Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth; for His word is truth. Amen
Eighteenth
Sunday after Pentecost (2010)
Salvation is
Reserved for this Life
Luke
16:19-31 (ESV)
"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. 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.' [27] And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's
house— [28] for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also
come into this place of torment.' [29] But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them hear them.' [30] And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but
if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' [31] He said to him,
'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if
someone should rise from the dead.' "
How
many of you remember Evel Knievel, the daredevil motorcyclists who thrilled
thousands with his daring jumps, many ending in failure and broken bones? His
most famous and least successful jump was when he tried to jump the
In today’s Gospel Reading our Lord Jesus shows us a chasm that is also too wide to cross, the chasm between heaven and hell. In His story of the rich man and Lazarus, our Lord gives us a glimpse of these two eternal places, showing us souls residing in both places who can see and speak to one another, but they can never cross. Their residence is permanent. Moreover, the souls on heaven’s side live in eternal comfort and joy while those on hell’s side live in eternal torment; begging for relief. Which side your soul will reside in, is determined in this life. Thus, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus our Lord Jesus shows us that Salvation is Reserved for this Life.
Jesus, knowing the hearts of the Pharisee’s who were lovers of money told them, “You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13 ESV). Such preaching didn’t sit well with the Pharisees and they scoffed at Jesus because they saw no conflict in serving God and loving money. They loved parading their wealth before the people, arrogantly illustrating their false theology confusing their wealth with God’s love. To counter such misguided and foolish thinking our Lord Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
He tells of a rich man, who flaunted his wealth by dressing in fine, purple linen and feasting sumptuously everyday on the best of food and wines. Now in and by itself, being wealthy and living according to your means is not a sin. However, the wealth of the rich man in our Lord’s story had corrupted him to the point where he failed to live according to the Law; he failed to love God and his neighbor.
As if to test the rich man’s faith, God causes a poor, sickly beggar to be laid at the rich man’s gate. Therefore, everyday as the rich man went to and from his home he had to pass the poor beggar. It’s interesting that the rich man remains nameless in the story, but our Lord identifies the beggar as Lazarus, meaning “God is my help.” Too weak and frail to move about on his own or to earn a living or acquire food for himself, Lazarus hopes that the rich man will have pity on him and allow him to eat the scraps from his table. Unable to seek or pay for medical treatment, Lazarus had to depend on the rich man’s dogs to come and lick his sores, providing him temporary relief. Although Lazarus is completely destitute, his plight has not escaped our Lord as he is counted among those who are totally dependent on God, those of whom He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 ESV).
There is a chasm between the rich man and Lazarus, a chasm which is created by apathy, ego, self-righteousness, and lovelessness. However, it is a chasm which is not unbridgeable. God’s Word easily bridges this chasm teaching that love is the summary of the Ten Commandments. Love of God and love of neighbor. Thus, love is the bridge over which the rich man could have crossed to come to Lazarus’ aide. But, alas, the only love the rich man had was love for himself, his riches, and his way of life. He was blinded by his wealth.
One day Lazarus dies and our Lord Jesus says he, “was carried by the angels to Abraham's side” (v. 22). This was a common Jewish reference to heaven because Abraham is the father of all believers; therefore all believers are ultimately borne to Abraham’s side. There is no mention of Lazarus’ funeral. Most likely, being a beggar, he was ignominiously dumped into some obscure grave. However, his soul was borne into the bliss of heaven by God’s own angels. This is a most comforting thought, to know that at the hour of our death, angels will be standing by our bedside waiting to carry our soul to Abraham’s side.
Jesus then tells us that the rich man also dies. Without question it is not difficult to imagine the funeral for the rich man was one filled with circumstance and pomp. Preacher after preacher coming forward delivering one eulogy after another, testimonies from other rich men regarding the goodness of this dearly departed soul, lavish funeral dressings, a costly coffin, and, of course, a wonderful post-funeral meal of sumptuous food. However, his eternal plight is quite unlike that of Lazarus. Our Lord tells us the rich man is, “in Hades, being in torment” (v. 23). His wealth, his popularity, his stature in the community, count for nothing when he is called from this life. God, alone, sees into the hearts of men and He knew whether the rich man had faith in the Messiah. Holy Scripture teaches us, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). However, this act of hearing is relegated to this life, not the life hereafter. We are given one opportunity for Salvation and it is Reserved for this Life.
The distance that separated the rich man and Lazarus in this life was easily closed by God at the moment of their deaths. All men, regardless of status must come to such an end and there, for the moment, all are equal, standing before the judgment seat of God. However, as we see in the Gospel Reading, a chasm too immense to be bridged by any means awaits to separate believers from unbelievers. The chasm that separated the rich man and Lazarus in this life was the result of self-centered lovelessness. The chasm that separates them after death is the result of sin and God’s judgment against sinners.
