LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN
Introduction
This parable contrasts a beggar named Lazarus and an unnamed rich man, continuing on with our series about different people of the parables of Jesus and those He came into contact with.
This parable begins with comparisons and contrasts that Jesus liked to use in His stories. Verse 19. Describes the “rich” man. This man was evidently very wealthy and also was probably a leader of some sort as the color purple was considered the color of royalty in those days. It is also written that he “lived in luxury everyday.” Verses 20-21. Describes Lazarus for us. He is alone, very poor, hungry and sickly. He hoped for scraps from the rich man’s table and the dogs came to lick his sores. It is VERY interesting that of ALL the people mentioned in the parables of Jesus, Lazarus is the ONLY one mentioned by name. This is an indication that it is VERY possible that this is more than a made-up story. Jesus is most probably relating an ACTUAL event that He has personal knowledge of. Notice that it is NOT said that the rich man mistreats Lazarus or abuses him in any physical way. No, it is more likely that the rich man just ignores him as he lies by his gate. Passing Lazarus by each day as he goes to and from work or the marketplace or wherever the rich man went, He may even have thought “poor man” sometimes, but was too busy to actually stop and help. Day after day this went on until… Verse 22. We see that both men die. It is not said that they die at the same time, but eventually, both of them go to their respective rewards, as each of us will do one day. First, Lazarus dies and we see the angels carrying out one of their duties. It is written, “The beggar dies and the angels came and carried him to Abraham’s side.” (This is an Old Testament designation for heaven.) Next, we are told that the rich man dies and is buried. His was probably a large and fancy funeral befitting a man of his status with many friends and associates in attendance, the wailing women and all of the pomp and circumstance associated with funerals of that time. Contrast that with poor Lazarus. He died alone and did not have a fancy funeral, indeed, he may not have been buried at all. In those times, poor beggars who had no family or friends often had their bodies thrown on the garbage heap and burned with the trash! But, notice this at the rich man’s funeral, as wonderful as it probably was, the angels are NOT present! Verse 23. We see that the rich man was not carried into heaven as Lazarus was. Instead, he dies and finds himself in the pit of hell. Why? Was it because he was rich? No, we see in other parables that “rich” in itself is not a sin. Was it because he mistreated or abused Lazarus and the poor? No, we are not told of his doing any physical harm to Lazarus or anyone else. It was the rich man’s INDIFFERENCE towards Lazarus that was his sin and his condemnation. This man under the Mosaic Law had failed to honor the commandment to “love your brother as yourself.” For whatever reason, the rich man never took the time or put forth the effort to help Lazarus in his pain and hunger and suffering. He let it go or maybe thought that someone else would do it. There was a time when the church was the place where people would go to get help for all kinds of needs both spiritual AND physical or financial, etc. Now, however, we as a society and the church itself have abdicated more and more of that responsibility to the government. This has led to the implementation of a myriad of programs, some good, some not so good. But, worst of all, the government has become god to many, many people who look to it for their needs instead of looking to the One who has the power to provide for not only their needs while they are here on earth, but also, for their needs for the eternity that comes after this life. How sad it is that we tend to rely on our own meager resources instead of relying on the ONE who has ALL things and power! We also see in this verse something VERY interesting. While in hell, the rich man can SEE INTO HEAVEN and he sees Lazarus and Abraham together. Could part of the torment in hell be that those who are there can see what they could have had, but are missing in heaven? Verse 24. So, the rich man called to Abraham and asks for pity and relief for just a moment from his torment. He asks for Abraham to send Lazarus to come and put just a drop of water on his tongue to relieve the burning of the fires of hell. Verse 25. Abraham tells the rich man that is impossible. He reminds the rich man that he had ALL of his good things during his life on earth and Lazarus had nothing but bad. So again as in the lesson of the Rich Ruler, we see that we can receive our rewards here for the short time we are on earth or we can receive them in heaven for eternity. Verse 26. Abraham tells the rich man here that even if he wanted to send Lazarus to help, he cannot because of the great chasm that separates the two places. No one in either place can cross over to the other. This is a warning that once you die, it is too late to change the place where you will spend eternity. Make your decision NOW, before it is too late for you to do so. Verse 27-28. The rich man now begins to realize his error and wishes to warn his brothers about what they are facing when they die. Apparently, they are just like him. He asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers so that they will not suffer his fate. We too should not wait to tell others about the good news of Jesus Christ, lest it become too late for us to tell them because we die or because they die before we get around to it. Do you want to be standing in front of God on Judgment Day and see someone in the line to hell because they or you died before you told them about the WAY to salvation? Verse 29. Abraham tells the rich man that he doesn’t have to send Lazarus because his brothers have the books of the Bible written by Moses and the prophets to guide them. Verse 30. The rich man answers that this is not enough, but if someone would come back from the dead and warn them, then they would listen to that person. Verse 31. Finally, Abraham comes to the heart of the matter. He tells the rich man that if his brothers were not listening to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone would come back from the dead to warn them, they would not listen to that person either! CONCLUSION How lucky we are today. We not only have the books of Moses and the prophets, we have the books written by the apostles and even more - WE HAVE THE PERSON THAT CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD that the rich man begged for. Jesus Christ died for us and has RISEN to show us the WAY to eternal life with Him in heaven, if we will just take it! ASSIGNMENT Take some time and think about whom you might know that needs to become acquainted with Jesus Christ. Then, and this is the scary part, figure out a way to introduce them. We do not want to be like the rich man and wait until it’s too late. We do not want to be in the line mentioned earlier and have someone we knew in life here come up and say, “Why didn’t you tell me?”