Jump Start # 3820
Luke 16:30-31 “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent! 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.’”
Our verse today concludes the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Parable or true story, some spend so much time debating that concept, that they miss the rich, rich lessons that are found here.
The rich man died. He was buried. He realized, maybe for the first time, that the cemetery is not the end of the road. Although there had been a funeral, his soul was in hades. He was in a pitiful situation. No one to help him. All the tears he cried would not bring any comfort or hope to him. His fate was sealed. He realized this. No one was going to bring water to him. No one was going to get him out of that place. He sowed the seeds that led to this horrific harvest.
But, his brothers were still alive. There was still hope for them. If word could only reach his brothers, maybe they’d change the direction of their lives and avoid the eternal suffering that he was in. It is interesting that he doesn’t ask if he could go and tell his brothers. No, he wants Lazarus to go. “Send him to my father’s house” becomes the heartfelt request of the pitiful rich man. But, the request is denied. No one is going back. No word is coming from Hades.
In the big picture of things, this seems a bit odd to us. God is about salvation. This is why Jesus came. Here were five brothers who could have been saved. Five souls that may avoid the eternal separation from God. You’d think that God would be all in for such an idea. Save as many as possible. But, that is not what we find here. Lazarus doesn’t go back. No word, no signs, no message is sent from the other side of the door of death. God had in place everything to keep those five from following the path of their brother. They had Moses and the prophets. They had the word of God. This is what poor Lazarus had. It was his faith that saved him. If they won’t listen to God’s word, they won’t listen to a resurrected person. They simply will not listen.
From this, comes some important lessons for us:
First, we cannot circumvent the arrangement and plan of God. We want our situation to be special. It’s not. We want extra time. We want another way. We want a second chance. We want special treatment. And, none of that will happen. We try to bend and stretch the rules. We try to broaden the scope of grace. We come up with unique circumstances that we feel will allow a person to be saved without baptism or without having to worship God or without having to follow the Bible. And, as much as we want these things, beg for these things, and plead for these things, they have Moses and the prophets. That’s what they need.
Second, even in death the rich man knew all too well his family. Stubborn as he was. Filled with this life, as he was. No interest in the eternal, as he was. He knew what would happen. He knew a life without God leads to the agony he was in. He knew that he was responsible for where he was. It was his choices. It was his rebellion that opened the doors of doom for him. And, the same will be for his brothers.
One thing that the rich man got right was understanding where the choices of life lead to. He learned that too late, but he learned it. He did not hold on to hope that his brothers were “good.” He didn’t try to justify their disobedience. He didn’t live in a fantasy world where he believed they were going to Heaven just because. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. His brothers were not prepared. He was not prepared. His brothers were lost and he knew it. How few people are willing to say that about their own family. When death comes, they search and search for a preacher. No one knows a preacher. One is found, and it’s the desire of the family that the deceased is presented as a noble example of godliness and hope. What a fantasy they believe. One who never opened his Bible. One who never worshipped God the way the Lord wants to be worshipped. One who never grew spiritually. One whose only thoughts were self, now and here, somehow becomes a model example of a citizen of Heaven. The rich man was smarter than that. His brothers were doomed just as he was. Their only hope was being persuaded to change their ways.
We’d be more evangelistic if we had a good dose of reality like the rich man did. He saw it too late. May we see it before it’s too late.
Third, the power of the Scriptures are such that it can change anyone, even those five wayward brothers of the rich man. They didn’t need to see a living miracle. They didn’t need a voice from the other side. All they needed was the Word of God. Believing that, one would turn his life around. One would repent. One would seek the ways of the Lord. Humbling, one would be come a servant of others. That’s what the Word of God can do. It can take a selfish old grump, and turn him into a compassionate, generous, fountain of forgiveness and love. The word of God can blast through addictions. It can restore broken marriages. It can loosen up the hardest of hearts. No, those five brothers had something mighty. It would do the trick. It would change them. But they had to believe. They had to listen. They had to read.
Don’t give up on God’s power. Don’t turn first to counselors, pills or support groups. See what God says. Let God’s power work on someone’s heart.
Jesus doesn’t tell us what happened to those five brothers. Did any of them change? Did all of them end up with the rich man? More important than that is knowing what will happen to us? Are we listening? Are we learning? Are we becoming?
Roger