The Rich Man & Lazarus
(Part 3 of 3)

This week I will finish the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. If you have missed the first two installments of this series, I encourage you to go back to Sunday’s Knowledge Nugget #004 and Sunday’s Knowledge Nugget #005 before proceeding with this one in order to understand the entire teaching.

We pick up in verses 27 and 28 of Luke chapter 16.

“27 But the rich man said, ‘Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father’s home. 28 Let him warn my five brothers, so they won’t come to this horrible place.‘ ”
Luke 16:27-28 (CEV)

The rich man, realizing the peril that he is in, wishes to warn his five brothers of their impending doom. Also, for the first time, the rich man is showing concern for others. But look what Abraham says next:

“Abraham answered, ‘Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote. They should pay attention to that.’ ”
Luke 16:29 (CEV)

“What Moses and the prophets wrote” is what? Do you know? Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament or the Pentateuch. The prophets wrote the remainder of the Old Testament. Basically, Abraham is referring to the entire Old Testament! So it goes to reason that we should all pay attention to God’s Word; from start to finish. It is the instruction manual for life!

But the rich man was not satisfied with Abraham’s answer. Reading verse 30 of Luke chapter 16 we find:

“Then the rich man said, ‘No, that’s not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God.’ ”
Luke 16:30 (CEV)

How often do we hear a request like this? Quite often as it turns out. “If only I could see a miracle, I would believe.” Of course, that line is usually an excuse to go on living a life of sin.

Even the Pharisees had asked Jesus to perform a sign as we see in the following verse:

” ‘Do a miracle for us,’ they said. ‘Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.’ ”
Mark 8:11 (TLB)

Finally, look at how Abraham responds to the rich man in verse 31:

“So Abraham said,
‘If they won’t pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even to someone who comes back from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16:31 (CEV)

What Abraham is saying is this. If your brothers will not study the Old Testament with all of its miracles and signs, even sending you back to warn your brothers would have no impact on them. Those types of people will always try to rationalize out what just happened and fail to see God’s Hand in any of it.

Jesus responded in much the same way to the Pharisees as Abraham did to the rich man as seen in the following verse:

“He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, ‘Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?’ ”
Mark 8:12 (TLB)

Oh how true! No matter what miracle is performed, there will still be people that do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sad but true. So to recap the entire story as told by Jesus, I turn to The Message translation:

19 “There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. 20 A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. 21 All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.“

22 “Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’ “

25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. 26 Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’ “

27 “The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father 28 where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’ “

29 “Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’ “

30 ” ‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’ “

31 “Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’ “

Luke 16:19-31 (The Message)

I hope you have enjoyed the past three “knowledge nuggets” that covered Luke 16:19-31. It is a powerful story made even more powerful by the fact that this does not appear to be Jesus telling a parable since Lazarus is mentioned. Biblical scholars believe this to be a true and factual event because none of Jesus’ parables use a person’s name. We covered that in the first week of this series.

That will be a wrap for today. You all have been great. I especially appreciate the eMails from folks that either let me know how this ministry has helped them or sent me ideas on content that I could publish. With that, I leave you by speaking this blessing over you:

“I pray that the Lord
will bless and protect you,
and that he will show you mercy
and kindness.
May the Lord be good to you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (CEV)

Pastor Dave