Luke 16:19–31

17th Sunday

¹⁹"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' ²⁵But Abraham said, 'Child, 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. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' ²⁷And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house- ²⁸for I have five brothers- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' ²⁹But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' ³⁰And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' ³¹He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

We have all seen before and after pictures of someone. Especially on Weight Watchers commercials or exercise regimens designed to firm up our muscles. There is always the obligatory picture of what I looked like before and what I look like now.

Well, in our text today, Jesus gives us before and after shots of two very different people. It is a unique chance to see what someone looks like before they died and after they died.

Taking a look at the before shot of one man he appears to be very rich. He was dressed in very fine clothes, in fact the most expensive on the market. It was the ultimate in designer fashions, colored with purple, the most expensive dye in that time, imported from the Greek city of Thyatira in Asia Minor. In fact it was so expensive that the color became the color of kings and emperors because few others could afford to wear that color.

In his opulence this man feasted every day with his friends. The surely tells of extravagant sumptuousness. For any rich man would feast on special occasions, but this was an everyday luxury for this man. Surely this man was well known and had many friends and admirers. People thought of him as a good man and a generous man. He was thought good because his wealth was surely a sign of blessing from God. He was considered generous because to such banquets he invited many friends. He had a great name and thought to himself that his legacy would live long after him.

However, if we look closer at the picture, we notice something else. Like seeing a picture of someone with a big smile only to notice that it appears to be a faked smile. We see that he was not so generous after all. He was indeed a very greedy and selfish person. For at his door lay a beggar who would have been happy to eat just a few scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. But the rich man would not give him even the garbage that was thrown out. To add insult to injury the dogs licked his sores.

We also notice that his legacy was not as certain as he imagined, for we don’t even know his name. Though he thought of himself as important, God forgot to tell us his name. His name appears neither in Scripture nor in the Book of Life in heaven.

Finally his luxury and opulence came to an end. He died and was buried. Just that simple.

The before picture of the other man is quite different. He is a beggar sitting at the door of the rich man. His life was just the opposite of the rich man’s. So miserable a life he had! He was completely dependent on the mercy of other people. Each day someone carried him to that spot and left him there at the door, possibly thinking that a man so rich would at least drop a few pennies in his cup or give him a few scraps out of the garbage can. But not even that pleasure did Lazarus have in this life. No one considered him of much importance. No one took notice of him. People just walked passed him and ignored him. He was despised, rejected and left alone to suffer and wallow in his misery.

Finally this superfluous man whose presence was a nuisance to everyone on the street also died, but that was not his end. He was escorted by a cortège of angels to heaven. This unknown man’s name was written in Scripture and 2000 years later is still known and admired around the world in every nation and language and culture. This unknown and uncared for man’s name is also written in the Book of Life which is in heaven for all eternity; his name is found on the official roster of the saints. This insignificant poor beggar was known to God before the creation for he had been chosen by God to be his child and an heir of his kingdom long before his mother had known him or his eyes had seen the light of day.

Lazarus, though reviled and despised in this life, was chosen by God to be righteous. And this righteousness was imputed to him by decree of God through another poor man who was also despised and reviled. The man Jesus Christ, born in a humble stable in Bethlehem, grew up in near poverty, mocked and ridiculed, and his own brothers took him for a mad man. He was rejected by his people, abandoned by his friends in his hour of greatest pain, falsely accused, and sentenced to die like a criminal on a cross. Even his own heavenly Father forsook him and left him to die.

But all this he suffered with joy. For it was his good pleasure to place upon himself our sin and guilt so that he could take our place in punishment for our sins. He poured out his blood as a holy sacrifice for sin so that with his blood we are washed and cleansed of all unrighteousness. It is on account of his perfect obedience and his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection that Lazarus was declared righteous by God and we are declared righteous by God as well. For whether we are poor like Lazarus or rich like the rich man, Christ died for us all and has taken away the sin of the world. Our salvation is accomplished. The work of redemption is finished.

So then, we turn to look at the after pictures of these two men. The rich man’s picture shows him suffering the torments of eternal punishment. There we see him in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. But why is he there? That was a shock to the people who heard Jesus, for in their minds his wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. But from the after picture Jesus gives us, we learn that wealth and prosperity, success and good fortune are not necessarily signs of blessing.

Nor was the rich man there because he was selfish and greedy. He was there because he lacked faith in the one who died for him and forgave his sins. He was there because he thought that he was able to take care of himself and get to heaven on his own merits. He was there because he did not repent of his sin, or even admit that he had any sin. His selfishness and greed were outward signs of his sinful and unrepentant heart. His lack of love for his neighbor were merely symptoms of his lack of faith. His sins of omission or lack of love was not the reason he was there. He was there because he did not repent of his sin and trust in Christ.

He represents all who do not hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was in eternal torment because he did not heed the words of Moses and the prophets. He was there because he did not take seriously the preaching and teaching of his synagogue. He heard them, but did not believe.

The rich man in this story represents all who reject the atoning work of Christ on the cross. He represents all who by unbelief reject the salvation offered by Jesus to all men. So this man who enjoyed such luxury, such opulence, such fame, such prestige on earth, was now a nameless man suffering for eternity. His comfort and ease had been exchanged for torment and suffering that would never end.

Even in the torments of hell he did not repent of his sin, nor could he have, but he did finally understand the error of his ways. He now knew that only by the death and resurrection of the Son of God could he have been in the eternal presence of God. But there was still a chance for his brothers to avoid this torment. So he begged Abraham to send back Lazarus to warn his brothers. But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let theme hear them.” Now, by Moses and the prophets Abraham was referring to the Scriptures, the Word of God. He told the man that the only way for them to repent and believe in Christ was through the Word of God, that very same word that they heard and read in the Synagogue every week. Heed the words of the liturgy and the scriptures and the sermons and the teachers.

But, like many today, the rich man didn’t think that was enough. He thought something needed to be added. He was looking for something more to bring them to faith. Like so many today he didn’t think that word and sacrament was all that was needed to bring people into the church and save them. They think people need entertainment, or excitement in the church, or emotional stimulation. He thought that they needed a miracle or sign, like a worm feeling of love in their hearts or like someone rising from the dead.

But as we all know today, not even someone rising from the dead will bring them to faith. For not even the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings man to faith today. The only way for man to repent of his sin and have faith in Jesus Christ is by the Holy Spirit working through word and sacrament. So says Abraham: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” If we do not listen to or do not believe the word of God proclaimed and taught in church and administered in the sacraments, we shall likewise remain unrepentant and without faith.

But Lazarus we see now in the comfort and peace of heaven. He who suffered in this life, is now living in opulent luxury because heard the word of God and believed. He trusted in Jesus Christ. If, like Lazarus, we hear the Word of God, then the Holy Spirit works through that word to produce faith and bestow forgiveness of sins on us. Sola scriptura was the cry of the reformation. Only by the Word of God are we given the faith that saves us from our sin. Only by the Word of God given in baptism are we born again as children of God. Only by the Word of God whose blood is poured out for us in Holy Communion is our faith nourished and strengthened.

Then when the Holy Spirit works faith in us through word and sacrament, we become like Lazarus. Who was poor in this life as we are truly poor, miserable sinners trapped in our sin and unrighteousness, but have been chosen and elected by God, predestined to be his children of righteousness, called and enlightened by the gospel, gathered into the body of Christ in our baptism, sealed in faith by the Holy Spirit, and nourished and strengthened in the Lord’s Supper, so that when we die we too shall be escorted to heaven by the angels and on the last day our bodies will be raised from the dead unto life everlasting.

Amen.