Now, no longer experiencing the life of luxury on earth, the rich man is suffering in the fires of hell. In his torment he looks across the great, unbridgeable chasm that separates heaven from hell and seeing Lazarus comfortably resting at Abraham’s side he cries 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” (v. 24). All thoughts of a temporary “soul sleep” for the dead are dashed by the words of our Lord Jesus in this story. Instantly, upon our death, we are judged and accorded our place in eternity. There is no purgatory or limbo there is only heaven or hell; a place of eternal bliss or one of eternal torment.
Hearing
the plea of the rich man, Abraham responds by saying, “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. 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” (vv. 25-26).
Abraham reminds the rich man that in his earthly life he was given abundant
wealth from God; wealth that was intended for his benefit but also for the
benefit of others. However, instead of using it wisely, for the good God
intended, the rich man wasted it, squandering it on lavish living. Secure in
his wealth, the rich man gave no thought to the needs of others or of God. He
squandered his eternal soul for the temporal pleasures of this life. Yet
Lazarus, whose earthly existence consisted only of pain and sorrow, is now
being comforted in the joys of heaven, rewarded for his love of God and his tenacious
clinging to the blessed gift of faith in the Messiah.
It is easy to see the sinner in the rich man, but how about Lazarus? Do we see the sinner in him as well? Oh not that he is evil, cunning, or diabolical, nor does he take advantage of his neighbor robbing or cheating them of their inheritance. No, but he is a sinner none-the-less, conceived in sin and born with the sin of Adam on his soul. Just as Lazarus lies helpless at the rich man’s gate, unable to cure his physical condition, we see Lazarus who is helpless in removing the sin which has corrupted his soul; and there we see ourselves. Lazarus was carried to the rich man’s gate, a place of small comfort, by those who desired to help him so he might receive temporal benefit; a few table scraps and the compassion of dogs. We, on the other hand, are carried to the church, a place of great comfort, by the Holy Spirit, where we can receive His blessed means of grace; God’s holy and Saving Word of the Gospel, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Lazarus is truly blessed because he is poor in spirit but we, too, are blessed for we have been given the gift to believe in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Thus, we are counted among the poor in spirit as well and like Lazarus we too will receive the blessedness of the kingdom of heaven.
Continuing to plead with Abraham, the rich man then asks, “Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (vv. 27-28). The rich man has realized too late, the error of his ways and he doesn’t want his brothers to suffer the same fate. Therefore, send Lazarus to warn his brothers, who still reside on this side of heaven, what awaits them if they continue to live contrary to the Word of God? This seems like a strange request. If the rich man didn’t recognize Lazarus while he was alive, what makes him think his brothers would? Furthermore, Abraham tells him, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” (v. 29). Your brothers have the Word of God, there is nothing more that they need to keep them from being where you are for eternity. Let them study it, let them hear it preached, let them read it diligently absorbing its truth and guiding power that comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit and faith, the gift that leads to an eternal life of joy and bliss.
Reminding me of Abraham’s bargaining with God over the souls in Sodom, the rich man is persistent in his desire to save his brothers, the rich man cannot take no for an answer. He continues to plea, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (v. 30). He reasons, Lazarus is just like me, he’s died, everyone knows he’s dead, now if he could appear to my brothers I’m sure they’ll see the miracle of his resurrection and repent. However, his reasoning has one very big flaw, if his brothers are just like him and have paid little or no attention to God’s Word, how are they going to recognize one who has come back from the dead? How are they going to know one who has been sent from heaven? Thus, Abraham responds, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (v. 31).
The
Gospel message is anathema to the world. Natural man cannot understand.
Today, our Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and Lazarus, no longer lying helpless and alone at the rich man’s gate, stands in the multitude of all the saints, singing hymns of praise and giving all glory to Him who rescued him from the eternal fires of hell. The rich man on the other hand, is suffering in the torment of hell, listening to and seeing across the impassable chasm the love of God and the joy of His servants, regretting that he didn’t listen to God’s Word when he had the chance. Therefore, we pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts all our days, leading us to give thanks to a loving God who showered His love on us by sending His only Son to take our sin upon Himself, justifying and reconciling us before His heavenly Father so we could be robed in His righteousness and be called “children of God.” Furthermore, we pray that God would use us as His instruments to proclaim the Gospel truth to all who do not believe so that the Holy Spirit may work in their hearts the gift of faith to believe in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ so that they may live eternally in heaven. Amen.
May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.