Monday, August 18, 2008
The Rich Man and Lazarus, Part 1 of 28
TEXT: "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried" (Luke 16:19-22).
IDEA: Appearances can be deceiving.
PURPOSE: To convince the listener that those who appear to be blessed may be cursed and those who appear to be cursed may be blessed.
When you say that someone is evidently “blessed of God,” what do most people mean by that?
When you think of someone who may be “cursed of God,” what kind of person do people have in mind?
I. How would different people in society look at these two different folks?
Look at a man who was one of the extremely wealthy people in history. He would rank with John D. Rockefeller, Aristotle Onassis, Donald Trump, J. P. Morgan, etc. You would meet him on Park Avenue in New York City, or in one of the great estates on Cape Cod.
His house: He lives in a mansion of huge proportions, with an ornate entrance. In our day it would have high walls that shuts everything else out and shuts him in to his opulence.
His wardrobe: He wears $5,000 silk suits, tailor-made, with exquisite coloring. He wears underwear that sells for $100 a pair, made of the softest silk. He has a wardrobe of such magnificent clothes. It would be no exaggeration to say that he dresses like a king. In our parlance today he’d be called a “power-dresser.”
His table: He eats well. He has daily feasts with the very best of foods. In fact, he would throw away in the garbage what others might feel would make a good meal.
Look at another man:
He’s a street person, a beggar.
He sits outside the gate of the rich man’s palatial estate and asks people to help him.
He is sparsely clothed.
He begs for the food that the rich man doesn’t want. Sometimes the servants of the rich man give him some scraps. He’s glad to get them.
He is sick, covered with sores. He has no medical policy, so they cannot be cared for. Dogs that wander the street lick his sores, and he is too weak to push them away.
II. How would different people in our society look at these two men?
The people who advertise on television.
The powerful people in the country.
The television evangelist who preaches a health-and-wealth gospel.
Which of these two men would people like to meet? Which of these two men would people tend to avoid?
How does the undertaker regard both of these men when they die?
What kind of funeral would the rich man have?
What kind of funeral would the poor man have?
III. How would Jesus look at these two men?
If this is where the story ends, then we make one judgment. The great question is, “is there more to the story?” Jesus says there is. From Him we get the rest of the story:
"The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ "
Obviously Jesus’ verdict is different from ours. We have to ask why.
