This is the second of two lessons on Chapter 16. The message of the chapter, told in two parables and a showdown with the Pharisees, is that the disciple of Christ must use the temporary resources of this sinful world to affect eternity. The believer is a steward of what he has and knows the rewards of this life are finite, thus it makes no sense to pursue them as ends unto themselves. They instead must be a means to store up treasure in the kingdom of God. We are called to be faithful in this life with what ultimately doesn’t belong to us so we can enjoy eternal treasure that does.
The one who celebrates treasure in this world misses and twists the purpose of the resources God gives him. His love of wealth blinds him to the reason he has it. It’s why no one can serve two masters or love God and mammon.
In this lesson, we will cover the showdown with the Pharisees and the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The message of both is that we’re called to a higher purpose than satisfying ourselves with God’s gifts.
14-18
In verse 14, we find out that not just Jesus’ disciples have been listening to Him speak. There remain two groups in the audience (similar to Chapter 14) – disciples and religious leaders (specifically Pharisees).
The Pharisees’ response to the Parable of the Dishonest Steward and its applications is to scoff at the message. To say that no one can love money and God is laughable. They are the most religious men in society and they love their riches; how is it a problem to love both? Plus, wealth is a sign of God’s blessing. If they’re wealthy, doesn’t that mean God approves of them and has blessed them accordingly?
Jesus condemns them as hypocrites (something He does repeatedly throughout His ministry). He says they justify themselves in the sight of men, but God knows their hearts. The money and status they crave are detestable in the sight of God. Their religion is all about appearances and the favor of men, not the favor of God. And the riches they’re able to accumulate are more important to them than truly obeying the Law with its emphasis on serving God with a pure heart.
His teaching that what is esteemed by men is detestable to God should sober us. To men, it’s all about riches and honor and status and comfort. Having riches brings with it privilege and luxury and the respect and envy of others. Yet God says those things, when treated as the chief ends of life, are detestable to Him. They are NOT what our lives should be about. The resources of this world have value only in how they’re utilized to glorify God – typically through service to others. Heaping up treasure in this world to the exclusion of meeting the needs of others is detestable to God.
Jesus’ explanation of the Law and His ministry in verses 16-17 is at first hard to connect with His condemnation of the Pharisees. What He seems to mean is the Pharisees hold themselves out as experts in the Law and the ultimate examples of how to follow it. The role of the Law, however, is changing now that Christ has come. It was proclaimed and in effect until the time of John the Baptist – the last prophet before Jesus. Jesus brings in a new covenant. He preaches and initiates the kingdom of God. That said, however, He doesn’t do away with the Law (Matt 5:17). He fulfills it, so the message and moral teaching of the Law do not go away. Heaven and earth will pass away before one stroke of one letter of the Law will pass away. And the Law was always ultimately about the heart – not just outward behavior (see the 10th commandment). So its moral message continues in the kingdom, and that moral message condemns the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
The last phrase of verse 16 is difficult to understand. Everyone forces his way into it is a very odd expression. Does it mean that those who are saved enter violently into the kingdom because of having to take up their cross and having to deny themselves? Or does it mean that people are compelled into the kingdom by the Spirit? Or is there a different meaning altogether? It’s hard to know.
In verse 18, Jesus seems to bring up marriage and divorce out of the blue. He’s been talking about money and eternal treasure and suddenly veers off into a statement about divorce. The reason seems to be to illustrate His words about the Law. Just because He brings a new covenant doesn’t mean the moral teachings of the Law go away. And the men who scoff at His teachings on worldly wealth versus eternal wealth are the same men who hold themselves out as the most religious in terms of the Law, and yet they misinterpret the Law in how they serve its letter without considering its underlying emphasis on motive. This is clear in their cavalier treatment of marriage. Divorce is allowed under the Law, but it was never intended in any and all circumstances (as many of the leading teachers of the day advocate). Marriage was instituted by God as a permanent relationship (Matt 19:3-9). Anyone who treats it otherwise violates this intent. If someone divorces and marries another, he commits adultery. And if someone marries someone who’s divorced, he commits adultery. We know from other passages in the Bible that exceptions are allowed (immorality, desertion) but the basic teaching on marriage is that it’s a lifelong relationship. The Pharisees’ disregard for the intent of marriage models their disregard for the intent of the Law. It’s never just about outward appearances and the approval of men – it’s about obeying God from a pure heart.
19-31
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus reinforces Jesus’ teaching about the difference between worldly wealth and eternal wealth. The Rich Man cares about his earthly riches because of what they do for him. He doesn’t use them to help others – notably Lazarus, who’s literally at his door.
