The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 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.’ 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. 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.’ And he said, ‘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.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 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.’”

 In Luke 16, Jesus is sharing this account with his disciples. He tells them of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man feasted sumptuously every day while Lazarus suffered at his door with nothing. When they both died, Lazarus went to a good place where he was comforted, but the rich man went to a place where he suffered in pain.

There is so much to learn from this account, but today I want to focus on the last piece. When the rich man’s first request is turned down, he then makes a second request. He asked that Lazarus be sent to his father’s house to warn his brothers to not end up in the same place of torment.

Abraham responds by saying that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets. When he says Moses and the Prophets, he means that they have the word of God the Bible (Torah) and that the Bible can do that very task. Moses and the Prophets teach about all the past mistakes that man has made, and it shows us what we need to do to make it right. We all have that warning, but do we take it seriously? Do we realise how severe and real this warning is, or will we be like the rich man who realised only when it was too late?

Interestingly, the rich man tells Abraham that his brothers will repent if someone goes from the dead. So, he is saying that if they see a resurrected man and hear this warning from him, then they for sure will repent. But Abraham says if they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead to warn them. And we know this is true because we have precisely both these opportunities, yet still, we do not hear. We have Moses, the prophets and even the apostles (the Bible) giving us so much warning of what happens when the people of God are disobedient. We have heard of many accounts of the consequences of such rejection, yet we still do not hear.

Additionally, we also have the second scenario presented to us where someone did rise from the dead, and we still have trouble hearing Him. Jesus came as a man and died by the hand of man and rose from the dead, not just paying for our sins but also demonstrating that he is who he says he is, that he has power over death itself, yet still we have trouble believing him. We have the accounts of eyewitnesses, and still, we do not believe.

So, will we listen if we hear from Moses, the Prophets or the dead man himself? Or do we think there is another scenario by which we will hear? No God in his perfect plan has already set in place all that we need to hear and change, and there is no better way that we can get this warning. The rest is up to us to choose to hear, take heed, and obey. So, take heed and hear before it is too late.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.