The Rich Man And Lazarus

(The Call For Early Repentance)

Luke 16:19-31

Key Verse 16:31

“He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " 

Today we will think about the importance of early repentance. When Jesus came, from day one of his public ministry, he kept preaching the good news of the kingdom of God saying, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15 But not all repented and believed. 

    

Yet Jesus did not give up on them. In order to help the unrepentant, Jesus came up with the story of “A rich man and Lazarus.” This story shows us why some are persistent in not repenting, and yet why Jesus prays for them to repent.  

First, what hinders man from repenting and turning to Christ? (19)

Yesterday after Shepherd Andy’s graduation ceremony at USC, Andy’s grand parents invited the guests to a Korean B.B.Q. restaurant in Korea Town. There we had a joyful a lunch fellowship. After the fellowship was over, Missionary David Park drove us back to Downey. But on the way the man seated next to him found that David was driving his car with the hand brake on. What will happen to a car if you keep driving it with the hand brake on? Well, one of the effects will be that the hand brake will hinder the car from rolling as fast and naturally as it should. The same is true with the business of repentance. There are elements which hinder man from repenting. There are counter forces or stumbling blocks which block man from truly repenting. 

In Luke 16:16 it is written: "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” Notice the word “forcing”. The word “forcing” indicates that there are enemies that deter man from turning to Christ - human pride, doubt of God’s love, human experiences that tend to make it difficult for one to believe or trust in anything or anyone, and certainly the devil. 

Surprisingly however according to Luke what hinders man from repenting and turning to Christ is more practical than theoretical, that is, the love of money. Speaking of the same truth, Luke 16:13-14 for example say, “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money." The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.” 

It is no surprise then that in the story of the rich man and Lazarus it was the “rich” man who ended up in hell. And the story begins to read in verse 19, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.” In those days the material to dye clothes in different colors such as purple was one of the rarest items. Being dressed in purple then is an idiom for a life which is way above the average people of Jesus’ day. Financially he could afford far more than average people. 

Look around yourself, and see what you can afford. Are you financially capable to, let’s say, rent a studio apartment? A two bed apt. with one bath? Can you afford buying a two bedroom house? A mansion with 12 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms? What about an estate in the Beverly Hills area? What about even in the City of Bell Air? 

We are living in a capitalist’s society. And some can afford way more than you can imagine. A Jewish man named Larry Silverstein is an example. One week prior to the downfall of the World Trade Center in New York, he acquired a leasehold interest to the WTC for $3.2 billion. A week later, it tumbled down. Luckily his building was insured. He had tons of good lawyers working for him. Through them he sued the insurance company. His lawyers came up with a settlement of $4.3 billion. He also secured a public fund of $3.3 billion. With the financial resources he came up with, he is now working to build a brand new tower called the Freedom Tower in Manhattan. 

Money itself is not bad. It is morally neutral. Being rich itself is not bad either. In fact the Bible teaches that if you obey the Lord, the Lord will bless you so much that you will lend to many nations but borrow from none. Then what is the catch of one being materially rich? The Bible warns us of the deceitfulness of wealth. Matthew 13:22 Mark 4:19  

In what respect is money deceitful? We know the answer. Money is so good that it effectively blinds man from seeing the true goodness of God’s kingdom which is truly good. As we know Jesus is good. He came to bestow upon man God’s kingdom. But if you have something tangible in your possession, it is so easy for you to become proud of what you have in your hands that you end up ignoring the message of repentance; you are less motivated to go for the good news of the kingdom of God. 

The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well is a good example. She had a bucket in her hands. In front of her she had Jacob’s well. She also had a water jar. With the bucket, she could draw water from the well. In this way she knew how to take care of herself. But Jesus did not have a bucket to draw water with. Jesus did not have a water jar. So the Samaritan woman looked down on Jesus and said, “You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” 

The real stake involved in you being deceived by the deceitfulness of wealth is far greater than you might think. In fact everyone who is materially rich already, and anyone who is not yet so reach, but desires to be rich must realize this: he is in danger of going to hell. You may wish to go to heaven, but according to Jesus, with all other conditions being equal it is more likely that you will end up in hell than in heaven. You may say, “I am not that stupid. After all I attend church worship services regularly. In fact I attend not only one church but two churches.” 

