Lesson 47
Not Seen or Heard
Luke 16:19-31
One of the things of which I am sometimes guilty is becoming so engrossed in what I am doing that I do not see someone that might walk right past me. There is an experiment that I have seen that illustrates our ability to shut people out of our lives. A group of people are brought together and begin to have a conversation. While they are talking someone in a gorilla costume will walk right through the group and never be notice. When asked if any of them saw the gorilla they all stated that they had not seen it. Some months ago my wife went to the funeral home to pay our respects to the family of a neighbor who had passed away. We walked in and went to the front of the room, looked at some pictures turned around and left. There was not a single person who even cast a look in our direction. I can only imagine how others have felt in my presence when I have done the same thing.
It is possible for a person to come into the church and feel like the gorilla in the room. No one even makes the effort to greet them. They come and go without an acknowledgment that they have been present. There have probably been many people searching for a church home who have stated they would never go back to whatever church they had attended on Sunday because they believed that it was the most unfriendly place they had ever been. Jesus always made it His business to notice people. The number of times He stopped as He was traveling from place showed His compassion and interest in people. People come to church for a number of different reasons. One of those is fellowship with others. They want to be part of a community of people who truly care for others. Our lesson is about the lack of concern for others and the result of a self-centered life.
Luke 16:19
Jesus continues sharing with His disciples by sharing another parable which speaks to the attitudes of those among whom they will carry on His ministry. As He had done before He gives a character sketch of the main actors in the drama. He begins with a rich man of whom it was written that He:
- Dressed continually in the finest clothes money could buy. It was the clothing worn by the priests.
- Did not deny himself of anything which would make him happy. Notice that his self-indulgence went on seven days a week, which meant that he did not observe the Sabbath day which was a day of rest for all Jews.
- How did Jesus describe the rich man?
- What was the problem with the way he lived?
- Who was Jesus describing?
- When does having any kind of possession become a sin?
- What are the indications that this man was not a godly man?
Luke 16:20-21
In stark contrast to the wealthy man in the previous verse, Jesus describes a man who was the poorest of the poorest. His name was Lazarus which was the Latin equivalent of Eleazar. Eleazar was used a number of times in the Old Testament and means God is my help. Lazarus was in a place just outside the gate of the rich man’s house. The man called by some Dives would have passed by him many times but completely ignored his presence there.
At that point in life all Lazarus desired was to be able to eat of the scraps left over from the sumptuous meals of the rich man. Those leftovers would have consisted of pieces of bread that had been used as napkins to wipe off a person’s face and hands. There were no knives, forks or napkins in those days even in the wealthiest homes.
Added to the man’s economic woes he was covered with sores, which the dogs licked. He was too weak to even chase them away.
- Why would the rich man have ignored Lazarus?
- How did Jesus contrast the rich man to Lazarus?
- In what way would it seem that Lazarus was misnamed?
- What would appear to be the man’s future?
- What would indicate his desperate state in life?
- How many people do we ignore as we go about our daily tasks?
- What are some indications that we truly do not care for them?
Luke 16:22
Both men died. Their destinations were totally different. The poor man who had suffered much in his lifetime was escorted by angels into heaven. Jesus continues to contrast the two men even in death. The physical body was probably without fanfare thrown on the garbage heap having no one to claim it.
It is said of the wealthy man that he was buried. There was probably a nice funeral possession carrying him to his final resting place. He could have been in all likelihood been placed in a tomb carved out of rock with a stone to place over its opening to keep animals and thieves out of the grave.
- In what ways were the two men alike? (Like all people they died.)
- What was different about what happened after their death? (Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man was buried.)
- What was the reason Lazarus went to heaven? (We are not told anything of Lazarus’s spiritual condition. We have to be careful not equate poverty as a guarantee of entrance, any more than wealth determining whether he goes to heaven or hell.)
- What is it important to understand about what took place here? (Our future is determined by our relationship with God and subsequently with other people.
Luke 16:23
The grave was not the end of the man who had been rich. He found himself in hell be tormented. Like Lazarus, there is no indication that he was not a man who probably thought of himself as good because of the wealth he possessed. Jesus does not go into a lot of detail about the reason the man found himself in hell. The only sin that he seems to have committed was not loving his fellow man enough to at least give him something to eat and providing a means by which his sores would be healed.
Another point that proves that one has a consciousness beyond this world is the fact that the man could actually see into heaven and recognized the man he had ignored all those years with the founder of the Hebrew nation. This seems to indicate an increased awareness in the afterlife.
- What was the man’s sin that condemned to hell? (Not loving his fellow man who he could see and thus rejecting God.)
- How many sins condemn us to eternal punishment?
- What does this verse tell us of what takes place after death?
