Author: Bill Hall

But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’

So many people would cry foul here. There have been many throughout the years who would claim that if Christ had lived in their day they would have believed. Indeed, many have felt that if Christ had stayed on earth and been an ongoing evidence of his life after death, everyone would convert to Christianity.

But this is simply not so. The Bible helps us to understand, that even if there were a whole host of Christian people, and Christ himself, living here on earth (and living eternally), there would still be a group of folks who would not accept the truth. Thus during the millennial reign there will be those groups, Gog and Magog, that will resist at the end (Revelation 20:8).

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth, and Your leading. Without You, we could do nothing but constantly question ourselves. But with Your truth in our lives we have a guide. We can know the truth. Thank You for this comfort! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.

Luke 16:30

The audacity! This man who is in hell presumes to tell Abraham what it takes to engender belief in the hearts of others? Notice how very pointedly he says ‘No’ on this subject. It is this sort of audacity that landed this man in his current state.

He is here in essence saying that he could not be expected to believe on the basis of the prophets and Moses either. He is insinuating that had he been given a message from one ‘back from the dead’ he would have repented as well.

Oh the height of human hubris! It will cause many for all of eternity to rue God and His plan. Many in hell do and shall spend their time crying foul, but having no legitimate grievance.

Heavenly Father, Your truth is a wonder to us! Every cell in our body, as every grain of sand upon the seashore, teaches us of You. It is a beautiful and glorious picture that is painted every day by Your hands. You alone are God! We will worship You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

Luke 16:29 CSB

God actually expects us to pay attention to His Word. This rich man and his family were exposed to the truth. They could make no excuses.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth! You alone know everything. But You have made so much available to us as Your children. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.

Luke 16:28

Did this new condition cause the rich man for the very first time to think of others instead of himself? Well, at least he thinks of his own brethren after making the request for himself.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day to serve You. Your great grace is so powerful! It does not give up easily. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house—

Luke 16:27

In the Gospel of John chapter 8 and verse 44 Jesus tells the Jewish people ‘You are of your father the devil’. And yet, here He tells a story of a man in hell still calling Abraham his father (and Abraham had called him ‘son’). How do we reconcile this?

This shows that on many occasions Jesus is targeting the spiritual state of His hearers. In John 8, he is speaking of their spiritual heritage. And this is consistent with the rich man in this story here in Luke. Though physically a son of Abraham, this man was obviously spiritually ‘of the devil’. We are all born in this state and may only escape it by the grace of God.

So, when interpreting the words of Christ one must be looking for clues that He is working on the spiritual state. For example, ‘if your right hand offends you, cut it off’ or ‘unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part with me’. These outlandish statements are sensical when we see that Jesus is targeting the spiritual condition.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your comfort. We can know You and Your will and way, in spite of all that this life throws at us. We want a perfect life. But on this plane, we can only find our hope in You. In Your blessings we find our joy. Thank You for all that You both do and are in our lives. We have not a perfect body, perfect mind, perfect wisdom, or perfect sight. But we can rely upon You for all we need in those areas and more, so much more! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

Luke 16:26 CSB

We do not know a lot about the afterlife, whether in ancient times or now. However, what we do know is very definite. There is a dichotomy, two places to go. This is also confirmed by the passage we have before us.

The wording here is, once again, quite interesting. Evidently this rich man is able to gain an audience with Abraham. But notice what Abraham says to him. Those over in paradise who wanted to reach those in agony could not. And, the opposite could also not occur. But Abraham says nothing of those with the rich man desiring to reach those in paradise. He makes it sound as if Lazarus is indeed willing to try and help the rich man, but cannot.

Heavenly Father, You help us to see our imperfections. Thank You for this! In our human pride we can so easily become satisfied with ourselves. But in Christ we can grow beyond the need to feel sufficient as we are, and find our sufficiency in Him. Oh thank You! It is so helpful and freeing! You are wise and good. I cannot praise You enough. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

Luke 16:25 CSB

The word choice here is quite significant. Abraham calls the man his son because this rich man was indeed Jewish by ethnicity. And also, he says that the man had received ‘your good things’ in life. This doesn’t mean this man had experienced the best life he could have lived. Instead, it signifies that he had enjoyed the best this world has to offer, and that was his desire.

That which Lazarus had would prove to be the best choice for eternity. For whatever else Lazarus might enjoy, he had received the favor of the Lord and been counted among the faithful.

Heavenly Father, thank You for putting Your truth out there for us. I can never get over that. You have revealed Yourself and You work among us. Your church is active and vital. Oh the glory of Your great grace! You are living with Your people, and will be among us more one day. What joy! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy 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 flame!’

Luke 16:24

The Word of God is fresh every time we read it. And we learn new things all the time. Upon reading this again I think about the selfishness of this man. What is his first thought and request? Yes, he is in torment. But his relief is his first priority, just as in life.

He does not begin by thinking of his siblings, nor does he see Lazarus as anything but a means to get what he wants. Evidently, he had no problem in requesting that Lazarus be troubled in death for his help, even though he would never have troubled himself for Lazarus’ relief in his life.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us each other to remind us of our needs. We can get so focused on ourselves and our own needs. You are the perfect example for us of sacrifice. You have given Your Son. You have worked out our salvation in spite of our sin. If you were concerned only for Yourself, we would be a world of mindless robots able to do nothing but always what we are told. You are truly amazing to be able to make the creatures that You do and care for them. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.

And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.

Luke 16:23

To hear that Lazarus was at the side of Abraham and not the rich man was backwards to those listening to Jesus. Their sensibilities were threatened by this teaching. The last thing they expected to hear when they got up that morning was a story about a rich man in hell.

The exception would be if the crowd assumed that this rich man was a tax collector. In that case, he would definitely be expected to be in hell. In either case, they would not expect a poor beggar to be at Abraham’s side.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your working on our lives in spite of ourselves. We can get so full of ourselves, and so empty of Your Spirit. Forgive our pride! You are amazing, wonderful, and so holy! Every day Your truth is new and fresh to our hearts and lives. Ever alive, Your revelation gives us hope by Your Almighty Power. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise You, Amen.

One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luke 16:22

Some things that are part of our popular culture in connection with death and the afterlife are very fanciful and have no basis in Scripture. However, Jesus does here confirm the idea that angels carry away the righteous dead.

Some have said that because this is a story that Jesus is telling, we should not get any ideas from it. In other words, because it is a story, some things could be inaccurate. But this is an unnecessary attempt to explain away difficulties. Yes, Jesus is telling a story, and we do not know if there was an actual person named Lazarus. But there’s nothing in the passage to dictate that there wasn’t.

In this verse Jesus is setting his hearers up for the next line of the story. To them, it would be shocking. They would expect for the rich man to be at Abraham’s side in Paradise.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your truth. It’s so easy for us to forget just how precious it is. We think that we have it all figured out, that we have a good handle on how things really are. But all we can really do is just stand in awe of your wisdom, your truth, and your power. You are holy, good, and pure. Even as your children, we are so different from you, you are so much higher and greater than anything we can understand. Your ways are much different from our ways. I will give you praise for this forever and ever. All glory be to you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and praise you, Amen.