The Rich Man and Lazarus
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· 11 viewsTo express the seriousness of the reality of our eternal destiny, and to equip God's people with an understanding of the supremacy of the word of God for salvation.
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Is the parable just a story or is it True?
Is the parable just a story or is it True?
There is no reason to believe that this is not a true incident to happen. In no parables does Jesus actually give the name of a character as he does here. Rather he uses vague terms such as farmer, shepherd, servant, tenants, sons, ect.
Rich men and beggars were common to these people there was no reason for Jesus to give the name of the individual but he did.
This parable is given for the benefit of the Pharisees who are there. This is evident when you read chapter 16 altogether. When Jesus introduces the characters of this parable they would immediately related with the rich man. This may become evident to you as we move along through the study.
Death comes to all men regardless of status.
Death comes to all men regardless of status.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “there is a time to be born and a time to die.”
Hebrews 9:27 “. . . it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.”
Death is evidence that God is serious about sin. There are no “small sins”in God’s sight; only guilty or not guilty.
Death is evidence that God is serious about sin. There are no “small sins”in God’s sight; only guilty or not guilty.
Ezekiel 18:20 “the soul that sins it shall die.”
Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death”
Habbakuk 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”
The rich man was immediately in hades.
The rich man was immediately in hades.
It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 13:42, Luke 13:28.
It is a place of torment as seen here in Luke 16:23.
It is referred to as a lake of fire. Revelation 21:8
The rich man was conscious and had his memories. He remembered Lazarus, Abraham, and his family.
Apparent blessing in materialism is no indication of how you stand before God.
Apparent blessing in materialism is no indication of how you stand before God.
The pharisees loved money and would have believed Lazarus to be the one not in right standing with God. They commonly viewed the sufferings that Lazarus was experiencing to be evidence of divine disfavor. Perhaps a punishment for sin. Although God does chastise those he loves this parable is given for the benefit of the Pharisees who are there.
In Luke 16:14 Jesus had just gotten done teaching that you can not serve both God and money. It says “the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. The Pharisees believed that devotion to money and devotion to God were compatible and this went hand in hand with the notion that earthly wealth signified divine blessing. Pharisees put a great emphasis on the giving of alms and it was thought that those who were more wealthy such as the Pharisees were able to give more alms and were therefore the most likely candidates for heaven. As if it could some how be merited.
Jesus frequently denounced both the love of wealth and devotion to mammon.
The rich man made two request.
The rich man made two request.
For mercy and a drop of water on his tongue.
For Lazarus to be sent to his family who he knew would end up in the same place he was.
Neither of these requests were met.
His destination is an eternal one.
His destination is an eternal one.
The change of circumstances effected his priorities. When he was walking around on earth, living in luxury every day he was not concerned about his nor his families eternal situation. Now that his circumstances have changed it seems to be his priority.
He now understands the seriousness of the situation, but it is too late. This is eternal.
Read Luke 16:26
The power of the word of God.
The power of the word of God.
Read Luke 16:29-31
If the word of God (the OT) won’t convince his family then neither will someone rising from the dead. The power is in the word of God.
Romans 1:16 says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
At the heart of the matter the condition of the lost is not an intellectual problem. It is a moral problem. No amount of evidences will do what only the word of God can do.
In John 6:63 Jesus says the words i have spoken to you are full of the Spirit and life.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper that any double edged sword.”
James 1:18 “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth”
1 Peter 1:23 “For you have been born again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”