9.00am and 10.30am Sunday 28 August 2003
Rev Des Botting
Readings: Philippians 3:1-11; Luke 16:14-31
What happens when we die? This is a question that exercises the mind of every human being. Death is the ultimate statistic one out of every one persons die. Death is inevitable, unavoidable, and, to some extent, predictable. We may not know exactly when its going to happen, but we do know that somewhere between the ages of 0 and 120 it will come to pass. Every one of us here this morning is going to have to face this reality at some time or other. Therefore, any voice from beyond the grave, such as we have here in Luke 16, is worthy of serious consideration.
Last week we looked at the previous passage in Luke 16 about the dishonest manager of a rich man. Todays story is about a rich man himself. Both of these stories are found only in Lukes Gospel. As I mentioned last week, Jesus often spoke about money. In fact, one third of all his stories he told had this as its subject matter. This is particularly true of Lukes Gospel where references to rich people are four times as numerous as in any of the other Gospels. Like the previous passage, this story, is not without its difficulties. Neither of them is called a parable, and the reasons for thinking this about the one we read this morning, is that it makes mention of two people by name, Lazarus and Abraham. That the story is clothed in figurative language is clear, but behind and beneath what it says are some very sobering truths.
Jesus isnt teaching that its a vice to be rich, or a virtue to be poor. He isnt teaching that the rich go to hell, and the poor go to heaven. But he is teaching that how people use what theyre given in life, will reveal their character, and that character determines destiny.
The background to this story is found in verses 14-17. The Pharisees had made fun of Jesus after his story about the dishonest manager. The word used here literally means, they turned up their noses at him. Jesus told them, You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart.[1] For what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.[2] Strong words, arent they? The word abominable means detestable, odious, morally or physically loathsome, an object of disgust. Luke tells us that the Pharisees loved money. The reason for this was that the Pharisees saw wealth as evidence of Gods blessing on a persons life and a sign that a person was good. After all, they did outwardly observe Gods laws. What made this attitude odious in the sight of God was not just that they made themselves look good before people, but that they pointed to their material prosperity as proof of their goodness. Jesus strongest words of condemnation were addressed to these people. In Matthews Gospel he said, You Pharisees are in for trouble! Youre nothing but show-offs. You are like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth. Thats what youre like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.[3] It was their pretence of being good that was abhorrent to God. God detests false religion. It is odious and loathsome to him, and its significant that it is the very same Law that the Pharisees claimed to observe that Jesus appeals to in his response. He affirms its permanence when he says, Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the Law does.[4] And again in his story of the rich man he says that people have all they need to know about how God wants them to live in what Moses and the prophets wrote. It is a very pointed story, and the Pharisees were not slow in recognizing that it was directed at them.
In effect, Jesus was saying that all the things that the Pharisees prized were of no value whatsoever in the economy of God.
This wasnt true of them all. Some of the Pharisees saw the light. The Apostle Paul was one such. He had been just like these men, proud, arrogant, religiously observing the Law of Moses, and zealous for its honour, so much so that he made trouble for the church. He said, I did everything the Law demands in order to please God.[5] But when he encountered Jesus on the Damascus road all that changed. God turned his values on their head. Paul quickly came to realise that what had been important to him before was worth nothing as far as God is concerned. He said, Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him.[6]
There is nothing evil in money of itself. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.[7] This was the trap that the Pharisees fell into, along with making their religion an outward show and not an inward reality, and we need to be wary of that also. We need to pray as the Psalmist did, Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. Dont let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true.[8]
We have seen what God thinks of the things human beings prize. What is it then that God prizes and looks for in peoples lives? There are two things found in this passage.
1. MERCY. On more than one occasion Jesus said to the Pharisees, Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.[9]
This poor man, Lazarus, was placed at the gate of the rich man because according to the Law of Moses[10] the rich man had a responsibility to help his poor neighbour. He was obviously well able to do so because of what we are told about him. He dressed in purple and fine linen, the clothing only the very wealthy could afford, and feasted sumptuously, not just on special occasions, but daily. The word translated feasted sumptuously, is the same word used four times in the previous chapter to describe the celebration the father put on for the prodigal son when he returned home, So for this rich man it was like eating the fatted calf every day.
