Written by Paul Lane
The Word
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.[ Greek bosom; also verse 23] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
Luke 16:19-26 (ESV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[ Some manuscripts add murder] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[Or make a practice of doing] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:19-24 (ESV)
Reflection
The purpose of today’s parable is not to build your self-confidence, or to make you feel good about some good deeds you have done recently. I believe that Jesus’ intent is to make the audience reflect upon their lives and to consider the condition of their hearts, and in doing so He is looking to leave a mark. He is speaking to people dressed in purple, eating fine foods and living comfortably. So, the audience here is intended to identify with the rich man, who ends up in Hell! If you take this on its face, you could conclude that Jesus intends us to become diseased beggars, so that we can inherit God’s Kingdom. Here’s a question for you:
If that’s what Jesus asked of you, would you do it?
I know it is a hard question, but it is consistent with Jesus’ intent. Our task is to understand what it would take for us to say yes to Jesus here. We would have to be willing to give up the nice food and be satisfied with what came our way daily. We could not trust in our wealth to provide food. This parable should bring us to the point where we remember to pray for it, daily.
To say yes to the question, we would have to trust that there would be clothes for us to wear. And we could not be picky about how they looked, if they matched, or even if they fit well. We would just have to learn how to be thankful that we were clothed.
When it comes to friends, we would have to be willing to lose some and be willing to lose our position in society. If you had nothing to give people in terms of material possessions or societal position, what kind of friendships could you build? Would you be willing to trust that good friendships could still happen?
And what about your health plan? We may complain about our medical coverage, and how confusing the billing is, but would you trade it for just trusting that you would be taken care of somehow, even if it were provided by stray dogs?
Application
One interesting thing here is that Jesus does not give directions. He just tells the story as a warning to the comfortable. There is a trade here. In this temporal world, the rich man enjoys his good things while Lazarus suffers the bad things. However, in eternity Lazarus will have his good things while the rich man suffers bad things. This is the danger of trusting in riches. They can blind you to what is truly eternal.
We are reminded to turn our hearts and minds to the Lord. We are to remember to trust also in Him, that He provides all things for us. My old pastor liked to ask this question. “Which would you rather have, $10,000,000 or all of your needs met?” Remember that the day could come when you needed more than $10,000,000. In fact, in our society, the more money you have, the easier it is to get into more debt.
Do not get caught up in running after material possessions. Yes, we still must get up, go to our jobs so that we can earn money and buy food. We still have obligations to our families to clothe them, care for them and prepare them for practical life. Jesus is not telling us to stop doing that. However, we must be careful about where we are placing our trust. We must trust and obey the Lord, and Jesus tells us that our needs will be met.
Prayer
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[Hebrew Shaddai]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.14 “Because he[That is, probably the king] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”Psalm 91 (ESV)
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