Our sermon passage this morning is from Luke chapter 16. We'll be reading starting in verse 14 through the end. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him, speaking of Jesus. And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John. Since then, the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and to cool my tongue, for I'm in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, child, remember that in your lifetime, that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. And he said, I beg you, Father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Pray with me. Lord, we pray. that your word would be made clear in our minds this morning, that you would open our ears and our hearts, that you would shape us and fashion us into the likeness of your son, that by your word and spirit, you would build up your church. We pray for your blessings on us this morning. In Christ's name, amen. Here we see Jesus interacting with the Pharisees once again, and they are seen to be ridiculing him for his teachings. In this section, he's talking about the law and the prophets to them, and he mentions how this is the new time. The law and the prophets were until John, but now is the time of the proclaiming of the kingdom, and yet, There's not one dot that's going to fall away from the law. There's not one dot, he says, of the law that will become void. And so as Christians, when we're reading this, You have to ask, well, what exactly does the law mean for me? What does the law mean for my life? And why is it still around? What does it mean that it's not void anymore? I thought the law was void. I thought that's the great good news that there is no law anymore. Shouldn't it be void? Well, Jesus says it's not void. And he goes and he talks about different laws, specifically about marriage. And then he goes and he speaks this very provocative parable about the rich man and Lazarus. And he wraps it back around to that statement again at the end of this parable, saying that if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither would they be convinced, even if someone arrives from the dead. And he wraps it back around to the beginning. that the Law and Prophets were until John, but now is the time of the Kingdom. But there's something there that the Law will not become void." One of the biggest objections that I hear to Christianity or to faith in general from atheists and people who are struggling to believe is Well, why does he, why does God require faith from me? Why, why does, why doesn't, if, if, if he's there and he's real and he has all this power and he can raise people from the dead, why doesn't he just show me? Why didn't, why can't he just, uh, do something powerful in my life? If I, why don't I just pray for something and, and he just makes it, you know, fills my bank account or I, or somebody who has risen from the dead and I can see with my own eyes and then I would believe. Then I would know it's true. Then I would have faith. But that's not really the case, is it? The human mind and heart is a master of creating excuses, and anything that is common is just natural. We're going to walk through this passage, specifically the parable and see how it is true. Jesus says to the Pharisees, who were evidently lovers of money, this parable speaking about the rich man withholding his good from Lazarus. In the first line, he says, there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. description it says he is clothed in purple and fine linen and as we read that in English it's it sounds like it is purple and linen but those are actually two different nouns so he's clothed in purple that means he's clothed in purple clothing His outer garment is made of something that is purple. And at this time that was extremely extravagant. The only purple dye that they could get was made from snails on the coast of the sea. And it was so rare and so expensive that only royalty really ever used it and ever wore it. Even these high up officials in Rome only had a thin stripe of purple on their otherwise plain clothing. And so this rich man is being shown to be over and above extravagant, just needlessly extravagant. There's no reason, there's no official reason that he would need to be wearing something so expensive, so rare. It is just how he wants to dress, and he has the money for it, and so he's gonna spend it on this. It'd be like wearing clothing that's just wrapped in gold. Why? What's the point of the fibers being dipped in gold? What does that do for you? But the illustration to us is that it is needlessly pricey. And the second item is fine linen, and that describes the undergarments, something that is very also expensive, and it is to show that even, it's not just about ostentatious, it's not just showing what's outside, but even what's under is very pricey and is fine, lest he chafe against his expensive coat. It follows up with, and who feasted sumptuously every day. The word here for feast describes how you may eat at a wedding, at a big celebration. If you can think about the nicest wedding that you've ever been to, and maybe what the price tag per plate came with that, You may have an appreciation for eating that every single meal of every single day. He's feasting. He's having something that you would normally only think of or picture or have on these special occasions. It isn't to paint a picture that feasting and having a celebration is bad, but that there's a time for it. You celebrate and you can have these celebrations at these times, but if it's every single day, there's something extravagant over and above and beyond about that. And so we have a picture of this man's life of really, it's not just that he has money, but that he uses it extravagantly. This is not a picture of someone that you would normally see. This is almost a cartoonish picture of wealth. And then he is immediately contrasted with the poor man Lazarus. It says, and at the gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. This poor man named Lazarus didn't walk up to his house, he didn't walk up to the gate, it says he was laid there. He didn't have the means or the strength to even go there himself, but he had to be delivered there. We may assume that someone would have delivered him there so that he could be helped. Because of someone who has so much, if he could see him, would surely help someone in such great need. But we see a parallel description of him. He says that he's not clothed in purple. He does not covered with this fine linen, but rather he's covered with sores. Where the rich man is covered with purple fine clothing and fine linen underneath, the poor man Lazarus is covered with sores all over his body. And where the rich man feasts sumptuously every day, the poor man is described in this way. He says, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. He's not even asking for a seat at the table. He's not even asking for a little doggy bag of food. He's just asking whatever