Lazarus has no wealth and desperately needs help. He has no means of support because of his physical condition and is so badly off and helpless that dogs – and in this culture dogs aren’t pets but wild and unclean animals that roam the streets – lick his wounds (this is not a healing action but likely a horrific experience for Lazarus). Lazarus is presumably in sight of the Rich Man virtually every day, but the Rich Man ignores his plight and simply enjoys his wealth (the Rich Man is the anti-Good Samaritan).
The Rich Man has no view of eternity and recognizes no reality beyond the good life his prosperity affords him. He does not regard his riches as a gift for which he will one day give an account. He’s completely oblivious to the needs of others or to the thought that his wealth is a tool to meet them.
Both men die. The Rich Man is buried; we don’t know what happens to Lazarus. What we do know is Lazarus is carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom (heaven) and the Rich Man goes to Hades.
In agony in Hades, the Rich Man is able to see Abraham and Lazarus in paradise (it’s not likely that we can take this to mean people in hell can see and interact with people in heaven – this is a parable making a point, not an explanation of how the afterlife works). Apparently still with an arrogant perspective on Lazarus, the Rich Man asks Abraham to have Lazarus dip his finger in water and cool the tongue of the Rich Man (we’re not sure how the Rich Man knows it’s Abraham or that the man with Abraham is Lazarus, but perhaps his knowledge of who Lazarus is condemns him even more for his actions on earth – he wasn’t just oblivious to Lazarus; he knew who he was and chose to ignore him). Abraham answers the Rich Man by explaining that he received his good things during his life while Lazarus was in misery, but now the roles have been reversed. The implication is that the Rich Man did nothing to alleviate Lazarus’ misery on earth and now no one will alleviate the Rich Man’s misery in Hades. Plus, no one can go from one side to the other. They are separated by a chasm that cannot be crossed – the Rich Man must continue in his suffering with no relief.
The Rich Man then asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to the Rich Man’s five brothers and warn them about what’s in store if they don’t change their lives. Abraham explains this won’t happen either. The brothers on earth have Moses and the Prophets (note reference back to verse 16 – this is what condemns the Pharisees) and that’s enough to teach them how to live. The Rich Man protests that that’s not enough, that if someone went back from the dead it would convince them. Abraham answers with a profound statement – if they won’t believe the scriptures, they won’t believe at all, even if someone comes back from the dead to persuade them.
What’s the message of the story? Like the Parable of the Dishonest Steward and its applications, this story teaches that there are ramifications to how we see our wealth during this life and specifically what it means when we use it for ourselves and not for others and for the kingdom. The parable shows what happens when we care about earthly wealth instead of eternal treasure; when we’re unfaithful in that which is another’s. The larger message goes beyond wealth and speaks to all of life. Those who live for themselves in this life will spend eternity in torment by themselves in the next. It also illustrates what Jesus said in verse 15 – what is esteemed by men is detestable in the sight of God. The Rich Man put all his hope in his earthly treasure and comfort and ignored everything else. He lived a life that was detestable in God’s sight. Thus, he ended up separated from God for all eternity.
The warning to the Pharisees is plain. They have wealth, they have status, they have social standing, they have more knowledge of the scriptures than anyone. Yet they miss entirely what the scriptures say about how they should live. Their emphasis on worldly status and comfort puts them at risk of ending up like the Rich Man. They have what Abraham says is all they need to believe, yet they continue to live for themselves. They apparently would continue to live this way even if someone came back from the dead to persuade them otherwise (which they’ll prove when someone DOES come back from the dead and they still reject Him). They right now disregard the teaching and warnings and miracles of the Messiah standing right in front of them. That shows the hardness of their hearts. It’s the ultimate irony – the most religious men in society are in danger of hell.
The Pharisees are self-righteous fools and it’s easy to condemn them. Before we do, however, it pays to look at ourselves. The sobering truth of this parable is that it is not difficult to live like the Rich Man. We may not think of ourselves as wealthy, but at any economic level we can easily live in the midst of God’s provision without recognizing that our resources are tools entrusted to us—tools for which we will one day give an account. It’s easy to live obliviously. We can and should condemn the Rich Man for his selfishness, but not before we consider whether in our middle/upper class world we overlook and/or ignore the Lazaruses in our lives.
The American way is to make sure we have plenty for ourselves so we can maintain a comfortable lifestyle with the luxuries that provide us ease. What Jesus calls us to, however, is to use what He gives us – time, money, possessions – to meet the needs of others and do His work on earth. Remember, what we have (EVERYTHING we have) belongs to Another and it’s only when we faithfully use it for Him that we gain that which is our own (vs 12).
Jesus gives us a picture of eternity in Matthew 25 that illustrates the difference between those who understand the message of this chapter and those who disregard it. The picture is a warning that choices in this life have eternal ramifications. We’re called to a higher purpose than using our resources for our own ends:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:31-46)
thegamutblog 