by Dave Wilkinson

Luke 16:19-31

September 29, 2002

A rancher had three sons: Jim, John and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and others in the church had tried for years to reach the family but to no avail. Then, one day, Sam was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called in and did all he could to help Sam but the outlook for his recovery was very grim. So the pastor was called and told of the situation.

The pastor walked in with the gathered family and began to pray: 'O wise and righteous Father, we thank thee that in Thy wisdom Thou did'st send this rattlesnake to bite Sam. He's never been inside the church and its doubtful that he has, in all this time, ever prayed or even acknowledged Thine existence. Now we trust this experience will be a valuable lesson to him and will lead to genuine repentance.

"And now, O Father, wilt thou send another rattlesnake to bite Jim, and another to bite John, and another really big one to bite the old man. For years we have done everything we know to get them to turn to Thee, but all in vain. It seems, therefore, that what all our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done. We thus conclude that the only thing that will do this family any real good is rattlesnakes: Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes, amen.'

What does it take to get people's attention? Rattlesnakes? Two by fours? Death?

I have been involved in funerals that are flat out depressing for me because I know that the great words of the gospel are so much empty noise to the gathered family and friends. The deceased has died as he or she lived -- impervious to the love of Jesus Christ -- caught up in living without any sense of purpose and direction. The friends and loved ones gather, and even the death of their loved one doesn't stop them from believing that they, themselves, will never die -- that they themselves don't have all the time in the world -- that they themselves need to take the words of the scripture to their own hearts and wrestle rith them and find their truth. The service concludes and the people leave to wait their own turn to be the one in the coffin -- all dressed up with no place to go.

I sometimes wonder what the departed loved one would say at her own funeral if permitted to speak. Would she warn of the certainty of judgement? Would she tell what it is like to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without a shepherd? What would she say? How would the gathered mourners respond? Would they believe her? Would it make any difference?

In the 16th chapter of Luke, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. The subject is money. He speaks of how their greed confuses their allegiance to God. "No servant can serve two masters," Jesus warns. "For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

The Pharisees respond in a predictable way. They scoff. To them, material blessing are a sign of righteousness. To be wealthy is an indication that God is smiling favorable on their conduct. Surely, God would not pour out wealth on those with who He was displeased. They view their split level homes, their Armani suits and their BMWs as proof-positive that God is on their side.

Jesus senses their attitude. "You are those who justify yourselves before men," He proclaims, "but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

These words must have pinched a nerve. Jesus, in using the word "abomination" to describe their practices is branding them as idolaters. They are not blessed by God in their wealth. They are considered abominations because that wealth has become their God.

To hammer home His point, Jesus then tells the parable known to us as "The Rich Man and Lazarus." Now in this parable Jesus is not necessarily giving literal information about the nature of heaven and hell. Don’t model your view of the afterlife after the picture Jesus paints. He is simply using current Jewish beliefs to frame His point.

In the parable the Rich Man is buried in a tomb above ground reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Lazarus is thrown on the trash heap. But both men are stone dead. We are ushered into hades -- the realm of departed spirits in the unseen world beyond the grave. The Jews conceived of hades as being divided into Paradise, the place of serenity and peace, and Gehenna, the place of tortuous burning fire. Paradise was called Abraham's bosom -- a realm of blessed assurance with the patriarch and all of the people who were experiencing the reward of beatific bliss. Gehenna, which took its name from the burning refuse heaps in the valley south of Jerusalem, was the place of eternal torment in the flames of punishment.

When we first meet the two men, however, they are still alive. They are a study in contrasts. Jesus characterizes the Rich Man with a few, vivid phrases. He is a fancy dresser. His linen undergarment coat with long sleeves is probably made of Egyptian flax which was as valuable as gold. The robe is of costly purple material which was a sign of royalty or immense wealth. The purple dye was obtained by the Phoenicians from the shells of the murex. It was way too expensive for any but the most wealthy. (If you had to ask the price, you couldn't afford it). Jesus says that the man's lifestyle is consistent with his clothes. He makes merry, brilliantly and magnificently. The picture is one of limitless wealth expressed in the most conspicuous consumption. Jesus says that he lives this way every day. His feasting and frolic show no reverence for the Sabbath or holy seasons or days of fasting and prayer. No day is holy for the Rich Man in his ostentatious, relentless search for pleasure and satisfaction through all he can taste and touch.

Lazarus, on the other hand, has it bad. He is covered with sores. His name means "God is my help" but that help seems far away. Each day He is tossed out near the Rich Man's gate to beg for crumbs from the wealthy man's table. This gate isn't an ordinary gate. Jesus calls it a "pylon" which means a gate of size and magnificence. That tells us what the Rich Man's mansion was like. It is a startling backdrop to Lazarus who doesn't even have the strength to fight off the pariah dogs who come to lick at his puss-oozing sores. Yecch!

Now, if we were the Rich Man, how would we handle this situation?

If I were the Rich Man, I'd call my friends that I got elected to City Hall and have them send the police to keep Lazarus away from my gate. He's oozing over all my guests and he smells bad. Or, perhaps, after awhile, I would get used to him being there -- and I wouldn't really even see him anymore.

The Rich Man is not concerned with Lazarus except as an eyesore. He is not a man to him. But God is concerned with Lazarus out there at the Rich Man's gate. He's not concerned with profit margin and "trickle down" from the Rich Man's tax breaks. But he is concerned with Lazarus and he will indeed, prove to be his help.

The Rich Man is as rich as can be and Lazarus is as poor as can be But they share a common fate. They both wind up dead. As Shakespear phrases it: "Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust."

But beyond the grave lies another point of division --the division between their eternal fates.