- Based on this verse what do you tell people who said that when you die that is the end of a person?
- What assurances does this give you?
- How was the man able to recognize Lazarus after having ignored him for years?
Luke 16:24
The man in his torment began to beg for the very thing he had denied Lazarus as he lay at the man’s gate. He cried out for mercy. When he was in torment he wanted God to show favor toward him. The second thing he sought was relief from the agony he was experiencing as a result of the life he had lived. The request made by the man would strike at the heart of the religious mindset of the Pharisees. It was the poor man Lazarus who was to be the bearer of the relief that the man sought. Abraham was not asked to leave his place in paradise but Lazarus who had been the beggar at his gate. What a role reversal. The man who had everything needed a drop of water that he would denied being provided for Lazarus.
- What does mercy mean?
- When can one expect to receive it?
- When is it too late?
- In what ways was the man like so many today? (He could live as he pleased not believing that God will judge anyone and send them to hell.)
- What did mercy mean to the man? (Relief from the fruits of the lifestyle he had lived.)
- How were roles reversed? (The self-righteous wealthy man who was a metaphor for the Pharisees needed what the Lazarus’s of the world have to offer, a true relationship with the Father.)
Luke 16:25-26
It was Abraham who responded to the man’s request. He reminded the man of his previous life. He had possessed much in the way of material wealth. Lazarus who in his lifetime had nothing of any value was now be comforted in heaven. The man who had much and used it selfishly was suffering the consequences of his lifestyle and was living in torment.
He went on to say that there was a great divide that could not be crossed either way. It would indicate that all decisions are final and have to be made in this lifetime. There is not anyway to reverse the results of a life lived without God.
- Why was Abraham the one to respond? (The request had been directed to him.)
- Why did Abraham remind the man of his past life? (The man would understand exactly why he was in hell.)
- What was Lazarus experiencing that can also be in our future?
- What example does the life of Lazarus provide for us? (Material possession are not important. It is our relationship to Christ.)
- What is the one thing that the man did not request? (To go where Abraham and Lazarus were. He evidently was aware that he did not deserve to be there.)
Luke 16:27-29
Having failed in his plea to be relieved from his misery, he for the first time thinks about others. It is almost a prayer from his lips as he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so they will not wind up in hell like him. Abraham then tells him that the brothers had Moses and the Prophets to show them how to live. If they wanted to avoid the brother’s fate they needed to heed what the Scripture had said to them.
- Why did the man want Lazarus to go to his brother’s?
- What did the brothers have available to them?
- What does Abraham’s words say to us?
- Why did Abraham refuse the man’s request? (It was impossible. They need to heed the worth they already had. Also man does not return to earth after death.)
- How will we find ourselves in the same state as the man and his brothers?
- Why is God’s word so important to us?
Luke 16:30-31
The man tried one last time. He thought someone returning from the dead would change the minds of the brother’s. Jesus using the parable spoke directly to the religious leaders. They had the Law and the Prophets and had turn their backs on the teaching from them. They had turned from God to a religion based on their own tradition. He was also telling them that they were turning their back on the One who had come in God’s name. The words were prophetic for within a short time He would return from the dead and they would not accept the fact.
- Why did the man think that a man returning from the dead would have any more affect than God’s word?
- How have the stories that are heard today about those who have died and come back to life affected the general population?
- To whom was Jesus speaking through this parable?
- What does it say to us who have not seen the resurrected Savior? We have to depend God’s word and the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us to faith in Christ.
- How important is it for our growth to spend time in God’s word?
- Understand that the blessings God pours out on you whatever they be are to be used for His glory and not just for your own pleasure.
- Do not ignore those less fortunate than you. Jesus had some strong words for those who do so in Matthew 25:41-46.
- Never take for granted that you will have time to make your life right. As seen in the parable both Lazarus and the rich man died at about the same time and faced the judgment due to each of them.
- Continue to look to God’s word to reinforce what you believe. From Genesis to Revelation you have the revealing of God’s Son, Jesus.
- As you study the Scriptures be completely aware that life does not end at physical death and that all of us will spend eternity either in heaven or hell.
The church today is in a battle for its very soul. There are many who do not believe that there is coming a day of judgment for the church. Peter wrote of the impending event in 1 Peter 4:17 where he states, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” God has high expectations for His people. First we are to love Him with our total being and then to love people like Lazarus as we love ourselves. This is the mission of the church and we must not fail to carry it out. The prosperity gospel promotes the mindset of Dives. Being poor in spirit helps us to understand that we are all failures in the sight of God without His mercy through Jesus Christ. Let us take care that we wait too long before coming to faith in Him and find ourselves on the outside of His kingdom looking in to the place we can no longer reach. Today is the day of Salvation. Today is the time to serve Him with all that He has given us.