Meeting Jesus - Lessons From The Dead
We will be examining the story of a homeless man in Luke 16, and I am reminded about a man I met several years ago.
He had long shaggy hair, a crazy long beard, and loose camouflage clothes. Almost daily, I would drive past him walking along the highway on the edge, typically in the grass, and picking up aluminum cans. I went to Sonic to grab lunch, and he was sitting at one of the outdoor tables and counting his change. I pressed the red Sonic button to order then asked him what he would like to eat, because lunch was on me. His face lit up. He walked over, leaned into the voice on the speaker, and ordered a double cheeseburger with onion rings and a sweet tea.
I sat with him at one of the picnic tables and we ate lunch and talked together.
Here are some of the surprising details I recall about him:
-His name is Joseph. (His name was most likely the only thing he told me that was rooted in reality.)
-Next, he told me he was Fidel Castro’s brother. And, during the Cuban Missel crisis, he sided with the USA, so Fidel stopped speaking to him.
-He told me he was a soldier. He fought in WW1, WW2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan.
-He told me he lived in an apartment with his girlfriend. He collects cans, but sometimes he gets cheated by the recycling place. He doesn’t cuss at them…but he gets very angry.
-He told me he was going to be a Priest.
-Then he told me that all of his sons are Priests…and he told me all of his daughters are Priests.
His words were difficult to understand. In the 90-degree heat, his odor was …uncomfortable. But he was really glad that I had noticed him…and really happy to have a conversation with somebody. At the end of our lunch, I told him he was the youngest-looking WW1 veteran I had ever seen!
Joseph never asked for money.
He never asked for help.
He never threatened me.
But as he talked, I gathered that he had some type of mental illness. I couldn’t solve Joseph’s major struggles that morning. I couldn’t take away his confused mental state. I gave him some food and listened to his story. I laughed when he tried to be funny.
And as I was driving away, the Spirit of God whispered into my heart:
“You noticed him.”
He didn’t blend in with the landscape. He was a person. God created him and God cared for him deeply. In Luke 16, we see a man a lot like Joseph.
Luke 16:19-31 (NLT2)
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’ 27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’ 29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’ 30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Real quick: Jesus was not teaching that to go to heaven; you have to be poor with dogs licking your wounds. And he was not teaching that rich people go to hell. However, I believe the rich man had a few sins that you and I should to avoid in our lives to ensure we do not turn out like him.
The first sin we should learn to avoid is:
The absence of compassion when need was clear
“As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing…”
This man was extremely wealthy. He had a large house that had its own courtyard and a gate. He feasted on massive meals every day.
And Lazarus had nothing.
No home.
No family.
No table.
No food.
He was so weak that he didn’t stop the dogs from licking his sores. Lazarus was a pitiful picture of humanity. He longed for the scraps of food from the rich man’s table.
Context, 2,000 years ago, people ate with their hands. Forks, knives, and spoons did not exist, so they ate everything with their hands. My kids would have loved that! When their hands would get messy they wiped their hands on bread, then they threw the bread onto the floor. The “scrap” that fell from the table that Lazarus longed for was the bread used as napkins to clean gravy, potatoes, grease, and crumbs from the fingers of the rich.
But Lazarus was too weak to collect bread. Day after day, Lazarus lay at the gate, malnourished, covered in sores, and alone. The rich man stepped over Lazarus on his way in and out of the courtyard of his house. He never noticed Lazarus. For him, Lazarus simply blended into the background. Sadly, sometimes people around us blend into the landscape to and go unnoticed.
Maybe they blend in at work. Coworkers you pass every day. They blend into their office, the hallway, their cubicle.
Or, maybe you have family that blend into the landscape at home. You don’t speak to them. You don’t talk to them. They blend in.
If you are a follower of Jesus, meaning you believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin on the cross, and you surrendered your life to God by trusting Jesus as your Savior. You have been forgiven for your sins, and you now have a relationship with God, then, you are God’s chosen one. As God's chosen people, we are called to show heartfelt compassion to others.
The rich man had an absence of compassion when the need of Lazarus was clear. So, grow in compassion. Ask God to help you see more clearly the people in your home, workplace, and family. Demonstrate to them that they are more than scenery; show them compassion.
The second sin of the rich man for us to avoid is this:
He wanted pity yet never apologized.
We see in this passage that even in death, the Rich man believed that Lazarus was inferior to him in every way. Out of respect for Abraham, he said “Father Abraham”. Look again at the conversation, and look at the way he spoke to Abraham, and the way he talked “around” Lazarus:
Luke 16:24 (NLT2)
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
Luke 16:27 (NLT2)27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.
Luke 16:30 (NLT2)30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
The rich man respected and honored Abraham, and still treated Lazarus like a beggar or a servant.
Send Lazarus.
Send him.
If someone is sent.
He didn’t speak to Lazarus to apologize for overlooking him. He didn’t address Lazarus as a man. Rather, to the rich man, Lazarus was still a nobody. He was a nobody to the Rich Man in life, and he was a nobody to the rich man in death. Even while the Rich man burned in eternal life – he clung to his sin of pride. He wanted pity, but he never apologized.
Do you have somebody at your work, in school, or home?
Don’t be like the rich man. See them.
Be genuinely sorry for the way you have treated them.
Ask for their forgiveness and apologize.
And the final sin we observe of the rich man:
He knew the truth but made no application
Look at Luke 16:30 again.
Luke 16:30 (NLT2)
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
The rich man knew that the only way to heaven was for a person to repent of his sins and turn to God. Yet, while he lived, he chose to ignore the truth and make no application to his life. He refused to accept the life-changing truth of God’s Word. He refused to read and apply God’s word to his life. This is the kind of man you would carry a Bible to church but never applied what it said. And then, it was too late.
Do you struggle with obeying God’s Word?
Do you apply what the bible says about Eternal Life?
Do you apply what the bible says about forgiveness?
Do you apply what the bible teaches about compassion?
If you want to experience JOY in this life and for all eternity, read and apply what Moses wrote! Obey the Life-Changing truth of God’s Word.
Heaven is very real. Hell is very real. Don’t be fooled by your wealth, and don’t be fooled by your poverty. Rich and poor will only get to Heaven by accepting Jesus as their Savior.
About Eternal Life and Forgiveness, God’s Word says this:
John 14:6 (NLT2)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Romans 10:9 (NLT2)9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you are ready to surrender your life to Jesus, you can do it right now. Here is a prayer to help guide you. There is nothing magical about these words, but can help you start a conversation with God about your salvation.
Dear God, I am ready to surrender my life to you.
I believe Jesus paid the price for my sin on the cross,
that he died, was buried, rose from the dead, and one day he will return.
I surrender my life to you and accept Jesus as my Savior.
Help me to follow you every day of my life.
Amen.