June 19, 2022 Trinity 1 The Sunday of Lazarus and the Rich Man
Trinity 1
Luke 16:19-31
June 19, 2022
“The Man to Be”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We know we aren’t to be the Rich Man who gorges himself every day on food and drink and never gives anything to the poor, hungry Lazarus outside. He goes to hell. So that’s not the man for us to be. But if Lazarus is the man that we’re all to be, then the whole world will be full of beggars on every corner and there won’t be anyone to feed any of us. So that won’t work either. This seems like a salient point to be made on this day we’ve set aside to give thanks for men, called Father’s Day. Who is the man that all men are to be? Who’s the man all Fathers are to be?
It’s not the gluttonous Rich Man and it’s not necessarily the begging Lazarus. It’s the one telling the story. He, Jesus Christ, is the man we’re to be. It’s a big hint for us that we’re called “Christ-ians”, named after the Man of men Himself, Christ. Christ is the man for us. Whether we’re rich or poor doesn’t matter hardly an iota. Jesus was rich and poor at the same time. But whether rich or poor, like Lazarus we’re to know and believe in THEE man that rich and poor alike are to be.
One of our local Christian radio stations had a contest over the past few weeks for who would be named “SuperDad”. Dads were nominated for their superior qualities, finalists were chosen, and votes were taken for SuperDad. I suppose that’s alright to a degree but it starts to get uncomfortable when we’re always calling people like us heroes. Dads are superheroes, Moms are superheroes, teachers are heroes, nurses and doctors are heroes. And all the while it’s hardly ever heard that all of us are sinners through and through, full of un-heroic iniquities, and that the true Hero of all men is Jesus Christ. He has to be the hero, the SuperDad.
If I die delivering this sermon today, please don’t tell my wife and children that I will always be with them. What am I gonna do if I’m with them? I’m not any kind of hero. Please tell them that Jesus is with them. Jesus is the hero. And at the same time, rather than doing my soul the great disservice of telling me I need to be here on earth again and be with all my family which I can’t even do anyway, please tell my family that I’m with our hero, Jesus. That’s the real and true comfort.
Jesus is the hero of every story and the Man for every man to be. That’s why we’re baptized into Him and clothed with Him and covered in His righteousness and called Christians. God makes us little “Christs”. And all the while that we live on this earth and fight against our sinful nature, Jesus is the Hero we aim for and strive to be.
Jesus shows what a rich man is to be. Jesus is the richest man in the world, holding all power and authority. He can turn large quantities of water to wine and feed thousands of people with hardly anything. He can heal with a Word or a touch of His hand. And what does He do with all these riches? The rich man in the parable throws parties for himself. Not Jesus. Jesus, on the other hand, uses His riches to help those in need and not Himself. He made Himself nothing and other everything. He shows us what a rich man’ is to be.
At the very same time Jesus also became the poorest man in the world. 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor.” He emptied Himself and took on all the sin of the world. At the cross He is taken to begging even for a sip of bitter water. And He shows us in His poverty what a poor man is to be—a man who entrusts Himself completely to God the Father and prays for relief.
Now this much is clear that the enemy, the man we’re not to be, is the rich man. He goes to hell because he has no love in his heart for his fellow man. And that comes from the fact that he has no faith in his heart for his Creator and Redeemer. But when he goes to hell and gets the punishment he deserves, all of a sudden he starts making complaints and excuses as if it’s someone else’s fault. In v. 24, he begs for mercy because he’s in anguish in this flame and heat. In other words, he says, “You gotta help me. It’s really hot down here in hell.”
Yes, it’s really hot in hell. God has told us over and over that it’s very hot in hell. It’s hot and anguishing and tormenting in hell because that’s exactly what we’ve earned with our sin. We deserve it. And if we absolutely refuse to accept God’s help that He’s given in Jesus Christ, then we will face the heat alone. Do you think it was hot this last week? We ought to be warning one another about the temperatures in hell rather than trying to always avoid the topic or even outright teach that there isn’t any hell. Don’t make excuses and complaints with the rich man. Hell is hot and we don’t want anyone to go there.
Secondly, the rich man then says in verse 27 that it’s really not his fault because he didn’t know and he wasn’t given a proper warning. He begs that Lazarus would go back from the dead to warn his five brothers so that they wouldn’t have to come down to the heat of hell with him. You see what he’s doing. He’s making that excuse that every sinner loves to make—it’s God’s fault because He didn’t give us enough of a warning. If God would do His job better, then no one would go to hell.
But enough of the excuses. We’ve all been given plenty of warning. The Word is very clear. The Word is absolutely sufficient for salvation. If we don’t believe the Word, then we won’t believe the ghost of our dead relative or the ghost of Lazarus either. In fact, I’ve told many of you that I have no problem with the stories we hear of near death experiences where someone dies for a time and has a vision of heaven and then comes back and writes a book about it for us. They’re very interesting stories. But if someone doesn’t believe the Word of God, then they won’t believe any other death stories either.
God has, in fact, sent Someone back from the dead to call us to repentance. Jesus rose on Easter morning, back from the dead. So we clearly have all the evidence we need. Jesus is the hero. Enough of the excuses and complaints. God has given us our Hero. Believe in Him and you will have eternal life. Believe in Him and the angels of heaven will carry your soul to Abraham’s bosom when you die.
The whole reason Jesus tells this story is because the Pharisees were lovers of money. Luke tells us so in verse 14, right before Jesus tells this story. Plain and simple, they wanted to be the rich man in the parable. Some think this rich man is meant to portray Herod himself and that the Pharisees envied Herod and his wealth and wanted to be like him. And so Jesus says 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.”
God isn’t fooled by money. He’s not fooled by rich or poor. To God, rich or poor doesn’t matter. God knows the heart. God already has his Hero—that’s Jesus Christ the Son of God who gave His perfect life on the cross. That’s Jesus, the hero, who was rich and yet became poor for our sakes. So you don’t need to be God’s hero. Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s all the same to God. All of us are sinners needing to be redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
Abraham was rich. But only because God made him rich. And the reason Abraham’s a great example in the Old Testament has nothing to do with his riches. Rather, He believed God’s promise. We heard that again today in our first reading from Genesis 15, “Abraham believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”
That’s how God judges. He looks at every one of you today, some of you richer than others and some of you poorer than others, and He peers right through any of that and looks into the heart. He sees there in your heart the blood of Jesus pumping. Hero’s blood. The same blood He saw in the heart of Lazarus the poor beggar and in the heart of rich Abraham. The blood that covers all your sin and rescues you from the flames of hell.
Rich or poor doesn’t matter much. The man you’re to be in this world is Jesus Christ your Savior. If God does bless you with money in this world, then you know what to do. You give it to take care of others. If you see someone like Lazarus who needs food or drink or clothes or visiting, then you use your riches to show love to them.
On the other hand, if you’re poor in things of the world, then you know what to do as well. Jesus is the man to be. When He suffered He trusted God and prayed to Him. So you also, if you don’t have much then you trust God and pray for relief. And God will take care of you.
Whether you’re the rich man or Lazarus, the hero and man to be is always Jesus. And when anyone tells your story, make sure the hero is clear to see. That you’re a Christian, following the true Hero, Jesus Christ, the Man you always want to be.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.