But one must remember that no one is deceived knowingly. For this reason Jesus says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Jesus could have said, “Remember Lot.” But Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32

How can we overcome the deceitfulness of wealth? Two things must be said: one, the limit of material wealth; and two, the purpose of material wealth. Characteristically material wealth belongs to a lower category. The Bible puts it in a general category called “flesh.” And flesh cannot save man. By nature God is spirit. Jesus then said, “The Spirit gives life; flesh counts for nothing.” Why then does God make man to be rich, if you are lucky enough to be rich? God did this only to let you serve the higher purpose God has, that is, making friends as Luke 16:9 says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” 

Second, what motivates man to repent and turn to Christ better? (20-21) 

While Missionary David Park was driving with the hand brake on, the car did not perform as smoothly as it should. As the man seated next to him pointed out that the hand brake was on, David quickly released the hand brake. And then the car drove faster. 

In the same way, when one is rid of the material wealth and all other sources that tend to make people held down in the so-called “comfort zone”, it is very natural that one is more motivated to repent, turn to Christ, and go for the message of His kingdom. Look at verses 20-21. “At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.” The man named Lazarus was struck with three strikes: material poverty, poor physical health, and a poor environment. [Some people interpret “the dogs licking” as a source of alleviation, but in my opinion this interpretation is wrong because the Bible does not put dogs in a favorable light. We Americans speak of dogs favorably, saying for example, “The more people I meet the more I like my dog.” But the Bible describes dogs as unclean animals which make the lowly condition of man’s life lowlier than ever.]  

In the parable of the prodigal son, the prodigal son did not come to his senses until all the money in his bank account was gone. It was when he was stuck in a pig farm that finally he came to his senses. Then he repented and started walking back to his father’s house. All the days of his life, a pastor named Kyung-jik Han suffered from a lung disease. Eventually he died of Leukemia. But due to his bodily “discomfort”, he always clung to the Lord for true comfort. And his sermons are filled with messages about the heavenly comfort that is for all who repent and turn to Christ.

Another pastor named Paul Y. Cho runs one of the largest churches in the whole world. And he always confesses that it was due to his own illnesses that the Lord God made him truly repent and turn to the Lord. Due to his physical illness (Tuberculosis), at the age of 17 he almost died. But as he earnestly repented and asked God for help, he came to experience God’s miraculous healing. Since then he keeps preaching the good news of the kingdom. People criticize him and his ministry for emphasizing too much about “miraculous healing”, but still the point remains the same: due to his physical illness, he was led to experience the power of Jesus’ Christ. 

The same point is made visible in the name “Lazarus.” In Hebrew, the name Lazarus means “God is my help.” In Psalm 121:1, the psalmist cries out, “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?” In the book of Job, a man named Job was struck with three strikes – material poverty, physical illnesses, and a lot of [human] dogs licking his sores. Beset by the adversities, he cried out, “If only I knew where to find [my God]; if only I could go to his dwelling… but if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west I do not find him…” Job 23:1-8 Having been stripped of all the comforts (physical or otherwise), he asked, “If a man dies, will he live again?” Then he said, “All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.” Job 14:14 While the pains were still raging in his body and soul, Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

 

Of course these examples do not mean that in order for you to be more motivated to truly repent and turn to Christ, you should torture yourself in such a way that you quit your job, go out and live as a beggar or you should stop eating and become very sick. Oh, no. That is not what I mean. By all means we must take care of ourselves, financially or otherwise. The only point I am saying here is that we must never, never, never, consider the adversities that come our way as mere “misfortunes.” Rather as King Solomon said, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” In the past a pastor I know hated his calling as a shepherd, for a lot of people, inside and outside, especially “inside” of the ministry, gave him a “hard time”. Each time he complained, he had no where to go, so he complained to his wife, “I quit. Let us go to Montana.” Then his wife said, “Didn’t you know that of all the jobs, the job of being a pastor is the hardest?” But later, he realized that for those who know the Lord and love him dearly, hard times are not just hard times; they are just a disguise for God’s wonderful blessings, and these hard times were a blessing for they led him to truly think about the good news of God’s kingdom. Finally he realized that there is no “perfect paradise” here on earth. Through difficulties and hardships, he came to resort to Jesus Christ, and learned to withdraw true comfort from the Lord! 

