The Rich Man and Lazarus

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’” (Luke 16:19-26 NLT)

Jesus is speaking specifically to the Pharisees here: 14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God. (Luke 16:14-15 NLT).

The story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus has one simple message for the Pharisees who believed that wealth and prosperity was proof of God’s approval: God loves the poor, the disadvantaged, and the outcasts. They will find mercy and comfort in God’s home. But for those who are wealthy and prosperous and believe themselves vastly superior to the poor, Jesus puts these words in the mouth of “Father Abraham” speaking from Paradise, “Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.”

The judgement on the rich man was not that he was wealthy, but that he was unwilling to share even the smallest amount of his abundance with a poor man he encountered daily. This is the point Jesus made: 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:44-46 NLT)

Prayer:

Father, Have mercy on us! May we see as you see, value as you value, and not withhold good from those in need when it is in our power to help. For Jesus’ Sake!