"Heaven or Hell"
Luke 16:19-31
A sermon for 5/7/23
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Pastor John Bright
Luke 16 “19 There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house 28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ 30 Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” New English Translation
Pause right there. Why are you listening to this? Do you want to become more like Jesus? The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you right now – right here! Do you want to become more like Jesus? It’s a question only you can answer.
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Today… no funny stories… no jokes. We have to talk about hell.
Did I just lose some of you? I am not surprised. In the old days, preachers used “hell-fire and brimstone” sermons to scare folks into heaven. We have gone so far in the other direction of affirming God as the God of Love that hell is rarely a topic of preaching. Perhaps, it’s time to meet somewhere in the middle.
In this parable that looks to the future in Luke 16, we find Jesus telling folks that a rich man who was uncaring of the poor in this live is spending eternity in the place of suffering called Hades. Actually, there is more about hell that is recorded in the words of Jesus than any other Biblical source. Most of the time, the Greek word for hell is “gehenna.” This refers to a “valley south of Jerusalem was where some of the ancient Israelites “passed children through the fire” (sacrificed their children) to the Canaanite god Molech (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2–6). In later years, Gehenna continued to be an unclean place used for burning trash from the city of Jerusalem. The Gehenna Valley was thus a place of burning sewage, burning flesh, and garbage. Maggots and worms crawled through the waste, and the smoke smelled strong and sickening (Isaiah 30:33). It was a place utterly filthy, disgusting, and repulsive to the nose and eyes. Gehenna presented such a vivid image that Christ used it as a symbolic depiction of hell: a place of eternal torment and constant uncleanness, where the fires never ceased burning and the worms never stopped crawling (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:47–48).
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gehenna.html
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
The title of this parable points to one of the reasons folks want to put this teaching in a different category – this is the only parable of Jesus that gives any character a name. The simplest explanation is that Jesus is trying to highlight the person in the story that would go un-noticed and likely forgotten in that day. Do the homeless and suffering poor suffer the same fate today?
Another reason - this parable does not center on everyday practices – farming, family life or the practices of a manager handling debts for his master like the beginning of Luke 16. Rather, it looks at situations that are common to each and every human being – life before death and life after death.
How much time do you spend thinking about what’s next for you? Do you think about the blessings of heaven? Do you give thanks that you will never have to experience the pain and suffering of hell? I think most folks spend more time looking beyond the grave the older they get and the more loved ones they have to bury. That’s when it gets real for most folks.
Actually, for the rich man, he should have gotten serious about heaven and hell while he was still here with the ability to help a man in need – Lazarus. This man is in a pitiful state – “20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.” WOW! If someone like that was at the end of your driveway, could you drive past him or her every day? That’s the set-up here. This rich man provided absolutely ZERO care or comfort for Zacchaeus who was just outside the gate to his home.
Last week, I mentioned the verses in the middle of Luke 16 that inform these two parables. Listen to v. 14-15 “14 The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. 15 But Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.” In that day, the religious folks would have easily looked at the beginning or this parable and concluded the following:
• The rich man was blessed by God and would be in Abraham’s bosom (heaven for us) following death
• Lazarus was poor and suffering because he was a sinner and would end up in Gehenna (hell)
I said last week that Luke 16 was a teaching on the Kingdom of God. One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom is a great reversal – “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” (Matthew 20:16) Here, the reversal is the one who lived in comfort here is now suffering there and the one who was suffering here is now being comforted there. This made clear in verse 25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.”
No help for the Rich man
I can’t imagine a worse situation than to be in hell and be able to see heaven. That’s what is described here – the rich man looks up to see Lazarus in the place of comfort the Jews called “Abraham’s Bosom.” It was the place of comfort where Jews would await the coming of the Messiah. In the New Testament, heaven is described at the place of comfort for Believers as we await the New Heaven and New Earth.
I once heard someone try to explain that maybe the rich man never knew Lazarus in this life. That can’t be since the rich man calls him by name when he cries out for comfort. I would imagine that the rich man walked by Lazarus day after day with the same attitude as we are going to see Luke 18 – “11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.”
Now, in hell, this rich man is unable to get any comfort. So, his thoughts turn to his brothers and he pleads for them to receive a warning. Do they have the same view of the poor and suffering? The reply would have been a slap-in-the-face to the religious leaders listening to Jesus tell this parable – “29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’”
Moses recorded this command for the Jews – “28 At the end of every three years you must bring all the tithe of your produce, in that very year, and you must store it up in your villages. 29 Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.” Deuteronomy 14:28-29
This is from Jeremiah 5:27-29
“27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught,
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit.
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.
28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek.
There is no limit to the evil things they do.
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.
