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Was Jesus Exaggerating?
“Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame!”
Notice how Abraham answers this man - this man who died, but whose spirit is now more conscious than ever - he’s in agony.
Abraham doesn’t say, “You old skin flint! You’re getting what you deserve. Why should I send Lazarus to help you? You never helped him!”
No. Abraham is filled with sorrow as he looks down across the canyon at this suffering spirit, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things… now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And there’s nothing I can do. I can’t send Lazarus over there. Look at that chasm. Nobody can cross it. Nobody can go from here to there. And nobody can come from where you are to here.”
“Well listen, Father Abraham, I’ve got these five brothers. They’re still alive. Send Lazarus to my father’s house to warn them so they won’t end up where I am!”
“They have Moses and the prophets,” says Abraham, “all they have to do is open their Bible, and they’ll get the message.”
“You don’t understand, Father Abraham. My brothers heard Moses and the prophets all their lives, so did I. It didn’t do me any good. But if someone comes to them from the dead, they’ll listen. They’ll repent!”
Abraham shakes his head. “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
What will it take to convince us that Jesus’ description of reality as he presents it in this parable is accurate? What will it take to convince us? Or will we have to wait until we die to find out?
Why, this parable doesn’t even fit into our doctrinal framework. Where in this parable of the rich man and Lazarus can you find the central Christian doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith? Lazarus didn’t repent. Lazarus didn’t pray the sinner’s prayer and get saved. All he did was lie there and beg while dogs licked his sores. And lo and behold he ends up in Paradise.
And the rich man - what’s so bad about him? He didn’t kill anybody. He didn’t commit adultery. He didn’t lie and cheat and steal. He ate well. But I bet he didn’t eat as well as we do.
And don’t forget, the rich man could have had this poor, ugly beggar removed from his gate any time he wanted to. He let him lie there. Of course, he wasn’t about to give him anything cause then Lazarus would have told all his friends and there would have been an army of beggars at his gate.
He wore purple and fine linen. In other words, the rich man was faithful in his religious duties - more faithful than we are perhaps. He went to the synagogue every Sabbath. Heard Moses and the prophets read.
But now he’s in agony out there on the other side. Do you believe he was in agony? Or do you think Jesus was exaggerating?
What Jesus is saying is that this guy, while he was on this side of the grave, was living in a dream world.
He ate well. Dressed well. Went to church. Had lots of friends. But he was out of touch with the real world. God’s world.
And now, as he languishes over there on the other side, he knows how out of touch he was. And how out of touch his brothers still are.
“Send Lazarus to wake up my brothers, so this won’t happen to them!”
Why, he even shouts at his brothers hoping that somehow they’d hear his voice, “Come on you guys, wake up! Can’t you see? You’re going to end up here if you don’t wake up.”
They can’t hear him. They go right on living the good life unaware that the “good life” is a dream.
Sooner or later, you wake up from the dream. A lot of people never wake up from the dream until they die. Or do you think Jesus was exaggerating?
If Jesus wasn’t exaggerating… If this is really how it is - exactly the way he describes it in this parable, where do we fit in this picture? Who of us here can say, “I’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m Lazarus. I’m the beggar.” No. We’re the rich man. Everyone of us here is the rich man. On second thought, we’re not dead yet, so we must be the rich man’s brothers and sisters. The ones he’s worried about. Why’s he worried about us? We’re doing okay. We’re decent people. Here we are in church.
But whether we actually met God here today - the proof that we actually had communion with Jesus - the risen Messiah in this bread and wine - is whether we have eyes to recognize the Lazarus whom God has plunked down at our gate. That man, that woman, that child, who’d like a few crumbs from our table.
If we really meet God here today… If we’re truly awake to God’s world, the real world the world that surrounds and fills this room with holy light, then the same ear inside us that is able to hear God speak will also pick up the cries of our Lazarus and we will know what to do.
We won’t be afraid to go out of our way for this person. We won’t be afraid to dig into our pocket and come up with some help. We won’t be afraid to take the time to reach out.
Every man, every woman, every young person, who is alive with the life of Jesus Christ, anointed by the Spirit of God, is given a Lazarus again, and again, and again. He may not be a beggar at your gate. He or she may be a person who’s been around you for a long, long time. Maybe…even your wife, husband, child. But they may as well be a beggar at your gate… They’re still waiting for a few crumbs.
God doesn’t send Lazarus into our lives to taunt us or even test us.
He sends Lazarus into our lives to bless us. Because the minute you look him in the eye, the minute you reach out and give him something, you’re blessed. Your heart rejoices. And the Spirit of God within you says, “Yes! Now you’re on the right track!”
So, let’s get practical. Each of us here today, before another Sunday rolls around, is going to stumble across Lazarus somewhere in our travels. God, in his mercy, will open our eyes to recognize this man, this woman, this child, as the Lazarus he put at our gate. Maybe it’s a child down the street. A neighbor. Maybe, it’s your cousin.
Don’t think of it as a test. Don’t think of it as an obligation. Think of it as a doorway to blessing. Lazarus is going to be blessed by your kindness. You’re going to be blessed by God’s Spirit.
God, give us eyes to see so that we won’t miss our chance to show this person a tiny fraction of the kindness the Lord Jesus is showing to us right now as he speaks to our hearts.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, you know we came here with needs. You know the burdens we brought with us today. We lay these burdens at your feet and thank you for receiving them. Thank you for your peace. Send us from here with power to lift the burden for the first Lazarus we meet. Amen.
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