Third, what is the best time to repent? (22,25)

Let us look at verse 22, “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.” Notice the word “time.” Let us also look at verse 25. "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.’” Here we see Abraham using the word “lifetime.” The word “died” then tells us that our “lifetime” here in this physical body is a “limited commodity.” Last night while a pastor was at home the telephone rang. He picked up the phone. One of his friends in Toledo was on the phone. And he said he had just come back from attending the funeral service of a man he knew. The pastor knew the deceased man well. In fact the pastor studied the Bible with him together in the same ministry. The man was two years younger than the pastor. And he died of a heart attack. On hearing the news the first question that came to the pastor’s mind was whether or not the man died in his sin, for the man led the so-called “reform movement.” 

Obviously the rich man in the story died unrepentant. Once he died then he had no more opportunity to repent and turn to Christ. What was the result? He was in torment. He was stuck that way for good. He became an eternal fire-fighter. 

Fourth, why should we repent? (23-27) 

Each time we open the Bible and try to read through it, we always run into the message of repentance. And not all people like to hear it. In the New Testament Scriptures as well the first word that came from the mouth of Jesus was “repent.” 

Why should we repent? The answer is two-fold. In Mark 1:15, Jesus says that we must repent for  the Kingdom of God is near. But in the passage for today Jesus dug up the other side of the coin, that is, in order for us not to fall into the state of eternal damnation. With this in mind, let us all read verses 23-28. 

“In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'  "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'” This passage has been the source of many arguments and debates. A lot of people keep asking questions like “What the hell does hell mean?” Or some say, “What is this chasm? How wide is it? Is it as wide as the Grand Canyon?” Or “What does ‘fire’ mean? Is this fire a physical fire?” Some doubters say, “How come the so-called “good” God create such a place called ‘hell’?” Or “How come a good GOD punish anyone eternally for the sins he might have committed for such a short period of time?” Of course I have my own theories. I have my own answers to all these questions. But today it is not my duty to get into these, for it is sufficient to say that Jesus who knows better dug up the story. So, we must accept the existence of eternal damnation in hell; the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  The one who doesn’t accept Jesus Christ is already under God’s condemnation and is therefore subject to God’s judgment, wrath, and anger.  This judgment will result in eternal damnation, but God sent Jesus Christ to save man so that everyone who believes in him shall never be condemned.

Fifth, of what should we repent? (29)

The next question then becomes “Of what should we all repent?” Verse 29 answers the question, for it talks about Moses and the Prophets. What are Moses and the Prophets referring to? Moses and the Prophets refer to the Scriptures. For our own purpose today they provide us with God’s standards against which we all should repent. 

Each time one is asked to repent, he or she can be very confused about what sins one should to repent of. To make the job easy the Lord God gave us His divine standards. Moses’ Ten Commandments are a good example. So if you think you are a righteous person, by all means, go and read Moses Ten Commandments. Then very quickly as you go down the list, you will find yourself as a sinner. 

Sixth, how can we repent? (30-31)

Practically then how can we repent of all of our sins? You know, sin is a lot more difficult to turn away from than one might think. Proverbs 5:22 then says, “The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.” In dealing with the problem of sin, Jesus also uses the example of a mulberry tree because it is more difficult for one to completely root it out of his life than for him to take a mulberry tree rooted out and be planted in the sea. 

How then can one truly repent? In my opinion the passage offers a solution in two steps: first, studying the Scriptures prayerfully until conviction arises in one’s heart (30-31)– the conviction of one’s sinful condition, and second, turning to the Lord for the Lord’s help, all in absolute faith as absolute as the kind of faith Abraham had. 

In repenting then, notice that a miracle is not a viable solution, for Abraham said that even if a man who has been in hell comes back to life and preaches, “Repent, for I have been to the bottom of the hell”. In the first place, unless one studies the Word of God, one cannot realize how fallen one has become. Then, as one studies the Scripture, one is led to relying on the means God has provided us with, that is, it is through God’s way that one can be saved. Speaking of the same truth, Jesus said in Luke 24:25-27, that Moses and the Prophets all speak of Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, for through faith in the Lord Jesus, the atoning sacrifice, can all of our sins be forgiven. Then as Jesus gives him the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit works to transform him into a new creation fit for His kingdom.

One word: Father, Abraham

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