The Rich Man and Lazarus.

The Rich Man and Lazarus is a story told by Jesus in Luke 16. It gives us a glimpse of life after death and the consequences of our actions on earth.

More About Life After Death

We’re thinking about life after death in this series. What is our view? We’ve looked at the fact that God has put eternity in our hearts and we, of all the creatures on Earth, are only the only ones that think of life after death, wonder what happens when one dies. That God puts this in our hearts would suggest that no one is born an atheist but that they grow into it, and often it’s a moral choice. If there’s no God and no afterlife, then I can live as I want.

Jesus Often Talked About Life After Death

The Lord Jesus talked much about life after death, and more often about the torment that awaited those who reject God’s offer of salvation. He tells a story in Luke chapter 16, about a scene that follows death. Luke 16:19 says,

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. There is a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who laid at his gate designed to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores, so it was that the beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades. He lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger there in the water that I may cool my tongue for, I’m tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things. And likewise, Lazarus, evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. Besides all this between us and you, there’s a great gulf fix so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot nor can those from there pass to us. Then the rich man said. I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house for my five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. The rich man said, no father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to him, they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

Luke16:19-31

Jesus Told This Story to Religious Leaders

The Lord Jesus told this story or parable to religious people, the Pharisees, they thought that they were going to end up in paradise, in Heaven. But the Lord Jesus was reminding them that it wasn’t the riches of life that proved they had God’s favor, but rather by decisions we make here and now and the decision for Heaven is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior. The decision for a lost eternity, for a lake of fire, for hell, is to reject the offer of salvation and to choose to go our own way.

Contrasting Lives

Both of these men died, one, obviously was a believer. The other lived a good life but had no thought about eternity and meeting God after death. The rich man found himself in a place of torment, a place with unquenchable thirst.

Now this could be the result of what’s there, but also the thirst for significance, a thirst for purpose in a lost eternity. In the place of torment there will be no purpose to existence, and that will make the place have even a greater sense of loss and purpose.

But he’s also in torment because he knows that his brothers may come to that place now. He made a decision in life and it’s fixed. Abraham says to him, you cannot come here and nobody can pass from here to there. Thus the decision in life is fixed for eternity.

No Second Chances After Death

There are no second chances after death. Many people have second chances in life, but after death, there is no such thing as a second chance. We might say that the die is cast. The future is fixed based on decisions here on Earth.

But this rich man suddenly had compassion for others. He has been referred to at times as a missionary in hell because of the things he believed.  Now he believed in the afterlife, he believed in Heaven and in hell. He believed that destiny was settled on Earth and he believed in the need to warn others. All those things he did not think of in life, now in death, he thought of them and he was concerned for his brothers. His appeal was that if somebody would go from the dead, be resurrected, certainly they would listen to that person.

Another Lazarus Was Raised From the Dead

The Lord Jesus raised a man named Lazarus from the dead and as the result of that the Pharisees hearts were hardened. They wanted to kill Lazarus, it wasn’t long after that that they wanted to see the Lord Jesus crucified as well.

Later, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  Many people reject the great evidence there is of his resurrection.

The Certainty of Life After Death

So one has come back from the dead and we have the gospel, we have the certainty of what happens after life, and yet people still choose to reject. What this man learned in lost eternity was people have the word of God, the Bible. For these people, it was Moses and the prophets, the Old Testament.

For us today, it’s the whole Bible. And the word is that if people will not believe what’s written in the Bible, they won’t believe anything. And so in our hands and available to us is the very word of God that tells us what we must do in time to prepare for eternity.

There is life after death, the real story, the real account, the real evidence is found in scripture, and it
comes as a revelation from God in heaven.

Do you trust in the reliability of the Bible? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.