The rich man and the beggar (Luke 16b)

Luke 16:19-31
Key verse 16:25

Without money we can’t live in this world. We can’t buy cars or food without money. We can’t pay bills without it. So, people’s main concern is how to earn money. In some sense, most of our social activities have to do with money. Many people still work six days a week. Even college students’ main concern is how to make money rather than how to live a meaningful life. Money drives everything and people become slaves to money. How should we believers live in this money-driven world then?

In the previous passage, Jesus said that we must use money to gain friends for ourselves, which will lead us to eternal dwellings. Then he said that we must not serve money but serve God only. My youngest daughter has begun to work as a waitress at a restaurant, using her spare time during her last semester in school. Last week she came home discouraged because some customers ate much more than 100 dollars but gave her no tips. I was sorry about that. In the meantime, my wife encouraged her to give her first wages to God though it was not a small amount of money for her. That way she learned how not to be a slave to money but to serve God.

Hearing that they must use money to gain friends, the Pharisees, who loved money, sneered at Jesus, meaning that Jesus was naïve and did not know what was going on in the real world. But they did not know that God knew their evil hearts and would judge them according to the Law and the Prophet they stood on. 

In today’s passage, Jesus told the Pharisees another parable to teach them what consequences they would face if they failed to use their money to help people. The parable depicts the afterlife of the rich man who used his money for himself only. I pray that through the parable we may use our good things for those in need in the fear of God.

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

There lived a rich man. He was clothed in purple and fine linen. In ancient times, purple clothes were so expensive that only kings or very rich people could wear them. This man must have been very rich. He feasted sumptuously every day. (ESV) This also implies that he did this with showing off. People envied him for his great wealth. He looked like the happiest man in the world.

20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

There was another man. He was a beggar and his name was Lazarus, which means a poor man. He was laid at the gate of the rich man. He was so hungry that he desired to be fed with whatever fell from the rich man’s table. But it seemed that he did not get anything from the rich man. Worse still, he was covered with sores. One time in my military service, my legs were covered with sores due to lack of nutrition. Pus was discharged from the sores and made my underwear so dirty and disgusting. But I had to wear the same clothes for a long time without laundry. That was painful. This beggar must have been more terrible. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The dogs here were probably street dogs, which was regarded unclean. Their licking could be comforting the man’s sores, but it was more likely that it aggravated his sores and pain and made him unclean. This depicts the beggar’s utter misery. He was left hungry and sick in the street. He was in great need. But no one was concerned about this helpless man. Even though the rich man knew him and his name (16:23,24), he did not care about the beggar though his table was full of leftovers. He used his riches sumptuously for himself but nothing for the beggar. He had no compassion on the beggar. He thought that each one should take care of himself. This is the way many people live in the world. So those who have much try to get more whereas those who have little suffer more. The rich man continued enjoying his riches while Lazarus suffered in hunger and sickness. Then the time came and both died.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment,

When the beggar died, the angels took him to Abraham who was in heaven. The beggar was comforted in Abraham’s bosom, which meant Lazarus was in heaven. Meanwhile, the rich man also died and was buried underground. Then to his great surprise he found himself in Hades. This might have surprised the audience a lot because they believed that one’s riches proved that God blessed him and thus he would go to heaven. But that was not the case here. Rather, the rich man was tormented in fire. Both the rich man and the beggar died but that was not the end of everything. The beggar went to heaven but the rich man went to Hades. What a great reversal!

Death is not the end of life. The Bible says that there is another life after death. Not many people believe that there is afterlife. Believing or knowing the afterlife makes our life very different. Usain Bolt is the best sprinter in the world. He is the best in the 100 meter race and also in the 200. However, for the longer races he is not the best anymore. He cannot compete in the long races because all his muscles are developed for the short races. Likewise, if we see and live for this short earthly life only, we will be driven by money. Paris Hilton is well known for her extravagant life. Since she is so rich, she does everything she wants. In an interview, she was asked what she feared the most. She said, “I love my life. I don’t want to die.” But what she really should fear is how her afterlife will be. Surprisingly, afterlife can be the opposite of our earthly life. The rich can be poor and the poor can be rich. There will be a great reversal after death. Do not forget that our earthly life is temporary. We stay here on earth as we stop by the rest area on I-95 to go to New York from Washington.

23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

The rich man must have been greatly shocked and distressed. Overnight, he was moved from a luxury house to Hades. His torment was unbearable. He was burned but did not die. Then he looked up and saw Abraham in heaven and Lazarus with him. Recognizing Lazarus, the rich man asked Abraham for pity on him by having Lazarus cool his tongue even with a drop of water. The two men’s lives were completely reversed now. On earth, the beggar looked up the rich man to get some leftovers from his table, but in afterlife the rich man looked up the beggar to get a drop of water. His plea was so urgent and desperate. “Father Abraham, please have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to me and let him cool my tongue!” Ironically, the merciless rich man now sought mercy. What was Abraham’s answer?

