Jump Start # 357

Luke 16:31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ “

  This chapter of Luke ends with the powerful scene that allows us to see what happens when a person dies. We are given two perspectives. From earth, there were funerals and trips to the cemetery. That’s the view we understand. The other view is what happened to the soul.

  Two men who were very different. One wealthy and selfish and full of opportunity. His name is not given to us. We know him only as “the rich man.” The other is Lazarus, a common name back then. He is hopeless. Someone, possibly his family, lays him at the gate of this rich man. The hopes are that the compassion of this rich man will help sick Lazarus. It didn’t work. The rich man ignores Lazarus. They both die. They are both cast into Hades, Lazarus in comfort and the rich man in torment.

  Hades is the place the soul goes until Jesus comes. It is not all bad. Jesus went to Hades, that’s what Peter said in Acts 2. On the cross He told one of the thieves, ‘you’ll be with me in paradise.’ That’s where Lazarus was.

  The rich man was in torment. He was miserable. He longed for the simplest thing, a drop of water on his tongue. That wouldn’t last long. That wouldn’t do much good. It illustrates how extreme his condition was.

  For the first time he thinks about someone other than himself. He is concerned about his five brothers. Even after death, he remembered. He knew he had five brothers and he knew the kind of people they were, most likely just like him. He knew that if they didn’t change, they’d be right with him in that terrible state. For the first time he is thinking of things other than self, money and pleasure. His thoughts are spiritual. He knows why he is there. He knows his five brothers will follow. Successful in life and a failure in death. Rich in stuff, but poor in God. That was the condition of that family. Many are following that same direction today.

 The rich man wants word sent to his brothers. He begs, “send Lazarus.” Interesting, he doesn’t suggest, “let me go and tell them.” He knows he is stuck and it’s by his own doing. He is sure that if someone from the dead would talk to them they will repent and avoid the pain that he is in. He is sure of that.

  Father Abraham says, “No.” The brothers are given the same chance he was. They have Moses, they have the prophets. If they ignore God’s word, then they will ignore a message from the dead. There are no special favors. Everyone gets the same opportunity.

  Interestingly, there was a Lazarus who came back from the dead. Not the same Lazarus, but one in John 11 that Jesus resurrected. In the next chapter, the Jews set to kill Jesus and Lazarus. His return didn’t do anything. More than that, our Lord came back from the dead and is the first raised to never die again. He reigns in Heaven today. Do people listen? Do they repent of their sins?

  Our passage today reminds us that God has provided warning. God has told of His promises. They are there in the Bible. Read the Bible. Believe it, follow it. You don’t have to waste your life.

  What a contrast these two men make. While on earth, no one would want to be Lazarus. People envied the rich man. Wish he was my dad, wish I had what he owned…But in death, how everything was reversed. The rich man himself, longed to be Lazarus. His riches didn’t help him, in fact, they hurt him. He could have used them to help others, especially Lazarus. But he didn’t. He spent. He lived the way he wanted to. He ignored others. He ignored God.

  I wonder how many of us have “five brothers” who are walking in the steps of the rich man. They are good people, successful people, but God is not on their radar. There is no concern for the spiritual. This passage tells us what will happen. It’s no secret, nor a surprise to anyone. This passage also tells us that after we die, we can do no more. Now is the time to warn them. Now is the time to talk to them. Now is the time to open God’s word. Now is the time, because some day there simply won’t be any time.

  It is not God who sends someone to torment and then Hell, it is a person who chooses that by ignoring God. It’s time to start putting God in our life, every day. Spend time with His word. Be thankful to Him. Follow Him. If you do, He will take you to Heaven, that is where the journey ends. It’s hard not to see our selves in this passage. We are right there!

Roger