risk of this). Rather, he wants us to remember that we have the greatest blessing, which is the Word of God. The Pharisees had it and the rich man had it. They disregarded it and rejected it. They were damned because of it. May God open our eyes and put a burning desire for his Word within us so that we may not suffer the same fate. May God help us trust in what is important.
II. Trust what is important.
a) Trust in God’s Word: So the rich man ends up in Hell. He doesn’t seem at all that surprised at his predicament. What is surprising is that he doesn’t know why. The reason is because he failed to hear and listen to God’s Word. At first he wants relief from his torment, just a drop of water on his tongue, placed there by Lazarus. That can’t happen though. God’s judgment is final and it is harsh and it separates the saints from the damned.
b) Gods Grace is poured out through His Word: God was merciful and graceful to both the rich man and Lazarus in their lives on earth. The difference is that the rich man rejects the wonderful gift that is presented to him that is the saving Word of God. How do we know this? Well, the rich man asks father Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth from the dead. He wants him to warn his brothers not to do as he has done lest they suffer the same fate. Father Abraham’s response to him is that they have Gods Word. Even if a dead person were to come and give testimony to them they would not believe. If God’s Word does not quicken a person's heart to life, a dead person doesn’t have a chance on earth of doing it. Panic stricken, the rich man says this is not enough. After all he had not heeded this very Word.
c) Trust in Christ’s death and resurrection: Indeed God did send a person back from the dead to proclaim God’s grace and His life giving Word. He sent His only Son that came into the world to suffer and to die. This same Son, Jesus, was raised from the dead to proclaim God’s Word and to proclaim victory over suffering, sin, death and Hell. It is his death and resurrection that give us hope of eternal life. It is in His death and resurrection that we place our trust. For the unbeliever and those people that trust in other things like money, His death and resurrection are meaningless. This is because they reject God’s Word. For us and because we have been given the gift of faith, Jesus’ death and resurrection is the promise of our own resurrection. Someday we too shall be comforted in the bosom of our Father Abraham. We too are his children by faith in God and His promises in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion: In many ways the rich man and Lazarus can remind us of the two sides of life. One that is filled with God and trusting in him solely for our help and salvation and the other that is filled with selfishness and pride and that leads to death. We have the privilege of living in a country that reminds us of these two sides every-time we make a purchase. Remember that there are two sides of every coin and on one side of that coin it says in God we trust. Let us pray that it is those words that we heed and not the other side that forgets to mention God.
Amen.
May the grace of God…