This rich man, however, like the rich fool Jesus spoke about in Luke 12, thought only of himself. He turned a blind eye to the need sitting right on his doorstep. It was only after his death that he realised his mistake. He knew what the Law and the prophets wrote, that, for example, the prophet Micah had said that God did not require lavish sacrifices, but rather to See that justice (was) done, to let mercy be (ones) first concern, and (to) humbly obey God.[11] But he chose to ignore Gods requirements. The tragedy is that in his torment he cries out to Abraham for that which he refused to show on earth. He called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. But it was too late. This rich man was condemned not for what he did, but for what he failed to do.
The God whom we worship today is rich in mercy,[12] and He wants us to be merciful. Jesus said, God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy.[13] He wants us to be alert to the needy on our doorstep, and to use what we have been given to meet that need.
The second quality God prizes is
2. FAITH. Although nothing is said about the religious state of either, it is obvious that Lazarus, despite his unenviable lot in life, trusted in God, for when he died the angels took him to the place of honour next to Abraham. His name implies this as well, as Lazarus is the latinised form of Eleazar, meaning God is my help. The Bible says of the poor, that God has chosen them to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him.[14] This was certainly true of Lazarus.
Wealth does not disqualify a person from having faith. Abraham was a very wealthy person, but he was also a man of great faith. The issue, as Jesus said earlier in this chapter, is whether we serve God or money. Wealth can keep us out of heaven, and Jesus acknowledges this in his words about the rich ruler in Luke 18, where he said, its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into Gods kingdom.[15] This was why Paul counseled Timothy to warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or trust in wealth thats easily lost, but to tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life, and,to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share, because this will lay a solid foundation for the future and help them to know what true life is.[16]
The problem with the rich man in Jesus story was that he did not share what he had been given. He thought it all was his own to do with as he pleased, whereas Abraham reminded him that the good things he enjoyed in his lifetime were things he had received. We are to put our trust in God, not in material possessions.
Three brief thoughts in closing.
a) We must get it right first time round. We only get one run at this life. We dont get a second bite at the cherry. The Bible says, We die only once, and then we are judged.[17] It is imperative that we get it right before the ultimate statistic claims us, too. Our destiny is determined in this life. Character is fixed in the other world. Abraham spoke of a great chasm having been fixed between the two realms that cannot be bridged in any way. It is a sobering thought to ponder. Mercy and faith are required now.
b) We have all we need to know to get it right first time round within the pages of this book, the Bible. This book, as the apostle Paul says, is able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved.[18] Like the rich man, we ignore it at our peril.
c) Overarching this story is the story of another rich man, infinitely more wealthy than the man in our reading this morning. He also had a beggar lying at his gate. But instead of ignoring this person in need, he exchanged his wealth for the beggars rags, and in return made the beggar exceedingly rich. That rich man was the person who told this story, and we are the beggars at his gate. The Bible says, You know that our Lord Jesus Christ was kind enough to give up all his riches and become poor, so that you could become rich.[19]
Dont put your trust in the things that are worthless as far as God is concerned. Heed the warning of this voice from beyond the grave, and put your trust in Gods Son. He is the One who can make us rich in the things that really matter faith and love. These are the qualities that will last forever.
[1] Luke 16:15a (All Bible references are from the Contemporary English Version unless otherwise stated.)
[2] Luke 16:15b New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
[3] Mattthew 23:27-28
[4] Luke 16:17
[5] Philippians 3:6
[6] Philippians 3:7-9a
[7] 1 Timothy 6:10
[8] Psalm 139:23-24
[9] Matthew 9:13
[10] Examples of this are Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 19:10; 23:22
[11] Micah 6:8
[12] Ephesians 2:4
[13] Matthew 5:7
[14] James 2:5 NRSV
[15] Luke 18:25
[16] 1 Timothy 6:17-19 CEV and NRSV
[17] Hebrews 9:27
[18] 2 Timothy 3:15
[19] 2 Corinthians 8:9