Luke 16:19-31
The Parable
“’There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
“’Then he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
“’Then he said, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”’”
Lesson
The Word of God is sufficient to turn a man to salvation. If a man does not have a heart to listen to the Word, neither will he listen if someone were even to return to him from the dead to teach him of these things. He might listen for a while, but because he isn’t of a heart to love God, he won’t persevere.
There is a good lesson in this any time there is a major catastrophic event. After 9/11, there were those who turned to religion, those who said there was a spiritual change in the nation. But after a few months, most returned to how they were before the event. Unless the man is of a heart to follow the Lord, nothing external can cause him to; he might for a time, but he will return to who he was.
Our character is the same whether we are presented with a great or a small lesson. If we are inclined to listen to the truth, we will recognize and believe it no matter how it comes to us, while if we are not inclined to listen, then like the rich man’s brothers, we will neither listen to Moses and the Prophets, nor the risen dead.
Judas has always puzzled me to a degree. How could he have seen what he saw, and heard what he heard, and yet betrayed Him? We are given the answer in John 12:4-6,
“But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?’ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”
During the time he was with Jesus, the word never met with belief in his heart, and so did not profit him. Judas walked alongside God, but was only concerned with earthly gain, to the extent that he stole from God.
It comes down to the character of the hearer, not the delivery method of the lesson.
It is also a lesson that we ought to help the poor.