Jesus tells us about two men. One is rich; the other is poor. One lives in luxury; the other lives in misery. One has plenty of food; the other is hungry. One appears healthy; the other is covered with sores. One seems blessed; the other seems cursed. Yet appearances can be deceiving.
The greatest difference between these two men was not wealth or poverty. It was between faith and unbelief. Lazarus, the poor man, trusted in God’s mercy. He held on to God’s promises. Whereas the rich man did not.
Saving faith is not merely believing that God exists. A mere knowledge of God does not save. The rich man knew certain things about God. He knew who Abraham was. He knew the Scriptures existed. He knew Moses and the Prophets had written God’s Word. Yet this knowledge alone did not save him. Even the devil knows that God exists.
Neither can money or possessions save us. The rich man was condemned not because he was wealthy, but because he lacked saving faith. His wealth became his idol god. When he died, he took none of his wealth with him. When we die, we cannot take anything we own with us either.
Money itself is not sinful. The issue is not possessing wealth but trusting in it. Wealth becomes dangerous when it becomes an idol. Anything that takes God’s place in our hearts becomes a false god. We are tempted to trust in our possessions rather than in God. We are also tempted to overlook our neighbor’s needs.
Yet our possessions are entrusted to us from God. Everything we own belongs to God. He calls us to be faithful managers of His gifts. He wants us to take care of our family. He wants us to support the church, and to serve our neighbor.
Saving faith trusts in God’s mercy. It clings to God’s promises. Lazarus, though poor and afflicted, looks to God alone for help. His very name means “God is my help.” Your faith in Christ is a gift from God. It holds on to Christ alone for your salvation. It believes that you are forgiven on account of Christ.
Jesus says, “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried” (v 22). Because of sin, everyone dies. Rich and poor. Kings and peasants. Pastor and people. Parents and children. Therefore, be found in repentance and faith in Christ. You never know when death will come.
Jesus tells us that the rich man found himself in Hades, being in torment. Hell is real. It is not a myth or a metaphor. Scripture describes hell as the eternal judgment of God against sin and unbelief. It is a place where God is not. It a place of everlasting punishment prepared for the devil and his angels. It is a place of unquenchable fire, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a place of outer darkness. It is like a lake that burns with fire and sulfur. No wonder the rich man longed for even a drop of water to cool his tongue.
The rich man is in hell because he rejected the Gospel. John 3:18 says, “He who does not believe [in the Son] is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Then John 3:36 says that “whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” Where there is no faith in Christ, there is no salvation.
This serves as a warning for us. Do not reject the Gospel. Do not resist the Holy Spirit. Rather, by God’s grace, hold on to the promises of God in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation.
The rich man also failed to love his neighbor. Lazarus lay at his gate, yet he showed him no mercy. How often have we seen someone in need and done nothing? How often have we been consumed with our own concerns while ignoring the struggles of others? How often have we failed to show mercy?
The rich man stands before us as a warning. By God’s grace, turn away from idols. Turn from unbelief. Listen to God’s Word. Trust in Christ as your one and only Savior. Because God love’s you, love your neighbor. For one day, death comes to us all.
Yet, the poor beggar died, and the angels carried him to heaven. His faith in the promised Messiah saved him; the same faith that Abraham possessed. The poor beggar trusted in God’s mercy as proclaimed in the books of Moses and the Prophets.
Scripture describes heaven as a place of everlasting blessedness. There is no sin, no death, no sorrow, and no evil. There we will dwell forever in God’s presence.
Jesus says, “Whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (Jn 5:25). He also says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16).
While in hell, the rich man begged Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and to cool his tongue. Abraham said to him, “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.” The contrast is clear. The rich man lived in luxury on earth, but not in hell. Lazarus suffered on earth, yet he was comforted in heaven. The rich man lived without God on earth and in hell. Whereas Lazarus lived with faith in God on earth and he lives with God in heaven. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is your true treasure on earth and in heaven.
The rich man then wanted Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers. Surely, he thought, if someone returned from the dead, they would repent. But Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” The rich man objected. Surely a miracle would be more effective. Surely someone returning from the dead would convince them. But Abraham replied, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
Here is another problem with the rich man. He did not believe in the power of God’s Word. He did not think that God’s Word could convert his brothers from unbelief to faith. He thought that it took a miracle, like someone rising from the death, to convert them. But the Holy Spirit works through Scripture. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. This underscores the importance of preaching, hearing God’s Word, and remaining faithful in it.
Lazarus represents you and me and every Christian. We are “poor in spirit.” We recognize our complete dependence on God’s mercy. We know that we cannot save ourselves. Salvation comes through faith in Christ alone.
Like Lazarus, we suffer in this world. Yet suffering teaches us to depend upon Christ alone for our salvation. Suffering drives us to pray. Suffering reminds us that our true treasure is not found here but in Christ.
Therefore, do not be complacent, but repent. Humble yourself before God. Recognize that you are a poor beggar before God, dependent upon His mercy, His Word, and precious Gospel.
Our only help is in Jesus, whom Moses and the prophets foretold.
While on earth, Jesus was rich in righteousness, yet for our sake He became poor. He had nowhere to lay His head. In His Passion, His body was full of sores, for his flesh was ripped open by the scourging of the soldiers. He was laid at the gate of the rich religious authorities and yet, they offered Jesus no mercy. They stripped Him of His clothing and nailed Him to a cross. They never even gave Him a crumb of bread or a sip of water, but they gave him soar vinegar. Psalm 22:16 says, “Dogs have surrounded Me. They pierced my hands and My feet.” The dogs who surrounded Jesus on the cross were the Gentile soldiers and the crowd of evildoers who mocked Him.
While on earth, Jesus was rich in righteousness, yet for our sake He humbled Himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even death upon a cross. He did this so that we might become rich in his righteousness. No one has suffered more than our Lord.
Three days later, Christ rose from the dead. You do not believe in the resurrection because you have seen the risen Christ with your own eyes. You believe in the resurrection because the proclaim it. You rely in the authority of the Scriptures.
In your baptism, your nakedness of sin was covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. In Holy Absolution, God forgives your sins and He gives peace to your troubled conscience. Through the preaching of God’s Word, Christ continues to speak to you. He said, “My sheep hear My voice.” He also said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” So, hold God’s Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
The Holy Spirit used God’s Word to bring you from unbelief to faith in Christ. God’s Word is sufficient to bring you to repentance and to faith in Christ.
At this altar, Christ satisfies your hunger and thirst for righteousness. Even though it’s a small wafer and a sip of wine, it is also Christ’s body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sin.
By God’s grace, hold fast to God’s Word. Trust in His promises. Receive His gifts. Persevere in faith. And when your earthly life comes to an end, the angels will carry you into the presence of God, where you will join Abraham, Lazarus, and all the saints in everlasting joy. Amen.
