Scripture: Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)
Introduction
I hope you like the sermon today because I don’t want to have to apologize because “sorry seems to be the hardest word”
[The Pastor had just attended an Elton John concert]
If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be sad, but “I guess that’s why they call it the blues”
“I’m still standing” here ready to go even though “Saturday night WAS really alright!”
Well what do you think it means to be rich? Money, expensive house, car, boat, vacation house, travel, fame, Elton John concerts?
I personally gravitated immediately to earthly trappings of wealth and privilege
I think that’s natural because that is what we have been conditioned to think all our lives
And, in all fairness, Jesus faced the same scenario in our Scripture today
Jesus is telling a parable here to teach a lesson using a completely made-up story
How does Jesus introduce the rich man in His story? He talks about his appearance
Jesus says the guy is “dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.”
You can say that Jesus and us are starting off on the same page here
One thing about Jesus, He understands what it means to be one of us.
Over thirty years living as a human has prepared Jesus to have real empathy for us
You can see it in the way He describes the beggar, Lazarus so kindly by saying:
He was covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
Jesus even added more endearing detail:
Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Jesus gives us three things to think about what it means to be rich:
- We are chasing the wrong things
- We are rich when we help others
- We need to warn the others
We are chasing the wrong things
Jesus doesn’t tell us what the rich man did to wind up in Hades in torment
We are left to infer from the circumstances in the story as to what might have happened
I believe that Jesus chose His characters to contrast a life of wealth with a life of poverty
Furthermore, I believe what Jesus says in verse 26 is significant.
“between us and you a great chasm has been set in place”
Jesus uses these stories because they are both complex and intricate, AND simplistic
Consider this: the great chasm that appears between heaven and hell is indicative of the great chasm that existed between the rich man and the beggar ON EARTH
And this chasm that so rightly divides heaven from hell made the beggar’s life on earth a living hell.
I believe that Jesus is telling us that “unless you want to face this chasm in the afterlife, you need to figure out how to remove it in the now.
We need not fear the rich man’s fate of eternal torment because Jesus bought our way to heaven if we only just believe in Him.
But if we truly are believers, then this rich/poor chasm idea has to appall us and make us uncomfortable at the very least
One of the most appalling sights I have ever seen along this line is the tent city on the sidewalks of Hollywood California. Hundreds of tents on the sidewalks of this rich city
When Leslie and I went out to see Dr Phil a couple years ago it was unbelievable
How can a town with such an obscene amount of wealth and privilege stand by and watch people live in a tent on their sidewalks?
They certainly aren’t practicing what they preach, and they reinforce the chasm
Ironically, you just don’t get much more liberal than the movie stars of today yet they can just drive right on by in their expensive cars to go to their expensive houses.
Jesus tells us what they can expect if they aren’t believers: eternal torment
They will suffer to the same extent that they enjoyed in privilege on earth , so live it up
Another interesting point is that Jesus uses Abraham as the heavenly host
We know that God credited Abraham with righteousness
But we never hear about Abraham being the heavenly maître’d or greeter
What we may have heard about Abraham is the phrase “the bosom of Abraham”
This is only mentioned once in the New Testament and it is translated from the Greek word kolpos which means lap area, side, bosom, or chest and it is only used in connection to Abraham in this chapter of Luke
The concept of “being in the bosom of Abraham” quoted by Jesus referred to a safe place in the afterlife awaiting the final judgment day when all the dead will rise again
This was a contemporary reference that would have made sense to people of that time
Like I said last week, “Bible study is all about understanding the context”
The context for Jesus is the same as ours today: humans value worldly things to their own detriment.
Jesus is crying out to us through this story: “people, you are chasing the wrong things!”
We are rich when we help others
In the story, Jesus has Abraham telling the rich man “remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things
Since we already know how the story ends for the rich man, what can he do to change?
Is there any way that the rich man could do something to change his fate?
What could he do? What would you do? Reach out to the poor
Here’s a clue: the poor guy wins; the rich guy loses
To my thinking, the answer is to reach across the void to the poor guy
If I can give up some of my riches to make his life less poor than maybe we both can win
Is Jesus suggesting that we need to become poor? NO I don’t think that’s the point
The point is that some of us have been richly blessed in this life
And some of us have not been richly blessed in this life
Jesus is telling us to level the playing field as much as we can by sharing what we have with those who are less fortunate.
Do any of us believe that we got anything in this life without God’s help? NO
The very fact that you woke up this morning and could stand up is a gift from God
Jesus is teaching us an important lesson with this story
Jesus is telling us to take some of the time, talents, and money that we have and share it with those who are struggling.
Can we all agree that all good gifts and blessings that we have received come from God?
If so than, can we all agree that God has chosen in His almighty wisdom to bless us?
When we CHOOSE to bless others, whom God has NOT blessed, who are we imitating?
When we imitate the mercy and benevolence of Our God, we bring Him Glory
When we ignore the needs of others, we create that great chasm that separates us from them
And Jesus warns that the chasm we create on earth will follow us to heaven
When we help others less fortunate whom God has NOT blessed as He has blessed us, we tear down that barrier and share in the suffering of others and we will ultimately be rich
We need to warn the others
There is a very dire tone in Jesus’ story; overtones that it is too late for some
He has the rich man accepting his fate, but wanting to save his family from a similar fate
The rich man said: “I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family; let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”
He knows it’s too late for him, but can he at least set an example for others?
Jesus dismisses him by having Abraham say: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”
Again this is Jesus’ story so this little bit of sarcasm seems to foreshadow His disdain for how the Hebrews treated Moses and the prophets.
He goes on to further foreshadow His own fate when He has the rich man further plead his case by suggesting someone return from the dead to convince his family to repent.
Jesus both suggests the question and gives a sad, but true prophecy of His own death and resurrection
Jesus said (through His character Abraham): “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
We all know that Jesus died and rose from the dead, but does everyone believe that? NO
On the one hand with this story, Jesus is telling us the consequences of ignoring the poor
Jesus uses strong words and a serious story that bears a dire warning
Jesus portrays a sense of urgency through the portrayal of the rich man
The rich man sees that those left behind need to be warned and CONVINCED
And then Jesus closes very pessimistically suggesting it won’t do any good to warn them
What must we take from this? Do we accept Jesus’ pessimism that there is no use to warn the others?
He is right, many will ignore the warning, but some won’t ; we didn’t, and we must try to warn the others