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Abraham said that the rich man deserved the torment because he received his riches but used it for himself only and ignored those in need. But Lazarus had suffered so much that God had pity on him and he was now comforted in heaven. In other words, all this was the consequence of their lives on earth. Our afterlife is determined by God based on how we live on earth. After we die, we all will stand before God and he will judge us according to what we have done.

Jesus said in John 5:229, “…those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”

2 Cor 5:10 also says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

The afterlife will be given as the consequences of our present life. Those who live righteously on earth will be in heaven whereas those who live not righteously will be in Hades. God knows everything about us and even what is in our hearts. He will judge each person according to what they have done. This rich man’s destiny is not only for him. This is the destiny for all who live for themselves and do not care about others like him.

26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

The rich man looked for some mercy from Abraham but there was an unbridgeable chasm between heaven and Hades such that no one could cross it. Sadly, the rich man could not get even a drop of water. No one could help him. Our afterlife cannot be reversed. As Abraham said, there is no way to cross between heaven and Hades. There is no second chance. Once we die, there is no way back. Once God judges us, things cannot be changed or reversed. This is the reason we should live before God in fear.

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Now the rich man realized that there would be no second chance for him. In Hades, he suffered the serious consequences of his selfish and foolish life on earth. Then, he remembered his five brothers who were living as he had done. It was obvious that they would come to Hades. He did not want them to come there. So he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers. He believed that if they saw the risen Lazarus, they would repent.

But Abraham said that it was not necessary because they had Moses and the Prophets, which is the Scripture. If they did not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they would not be convinced even if they saw the risen Lazarus. The reason they did not repent was not because of lack of evidence or knowledge of God’s judgment. God clearly said in the Bible that we must care for those who are in need. For example,

Deut 15:7 says, “If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them.”

Proverbs 14:1 says, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

James1:27 also says, “27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The rich man believed that if Lazarus returned from the dead he would be a sign confirming what the Scripture says and therefore his brothers would repent. But their real problem was their hardened hearts and that they did not listen to the Scripture. Therefore, unless they did not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they would not believe God’s judgment.

This parable was given particularly to the Pharisees who stood on Moses and the Prophets but loved money. (16:14) They knew what the Scripture said about the poor, but they did not help them like the rich man in the parable. Therefore, Jesus warned strongly that they would be judged by the Law and the Prophets.

By the way, the author Luke later pointed out that Moses and the Prophets all testified to Jesus as the true Messiah. (Luke 24:25-27; 44-45) In other words, Jesus is the Law and the Prophets, who came in the flesh. He warned them about their sins but the Pharisees did not listen to Jesus. Rather, they sneered at him and did not repent of their love of money and their negligence of those in need. There would be no hope for them if they continued to reject Jesus and God’s word.

Overall, the parable gives us a warning that we must not live and enjoy good things for ourselves only but must care for those who are in need. There will be a great surprising reversal when we stand before God, which is well illustrated in Matt 25.

When Jesus comes in his glory, he will sit in his glory and all nations will be gathered before him. Then he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He is angry at those on his left, saying, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”

They are greatly surprised and asked when they did not serve him in need. Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Jesus takes those in need as his and wants us to look after them for him. If we do so, he will be greatly pleased and let us in his kingdom. If not, however, we will not avoid eternal punishment.

Here is an essay being circulated in Internet. Steve Jobs said before he died,

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death. …Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth…”

Though it is not authenticated, it is worthwhile to think about. Life is not all about riches in this world but about how much we serve and help those who are in need.

Bill Gates retired from Microsoft and now he is doing other kinds of things. One of them is helping those in need. He has pledged to give away $60 billion. And Warren Buffett has also donated billions of dollars to charity. I don’t know whether they are believers or not. But I believe that their motive is genuine. Otherwise, they can’t donate such a large amount of money. They know what is the most important in life, which is helping those in need. How much more then should we believers help those in need?

Though we may not be rich, there is more important things than money – God’s compassion. The important aspect of life is how to live our life for others instead of for ourselves only. God is very displeased with selfish life. But he is so happy with our service for those in need. He wants us to have compassion on those in need and use our good things to help them. I think that we all have and will have some good things. God wants us to have compassion on those in need and use and share our good things.

Todays’ passage encourages young people to think about how to plan and pursue their lives. It also motivates older people to live the rest of their lives for others. Think about how to serve others rather than serve yourself only. Though our ministry is small, we have helped some people who are in need – some missionaries, orphans, refuges, etc. But we should do more with God’s heart. And that will make us more blessed. Our earthly life will end anytime. See beyond our present life and find out what pleases God the most. Remember that we will stand before God to be judged according to what we have done. 

By David Yun