29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.”
They had the teaching of caring for the poor. They knew God had called them to be compassionate. Somewhere along the line, they began to view the poor through the eyes of man rather than the eyes of God. They were unable to see with a heart of compassion. What about us? Do we look at the poor today and make self-righteous judgements? “They are too lazy to work!” “Those people shouldn’t get help from the government!” “That fat person shouldn’t be buying that food!”
A very simple look at this parable tells us that the rich man was unwilling to “walk a mile in the shoes” of Lazarus and now his situation is permanent. It seems this will also be the fate of his brothers since they would not even be willing to listen to one who is resurrected from the dead – that would be Jesus. This is the final condemnation of the religious leaders for they will also refuse to listen to Jesus after He is Risen on the first Easter morning!
The same choice is before us
That’s right – heaven or hell is the final destination for every human being. I want to crystal clear about this! All humans have been born into a state of Sin (with a big S). We commit sin (with a little s) because we are Sinners – not vice versa. At the instant of salvation, our Sin nature is changed and our sins are forgiven. Listen to Psalm 103
“12 As far as the eastern horizon is from the west,
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.”
This is possible because the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross of Calvary, paid the price for our Sin and sins. We call that atonement. Here are some helpful formulas:
Sin minus atonement equals hell
Sin plus atonement equals heaven
We have been promised a coming judgement at the time we leave this earthly life. So, I better clear up a common misconception – you HAVE TO GO one place or the other - it's a choice between heaven or hell. Your Sin and sins will be judged by God and your only escape from hell is to rely trust the blood of Jesus for atonement. It sounds like every person has a choice to make. Have you made that choice? Then, do you live like you have Kingdom values? Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares this warning in Matthew 7 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
The over-arching theme of Luke 16 is compassion and love for our neighbors. I’m pretty sure the rich man had excluded Lazarus as his neighbor. Let me close with these words of warning from James 2 “14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.”
YES – put your faith in Jesus to save you, but NEVER forget your call to help those in need! Amen
TEACHING SHEET
“Heaven & Hell"
Luke 16:19-31
Teaching sheet for 5/7/23
This parable is about a rich man who was uncaring of the poor in this live is spending eternity in the place of suffering called Hades. Most of the time, the Greek word for hell is “gehenna.” This refers to a “valley south of Jerusalem was where some of the ancient Israelites “passed children through the fire” (sacrificed their children) to the Canaanite god Molech (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2–6). In later years, Gehenna continued to be an unclean place used for burning trash from the city of Jerusalem. The Gehenna Valley was thus a place of burning sewage, burning flesh, and garbage. Maggots and worms crawled through the waste, and the smoke smelled strong and sickening (Isaiah 30:33). It was a place utterly filthy, disgusting, and repulsive to the nose and eyes. Gehenna presented such a vivid image that Christ used it as a symbolic depiction of hell: a place of eternal torment and constant uncleanness, where the fires never ceased burning and the worms never stopped crawling (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:47–48).
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gehenna.html
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Jesus is trying to highlight the person in the story that would go un-noticed and likely forgotten in that day. Do the homeless and suffering poor suffer the same fate today?
This parable looks at situations that are common to each and every human being – life before death and life after death.
This rich man provided absolutely ZERO care or comfort for Zacchaeus who was just outside the gate to his home.
Luke 16:14-15 In that day, the religious folks would have easily looked at the beginning or this parable and concluded the following:
• The rich man was blessed by God and would be in Abraham’s bosom (heaven for us) following death
• Lazarus was poor and suffering because he was a sinner and would end up in Gehenna (hell)
No help for the Rich man
I can’t imagine a worse situation than to be in hell and be able to see heaven. Now, in hell, this rich man is unable to get any comfort. So, his thoughts turn to his brothers and he pleads for them to receive a warning.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 & Jeremiah 5:27-29
A very simple look at this parable tells us that the rich man was unwilling to “walk a mile in the shoes” of Lazarus and now his situation is permanent.
The same choice is before us
All humans have been born into a state of Sin (with a big S). We commit sin (with a little s) because we are Sinners – not vice versa. Psalm 103:12-13
Sin minus atonement equals hell
Sin plus atonement equals heaven
We have been promised a coming judgement at the time we leave this earthly life and there are only two options for you - it's a choice between heaven or hell. Your Sin and sins will be judged by God and your only escape from hell is to rely trust the blood of Jesus for atonement. Matthew 7:21-23
The over-arching theme of Luke 16 is compassion and love for our neighbors. I’m pretty sure the rich man had excluded Lazarus as his neighbor. James 2:14-17 YES – put your faith in Jesus to save you, but NEVER forget your call to help those in need! Amen
