The Rich Man And Lazarus

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Second Sunday in Trinity
The Rich Man And Lazarus
June 6, 2010

TEXT:  (Luke 16:19-31 NKJ)  "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.'"
 
As we consider the words of the text we find reference to the bosom of Abraham—which tells us the words were written for the Jews to understand—they refer to heaven and salvation as being in “the bosom of Abraham”—Jesus came to save the lost sheep of Israel—He told this to the Canaanite woman and He instructed His 12 disciples when He sent them on their first Journey
 
(Matthew 15:24 NKJ)  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
 
(Matthew 10:5-8 NKJ)  These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 "And as you go, preach, saying,`The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
 
What is the bosom of Abraham?
God made a promise to Abraham—a covenant or agreement—the verses we will consider were recorded just after Abraham was stopped from sacrificing his only son Isaac—Abraham was willing to kill his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice in obedience to God—when God saw Abraham’s faith, He sent His angels to stop Abraham from harming Isaac and gives us these words of account
 
(Genesis 22:15-18 NKJ)  Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- 17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
 
Being in the bosom of Abraham can be pictured physically as Abraham pulling one he loves close to him—and it can be pictured spiritually in much the same way—a person being pulled into the nations of earth who are blessed—the nation of believers—a member of the one Church on earth—one with faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord—another example is Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died (not related to the Lazarus in our text)
 
 
 
 
 
(John 11:21-27 NKJ)  Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
 
Martha had no doubt about the resurrection promised by Jesus—but she wanted Jesus to prolong the life of Lazarus in this life—Martha didn’t understand that this life is only a journey to our home—HEAVEN!
 
(Philippians 3:20 NKJ)  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
So the words of Scripture in our text that speak of “the bosom of Abraham” remind us that when we are part of the Church—we will depart this life and spend eternity in heaven with God and all the saints and angels—this life is a at the pleasure of God and we are here to bring glory to God—how do we know that?—consider the Old Testament lesson of Job
 
(Job 1:1-12 NKJ)  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil… 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" … 12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
 
What a beautiful testimony of the sorrows of this life—and how it is that all sorrows and troubles are part of God’s plan—we wouldn’t have these problems if we were not worthy—God is glorified in our troubles—every time we look to God and deny Satan his satisfaction—we glorify God
 
 
 
 
 
A Unique View of Hell
The story of Lazarus and the rich man gives us a view of heaven that we receive nowhere else in Scripture—the rich man is in hell—and Lazarus is in heaven—some teach that the lesson here is that if you are rich in this world you cannot go to heaven—it doesn’t say that at all—Abraham was rich—Job was rich—Solomon was rich—and I believe that we will see each of these men in heaven
 
As we see heaven in the words of Luke—we are not certain whether a physical conversation took place—or this is a spiritual example—but we know some things for sure—the believers are separated from the unbelievers—and unbelievers are separated from the good things of God forever—this could be just a matter of conscience for the rich man—his view of the Word of God in this life sealed his fate
 
The rich man rejected the Word and the opportunity to become an heir of the inheritance of Abraham—and that rejection separates him from God—which is what we call hell—but notice as he suffers—he asks that he be able to contact others and warn them—but they have Moses and the Prophets—that is they have the Word of God—you stand on the Word of God—or you die an eternal death
 
How Long Will the Rich Man Really Suffer?
After this life there is no such concept as time—hours and days and years will be meaningless—we measure time in this world by the moon and the sun—in heaven there will be no moon and there will be no sun
 
(Revelation 21:23 NKJ)  The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
 
Both the Old and New Testaments tell us that time is meaningless after this life’s journey has ended
 
(Psalm 90:4 NKJ)  For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.
 
(2 Peter 3:8 NKJ)  But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
 
When God created the heavens and the earth—He also created time—until creation God had no need of time—we in this world are constrained by time
 
 
 
(Genesis 1:1-5 NKJ)  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
 
In heaven we will be in the eternal presence of God—and there will be no need for time—whether the image Jesus gives us of the torment of the rich man is literal or a spiritual picture may not be clear—but the fact that the rich man’s torment will be unpleasant and eternal is provided in Revelation
 
(Revelation 14:9-11 NKJ)  Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
Does it do any good to pray for the dead?
In Luther’s day the church commanded that people pray for the dead—and encouraged the recognition of the anniversary of a loved one’s death with a special mass—for a fee of course—today there are cults that not only pray for the dead—but they also baptize in the name of the dead—I even knew of a pastor who tried to have someone stand in for a dead person to give confirmation of his faith—how preposterous—so perhaps this question isn’t as far-fetched as it might first appear
 
We have Scriptural examples of the dead being raised when it is God’s will (Lazarus—the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue—Tabitha)—perhaps a prayer on behalf of the dead is not as absurd as it first might appear—if it is God’s will to answer our prayer—God might remove a dead person from eternal torment—but Luther warns of repeating the prayer more than once or twice—which might show a lack of faith in God’s promise to answer our prayers—we might also consider the paralytic man lowered through the roof by his friends—Jesus healed him because of the faith of the four men that carried him—I have no answer—but I stand on the Word
 
 
 
 
 
Do spirits return from the dead to show us the way?
This lesson gives the answer clearly—they have Moses and the prophets—someone returning from the dead is not necessary—we know the Way from the Word
 
(Deuteronomy 18:10-11 NKJ)  "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
 
Paul warns us that Satan will try to trick the weak with delusions—and that we must stay in the truth of the Word for our salvation
 
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJ)  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
 
Jesus told us that there would be imposters trying to trick us
 
(Matthew 24:4-5 NKJ)  And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 "For many will come in My name, saying,`I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
 
And in our text we learn that there won’t be messengers from the dead—any such nonsense will be the work of the devil—and apparently he might have the ability to send such fraudulent messengers
 
My prayer is that you find strength and understanding in this lesson—there is a heaven—there is a hell—and know that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ—our Savior—
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!