The story of the rich man and Lazarus is often debated as to whether it is something that actually happened to real people or if it was a parable. What makes this story unique, if it is a parable, is it has a named character in Lazarus. Whether a parable or not, it is a story with unforgettable lessons to be learned.
The Story Of The Rich Man And Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
It begins with Jesus telling of a well dressed rich man who lived in luxury. Laying at the gate of the rich man was a poor, hungry man named Lazarus who was covered in sores. While he longed to eat just what would fall from the rich man’s table, what he got was the dogs who licked his sores.
The poor man dies and is carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham. The rich man dies as well, but finds himself in Hades. In torment, he looks up and sees Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus by his side. He shouts to Abraham, “Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.”
Abraham responds, “Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. Now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 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.”
Then the rich man said, “Please, at least send him to my father’s home. I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.” But Abraham said, “Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.”
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.” But Abraham said, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”
Lessons To Be Learned
Lesson number one, your money won’t get you to heaven. In this story, the poor man went to heaven and the rich man went to hell.The Bible says you can’t serve God and money. You will love one or the other (Luke 16:13). The rich man had everything he wanted during his lifetime, but overlooked what he really needed for the afterlife. He learned the hard way it does you no good to gain the whole world but lose your soul in the process (Mark 8:36).
Lesson number two, heaven and hell are real. The rich man is described as being in torment and anguish from the flames of hell. So much so that he begs Abraham for water to cool his tongue. Heaven will be something beyond our wildest dreams. Hell will be worse than our worst nightmares.
Lesson number three, our decisions we make in this lifetime are final. Repenting of our sins and turning to God has to occur before we die. There will no doubt be lots of repenting done and begging for another chance by many people after they die, but at that point it will be to late. Once in hell, there is a separation from heaven that you won’t be able to cross.
Just as the brothers of the rich man could read the words of what Moses and the prophets warned them about, so can we read the words of the Bible today. Hebrews 9:27 says people are destined to die once, and after that comes judgement. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), so obey God’s plan of salvation while you can.
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