Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
755 words, 4 minutes read time

A Rich and Poor Man

Scripture: Luke 16:14-15, 19-22

With the previous lesson we finished the section covering the parable of the clever steward and how we are to handle our money. With this lesson we begin a new section, also dealing with money in which a rich man was not willing to help a poor man named Lazarus.

^{Lk 16:14} “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’”

Among those listening to Jesus teaching the parable of the dishonest manager and its relationship to money or wealth were the Pharisees. A characteristic they apparently were known for is that they were lovers of money, which made they susceptible to all kinds of evil. That craving has cause some to wander away from the faith (1 Timothy 6:10). Those Pharisees were upset by this teaching and ridiculed Jesus.

Jesus responds to their ridicule by saying to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.” These Pharisees continue to give reasons why they think it is ok to live the way they do; why their behavior is not wrong or evil, but as Jesus has pointed out before, their hearts are unclean and contain all sorts of corruption which God knows about and is not pleased.

That which is exalted among men; that which is seen as good, God sees as an abomination. “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5 ESV). These things the Pharisees do and then justify as being ok before men are seen as an outrage or a disgrace by God and is sin.

Having said these things to the Pharisees, Jesus continues his teaching, about money and its use, with another parable about a rich man who had a poor man named Lazarus who was laid at his gate to beg.

^{Lk 16:19} “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.”

The parable contains two main characters: The first mentioned was a rich man who expressed his wealth with fine clothing and extravagant meals, and the second was a poor man, named Lazarus, who was so sick that he was laid at the rich man’s gate to beg. He was so hungry and desired so greatly to be fed with that which fell from the rich man’s table. His body was covered with sores that attracted dogs that came and licked them. With the lack of care, Lazarus died and was carried by angels to be with Abraham.

As time passed the day came for the rich man to also died and was buried. For most people they believe this was the end and leave the funeral with sadness and grieve that their friend or loved one is now in the ground. But does life really end there? Nothing was said about Lazarus being buried. He was described as being taken by angles to be with Abraham, who was alive. This suggest that being with Abraham was more important than being buried, but with the rich man that which stands out was simply his funeral.

In our next lesson Jesus will say more about these two men.

Conclusion

The parable has been set up. There was a rich man who lived for himself and died. There was a poor man who was laid at the gate of the rich man, hoping for some help, but he received none and he died. All we know at this point is that the poor man is described as being alive and with Abraham and the rich man is buried in the ground. Tomorrow, the narrative improves as we learn that part of the rich man didn’t stay in the ground. What part left and where did it go?