happens to fall off to the table. Is there some crumbs that fall off? Did a tomato roll off the table? Can I lick the plate afterwards? He's not even asking to be treated like a human. He's asking to be treated like a pet under the table. Just give me what you won't even notice is gone. Just whatever falls off the table I'll eat. That's all I want. It says, moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. Now we here in America at this time, we hear dogs coming and licking you and we think, well, that's nice. At least he had that. At least he had these nice dogs coming and showing him affection. That is not how anyone living in Jerusalem would have heard that. In fact, most Old Testament references to dogs are considering them a filthy insult, or they're being referenced as eating dead bodies. Jezebel, her body was eaten by the dogs, and they are considered an unclean creature. And so you have these roving scavengers through the street of Jerusalem and you don't want to touch those. They're unclean. That'll make you unclean. If we were to have a closer picture for us, it'd be like he was laying there with sores and armadillos or possums were coming to lick his sores. It's like, I don't want that to touch me. I don't want that to come and climb on me. No, no, no, no, no. And furthermore, because they are ritually unclean animals, when they come and lick him, he becomes ritually unclean himself. And so, unable to take care of himself, unable to clothe himself properly, unable to keep his body away from being covered in sores, unable to feed himself, he is even unable to be accepted into the temple. because he is ritually unclean because of these dogs. Nothing is going his way. And it says, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment He lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. At the time of death, the poor man Lazarus is rather carried up by angels into heaven, like Enoch or Elijah, this privileged position, God's own messengers carrying him away to be at Abraham's side. And while he goes up, the rich man is rather described as going down. He's died. He died and he's buried. And he goes down into the grave. And in fact, Jesus uses the word Hades, which would be the common Greek word for the Greek concept of the place of the dead, which is much like the idea, the Old Testament idea of Sheol, the place of the dead, the grave. I do want to pause here for a moment. to discuss exactly what is going on here because something about the character of this parable seems a little bit different than a lot of other parables that Jesus gives. And some of the reasons is the word choice and Lazarus being named. It has a different flavor to it. And I want to stress that this is not trying to paint a metaphysical picture. of the afterlife, but rather that the details of the story are serving a point that Jesus is trying to elevate and come to. In fact, this story very similarly is used in other cultures. 300 years before Jesus became incarnate, a very similar story to this was told and recorded in Egypt, where you have a rich man and a poor man. The rich man doesn't help the poor man. They both die. And in the afterlife, the positions are reversed. There's also a similar story in the Talmud, where you have this sort of thing. And what that tells us is that God's moral law concerning helping the poor is written on the hearts of men. It is a morality that is seen around the world. And yet when Jesus tells this story, he tells it differently. And he has his own unique point that he's building to because he's not trying to inform the Pharisees that they ought to be generous. The Pharisees know that they ought to be generous. The Pharisees know better than anybody else what the law of God says. If you were to say, what does Deuteronomy 15 say to a Pharisee, they could tell you word for word themselves. Oh, well, that's the law of Jubilee, where we release all the debts. Because there's nobody supposed to be poor in this land. And you know what else it says is if you have wealth and your brother doesn't, you're supposed to take care of them. There should be no poor in the land. If you have money and your brother's at your gate, you help them. There should be no poor in the land. He's not telling them this story to inform them about something that they don't know about rich and poor. They know that. They know that more than any other culture. Other cultures needed a story like this to inform, but they had God's law. They knew what was right. They knew how they ought to live, but they were still lovers of money, as we see earlier in the text. Rather, we see Jesus continue and not just say, see, You didn't know that you ought to give the poor, but now you do. Rather, he continues the story for his real point. The rich man, after seeing Lazarus at the side of Abraham, calls out, 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 anguish in this flame." As I said before, this is a story that is building to a point. It is not meant to paint a picture of what heaven and hell exactly look like. But what is accurate is that there is a place of punishment and torment for those who are under judgment, those who are guilty of sin. They belong in judgment. And there are those who, by God's grace, will be in a place of comfort. Jesus is not trying to teach us that we're going to be able to see each other and talk to each other. He's not painting a picture of, here's this chasm, and we're going to be able to look over and talk to each other. That's not the point of the story. The point of the story is rather what he builds to. But Abraham says, child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things and Lazarus and like men are bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you is a great chasm. A great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able and none may cross from here to there. And so we have these elements put into place that we know that he cannot get what he wants. And it pushes him to ask, if I can't have a drop of water to calm this anguish, what next? What is his next desire of his heart? And he says, I beg you father to send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers so that he may warn them lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. As the rich man is talking to Abraham, it's striking to see that he knows the name of Lazarus and he knows him by sight. He looks at him and says, I recognize that guy. I know who that is. That's Lazarus. Abraham, send Lazarus to comfort me. Abraham, send Lazarus to go tell my brothers. His guilt in the situation is heaped higher. Because it wasn't just an overlook that a poor man was out of his gate and not taken care of. But he knew him by sight, who he was. And he even knew his very name and gave him no comfort. And yet in reverse, when the roles are reversed, he's crying out to have the same help given to him. And he says, go tell my brothers. I don't want my brothers, because we may assume that his