The Rich Man's funeral is a dandy. There are lots of flowers. There is an eterna-seal casket of brushed bronze, with velvet and satin for eternal blissful rest. The hired preacher talks about his accomplishments. The mayor, the governor and a senator all show up. No one notices Lazarus' funeral. He doesn't have one. One day the street sweepers find him dead and take him with the trash to throw his naked body on the burning rubbish heap outside the city wall.

Lazarus' life would seem well described by a bumper sticker I saw which read "Life is hard. Then you die." But beyond the trash heap is an unseen event. Jesus describes Lazarus as being "carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The Rich Man, on the other hand, is carried away to the place of torturous fire in Gehenna. They pass through a common door called death, but they end up in very different places.

Jesus says the Rich Man is in torment from the flames. I suspect that he is also tormented by the fact that he could see that Lazarus is with Abraham and that Lazarus is enjoying himself. The Rich Man has accepted Lazarus as an inevitable part of the landscape. He had thought it perfectly natural that Lazarus should be in pain and misery while he wallowed in luxury. Now he sees Lazarus reclining on Abraham's bosom. There are no sores on his body. His face no longer has the tortured, pallid look of hunger. Joy now radiates about him like a diamond in the sunshine.

And this is torture for the Rich Man. So he tries to get Lazarus put to work. He never went to help Lazarus but he wants Lazarus sent to help him. The Rich Man becomes a beggar. He doesn't recognize it yet. He still thinks he's giving orders. But he will learn that he is a beggar.

He says: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue for I am in agony in this flame." Now you can bet that the Rich Man never would have let Lazarus touch him on earth, but things have changed.

Abraham responds with surprising tenderness. He calls him "child." But he doesn't help. He tells the Rich Man that he's made his choice and that he was only getting what he deserved and that even if he wanted to help he couldn't because there is a great chasm between Paradise and Gehenna and none can cross from one side to the other. He tells the Rich Man, "today is the first day of the rest of your life. Your torture isn't temporary. It is your permanent condition. Your loss will become more and more acute and your desperation will become more and more desperate, just as the pleasure now enjoyed by Lazarus will increase forever."

Now if we were to stop the parable here we would have a fairly obvious lesson for the Pharisees. Material blessing does not necessarily equal God's blessing. What you have now may be all you will ever get, and there is a judgement coming where you might lose what you have and end up in the flames next to the Rich Man. Calling Abraham your father won't save you any more than it saved the Rich Man.

Albert Schweitzer was converted by this parable. He believed Africa to be the poor beggar at the gate of Europe. He left the academic world of Europe where he had earned five PH.D.. degrees and went to care for his poor brothers and sisters "at the gate." That is something we are able to do as well as we respond to the needs of the poor orphans in Makobe or the other needs you can learn about next Sunday at the Mission fair.

We must not discount that lesson of our care for the poor and the imperative it lays upon us. But Lazarus didn't end up in Paradise Just because he was poor and the Rich Man didn't end up in Gehenna just because he was rich. Each, by his name or by his behavior, demonstrates his attitude toward God. Lazarus' name, "God is my help," indicates the trust he put in the God of his people. The Rich Man's lack of compassion, on the other hand, betrays his deep spiritual poverty.

We could easily end the parable at this point except for one fact. Jesus doesn't. He goes on to give the Pharisees and us a second and greater teaching through this story.

The Rich Man has another request. He still wants to see Lazarus put to work. "Then send him to my father's house -- for I have five brothers -- that he may warn them lest they also come to this place of torment."

Now Lazarus should have already been a warning to the Rich Man. Abraham points this out. They have Moses and the prophets, he tells the Rich Man. Let them read Moses and the prophets like Amos and learn the fate of those who oppress the poor. It's all there in black and white just as it was there for you.

But the Rich Man pushes. "No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, then they will repent."

It is interesting that even the Rich Man turns evangelist, once he finally grasps the lostness of the lost. But he doesn't understand reality. Certainly if the brothers see someone return from the dead they will be startled -- perhaps even to the point of promising to obey God if he will take away the apparition and stop scaring them. But it takes more than a good scare to change a person's heart. It takes an honest scrutiny of God's Word and a steadfast response to that word. Abraham tells the Rich Man the facts: "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead." If their eyes aren't open to the Word, one rising from the dead won't convince them. The Christmas Carol is, after all, only a nice story. Marley's Ghost couldn't change an Ebenezer Scrooge who didn't really want to change -- no matter how many clanking chains he used.

Why does Jesus include this second part of the parable? Simply because it is something the Pharisees need to hear. They are soon to be confronted with the exact situation Jesus describes. For this is the only parable where Jesus gives a character a name. Jesus gives the name Lazarus as a prophecy. For another Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, will in fact be raised from the dead.

Do the Pharisees repent? No! They try to put the real Lazarus back to death to keep it quiet that such a thing had actually taken place.

Soon after, Jesus himself will come back from death. Will the Pharisees repent now? No! They bribe the guards at the tomb to hush it up. They will not believe Moses and the prophets and they will not believe even if someone rose from the dead. Jesus' words in the parable were exactly fulfilled in the Pharisee's lives.

Abraham said to the Rich Man, "neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead."

Well, Abraham was wrong -- at least about us. We have been confronted by one who has risen from the dead, and as Christian men and women we have responded to Him. The basis of our eternal hope is our response to the voice from beyond the grave. We are persuaded because the Lord himself, the author of life has risen from the dead and has promised us, "Because I live, you shall also live."

This parable tells us an ultimate truth about God. He is Creator of heaven and earth; and He has given us life on earth so that we can share his life in heaven. Jesus stated it plainly in Matthew. 22:32: "God is not the God of the dead but of the living." That includes you and me. He will not spend eternity without us. That is why He came and lived among us and died for our sins, opened the doors of heaven and offers us life without end. All so we could hear and believe the voice of Jesus: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)