Rich Man and Lazarus

The Rich Man and Lazarus
By Charlotte Dixon
 
Luke 16:19-31
 
16:19
  
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (This is not a parable…it is a REAL account! Jesus says there WAS a certain man. This man had worldly wealth).
16:20
  
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, (Again, this was not a parable…Jesus named the name of the other man involved. Was he destitute…homeless? The poor man Lazarus was starving and sickly…)
16:21
  
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (He hoped just to get some crumbs from a very rich man, but it sounds like he didn’t even get the crumbs! Instead the dogs came and licked his sores…sores from whatever disease he had).
16:22
  
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (Both died, but went to two very different places…two entirely opposite rewards!)
16:23
  
And in hell he lift up his eyes (the ONCE rich man still had his senses, even in death…he could SEE what was happening to him…he also was aware that it is FOREVER…never to escape), being in torments (that is tormentS…plural with an S), and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom (He could see what he was missing…part of his torments, perhaps!).
16:24
  
And he cried (he may rarely have cried when he lived his earthly existence, but in hell this would be a common occurrence) 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. (Not only was he tormented by where he was, his separation from God, the loss of all his worldly possessions, he was…and still IS for that matter…tormented by the flames of hell’s fire. Oh, how he longed…longs- think about that!…he LONGS for the wetness of water to cool his tongue…just as Lazarus had longed for only the crumbs from this same man’s table. The rich man…now a beggar himself…with NO hope! Why? Because the time for hope was long past).
16:25
  
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. (The once rich man could still hear and he still had his memory, could still remember and never forget all the good things he once had in comparison with the eternal punishment he now suffers.)
16:26
  
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (In hell, there is ETERNAL separation from God and all the other good things of eternal life).
16:27
  
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
16:28
  
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Again, he still had his memory, and he remembered having family still living that was NOT saved (another torment perhaps!). Even this sinner after having gone to hell did not want anyone else to go there…imagine how bad it must be there! If a SINNER in hell does not want his family to go there, how much more should we as Christians NOT WANT our unsaved family members to go to that awful place! What are we doing to stop it?)
16:29
  
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (Once in the awful place, though, not only can the sinner NEVER leave, but he has no way to warn those he has left behind of how terrible it really is…how REAL it is! However, for all those sinners still alive, there is HOPE! The Scriptures speak clearly of the remedy of sin, the way to avoid hell…that hope is Jesus Christ. It is up to US to tell them…while there is still time…before it is too late).
 
 
 
Speaking of WARNING THEM... I will never forget Sister Opal Wallace. She was a faithful member and minister in the Church until her death several years ago. She had such a desire to reach the lost that she prayed God would give her a vision of hell in order to truly feel an urgency to warn others day and night with tears. She spent her Christian life warning others (I was one of those!) But some of those she warned still need to be reminded of what an awful place hell is. She is gone…who is reminding them now? The responsibility to warn them is left to us. Do we feel that urgency to warn others, literally pulling them from the fire? May the following quote severe as a reminder of the urgency of our task…
 
“Imagine the person who just entered hell- a neighbor, relative, co-worker, friend. The awful truth spreads before him like endless, overlapping slats. (And he realizes…) ‘When I put in 10,000 centuries of time here, I will not have accomplished one thing. I will not have one SECOND less time to spend here.’ The smoke of his torment goes up forever and ever…” (John Thomas, Moody magazine).
 
 
Charlotte Dixon