brothers live the same way as he does, lavishly without generosity, directly in opposition to the law that had been given to them. And so when Abraham says that they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. The rich man is not comforted because he had Moses and the prophets. He knew this stuff. He was a man of Israel. And yet he was not persuaded by the word of God. that he knew and he knew he ought to follow. It wasn't just a moral standard of the culture. It was a clear given law to him that he knew this is right. He knew what is right and he knew what is wrong from the mouth of God in scripture. And still he knows. No, my brothers do have that. But they're not going to be persuaded by it. Send someone, send someone. If someone is would come back from the dead, Abraham replies, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. The grace that we are given by God is not that if someone gives you a good enough argument, or shows you enough power, or does something amazing and convinces you, and if you are able to be convinced, then you can get into heaven. If you can somehow see through all of this stuff and get yourself right, that you can find your way. The proclamation of the kingdom of God is not if you just follow all these rules, if you set yourself apart from other people by being smarter, by figuring out this puzzle and picking the right religion. Because there's so many to choose from, then you can have eternal life because you figured it out. You solve the problem. The puzzle has been fixed by it has been solved by you. You're so smart. That's not the gospel. It's not the gospel. And so what if someone were to be raised from the dead? And say, look, I came back. This is what's true. Would that change someone's heart? Would they then love God? Would they then place their faith in His only Son, Jesus Christ? That's not what Scripture says. It's not about giving people the perfect argument, because you could be the best, the most perfect speaker, and give them this 30-step approach and just get them to the place. But you know what? If the Spirit isn't there to turn a heart of stone to a heart of flesh, nothing is going to change. If they are to see someone to be raised from the dead, do you know what will happen? There's going to be another excuse. There's going to be another reason not to believe. In fact, there was somebody who was raised from the dead. There was somebody who came to earth from heaven. He died and was buried in a grave. A stone rolled over it. And on the third day, he rose again. And though many believed, there were still some who did not. Even though someone was raised from the dead, there are those who didn't believe. They do not listen to Moses and the prophets. They will not even listen to this because Moses and the prophets are God's word given to us. It's not just ink on paper. It's not just philosophy. It's not just information in history, but it's God's own word through his spirit given to his prophets That we are told that it has power to convince and convict. It has power to change us, to cut to our very hearts. God's own Word is not just information. It was by God's own Word and voice that He spoke and creation burst into being, into existence. God's own Word is His power to create and to change. If that's not enough to change a heart, what is a little bit of evidence, a little bit of new information, a better argument? God's own word is the greatest power. This is the power that God has given to convince and to convict and to even build us up once we have been convinced and convicted. The words of Moses and the prophets don't fall away because they're still powerful for us today. That in reading God's own law, we see his perfect character. And we are driven to Christ every day, even as Christians who rely on him, who have Christ's righteousness laid upon us. We still see, I don't stand up against God's law. I don't measure up myself. Every day I have to repent. God's law drives us to his grace. It tells us how we have fallen short. It is important. In fact, God saves us because he gave us this law. He used this law, which itself could not save us. Paul tells us clearly there's nobody who will be saved by works of the law. Nobody. Did God make a mistake with it? Did he say, oops, I gave him the law. It didn't work. No, he gave us the law because it drives us to him for grace and it teaches us what is right. It teaches us the character of God. Not a word from it will become void. Not a dot will become void because not only does it, does God use the law in that way for our benefit, but through Christ, through Christ, who in heaven had all things, all riches, all glory. He was high above and we far beneath. He was clothed in righteousness while we were covered in the filth of our own sin. And what did he do? Did He stay there until we perished and say, oh, too bad? No. He condescended and rather took off His great glory and became as one of us so that in living the life that we ought to have lived, He obeyed the law perfectly. Every single aspect of it, every single word of it, every single dot of it, Jesus obeyed to the uttermost. And then he died. He died taking the penalty of a lawbreaker like us. So that he could then clothe us in his righteousness. So that then we could feast upon his body and blood, the true bread of life, You see, Jesus is the good rich man. Where all of us fail, where this man failed, Jesus did right. He saw the needy in need, not just by circumstance, but by our own sin and rebellion. And he came and he lavished his great riches upon us. This is the grace of Christ. This is the gift of God for our salvation. Though we fall short and we fail in every respect, though we have broken God's law that he has laid out clearly for us, Christ came and obeyed it perfectly so that even though no aspect of the law has been dropped out and has been called void, it has been fulfilled in Christ. He has obeyed it. so that it is upheld, and yet we can stand before God and say, the Kingdom of God is here. We no longer live in a time of fear. We no longer live under the law, but rather in a time of proclamation that the Kingdom has come, and we can enter in to the gates of God Himself. that we are welcomed into the richest household ever, into the very family of God. It is through His Word and His Spirit that we are convinced and convicted. He has given us everything that we need, and none of it is our own. Let's go to Him in prayer. Lord, we thank you that you have blessed us. None of us would have come to you on our own, but in our comfort and ease and rebellion, we would have ignored you, but you did not ignore us. Lord, we thank you that you have given us the gift of salvation, that you have changed our hearts. Lord, we pray that you would build in us generous hearts that we would do as Christ has done. That we would be conformed to his image. We thank you for his richness lavished upon us. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.