I ask that you would turn with me to the book of Luke. Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16. We'll be considering a very interesting parable this evening. I'll begin reading at verse 14 of Luke chapter 16. We'll be considering the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. So, Luke chapter 16, beginning at verse 14. Hear now the Word of God." The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and they ridiculed him. 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 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 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. And he called 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." But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things. And Lazarus and like man are 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, then, 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. And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. He said to him, if you do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. So ends our reading from the Word of God. Let us pray for the Lord's blessing. Lord our God, we thank You for Your Word that You give to us this evening. And we pray that as we look upon the teachings of old, You would give us clarity. And indeed, You would feed us. That You would nourish us as Your people who need it every week. Indeed, who need it every hour. So I pray, Lord, that You would work through me, Your servant, to proclaim the truth of Scripture. That we all may be nourished. In all these things we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Now maybe as you saw the title of this sermon in the bulletin this morning, or if you got the bulletin any earlier, perhaps you were a little surprised. It could be a surprising title to see the rich man in hell. I wonder if you saw that title, you thought, I'd better read this text of what I'm going to hear tonight, because I wonder what the message behind this is going to be. It's a little bit of a startling title for the sermon, and then certainly when we see this parable, it's all the more startling. This is shocking what we hear. This is a shocking parable and ultimately it's good that sometimes we hear these shocking words. That's sort of the big thing I want us to consider as we look at this parable. The parables that Christ gives to the people are something very interesting to consider and to take to heart. Very often when we consider these parables we wonder what am I to take away from this parable. And in this one, I think the easiest, clearest answer right away is it's shocking. That's something even right away we need to define. Because how can shocking language be used? When you hear that term that, well, it was really shocking, what comes to mind? Sometimes that kind of language is used just to get attention. Some examples to think about is sometimes if the weather is being reported when a heavy rain is coming, The statement will be, the biggest storm in decades will be attacking. No, it's to shock us, to get our attention. Or there are DJs on the radio who are even just known as shock jocks. They want to use shocking language, and that can be crass words for their humor and their topics. And this shocking style is used as marketing to grasp your attention. And even in the pulpit, that can be used, that can be a temptation. Many pastors in the church today, in the name of trying to get the attention of the church, they shock you with edgy words, with graphic language, with touchy topics. And so again, this is often the marketing mindset to pack seats. And so when I say this parable is shocking, I want to make very clear what I mean by that. It's important to clarify what I mean. You know, is Christ giving this parable just to be an attention grabber? Is he giving this parable just to be shocking, to be edgy, to make a name for himself? Well, no, absolutely not. When I say this is a shocking parable, it's for no other reason than it's telling the truth. A truth that many of the people who heard it did not want to hear. Sometimes the truth to those who are denying it are a huge shock. And that's what's taking place here. That's why I didn't begin just reading at verse 19 where the header for the parable begins. I began reading at verse 14 because we see the audience who is receiving this parable. And when we do that, we learn that Jesus doesn't simply use the parables to teach a lesson, but also to shock the people who are receiving it. With this parable, he's shocking the Pharisees. And so the question to ask is how? How is this parable shocking the people? And there's three ways I want us to consider how the people who would be hearing this were just in complete and utter shock. It's because we saw the shocking ruin of a rich man. Secondly, we see the shocking reminder of the real law And finally, we see the shocking rejection of the resurrection. So those are the three points I want us to consider that are things that are just startling, unbelievable, shocking to the people who would hear this. The ruin of a rich man. The reminder of the real law. And the rejection of the resurrection. So the first point to consider in this parable that we see is the ruin of the rich man. When we think of the ruin of this rich man that takes place, there's really ultimately two things to consider. First, the rich man in the parable, and then the rich men who surround the parable. When we hear of this rich man in the parable, we need to ask that question, well, why? Why is it so shocking for the people who would have heard this parable to hear about this rich man? Well, because of what he seems to be. and then what he really has. Because what he seems to have, what he seems to be, is a wonderful man. You know, the way he is described with his fine linen and his purple robes is not something new, not something that would never have been heard. We're told in verse 19, there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen. That's a phrase taken from Proverbs 31. Clothed in fine linen and purple. You know, that wonderful picture we see of a husband and wife of wisdom were regarded very highly in the city. In this community, these riches would mean a high status. It would mean good acclaim. It would mean people would be looking up to you, a man that they would or should admire. Versus the poverty described of Lazarus. You know, this is the kind of text that when you read over the first time, you might not want to read over it again, what it says about Lazarus, what we're told about him. It's one of those disturbing passages you just want to pretend you didn't actually hear. How this poor man was described at the gate. Desired to be fed what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even dogs came and licked his sores. What a disturbing picture we're given. about what Lazarus endured. Immense suffering indeed. You know, this is how Job is described at the beginning of the book of Job. The suffering that he is enduring when Satan was given permission to come and attack him at the beginning of Job 2. He's given that kind of suffering. These sores that are described that the dogs were licking in our passage are the same sores that Job endured as Satan attacked. It seems like the rich man compared to Lazarus has a whole lot here. But what we're shown as the parable plays on is what he really has. What he really has is his judgment. And really what we need to do when looking at this parable is think about this judgment that is painted before us here. It's one of the most gruesome pictures of judgment that we're given in Scripture. Now certainly we're told a great deal about judgment in Scripture. We're told about fire and burning and suffering and Satan and the demons who will attack. Many images are given to us in detailed ways throughout Revelation, even in the Old Testament when we hear the prophets speaking in the ways of judgment. We even hear in the final verse of Isaiah, they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me. Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind. We have intense pictures of judgment given throughout Scripture. What I would say makes this one of the most, if not the most, gruesome is how personal it is. Here we see a man actually speaking in the midst of judgment, crying out in the midst of anguish and agony. It's one of the first times we can so clearly imagine what hell might be like. and actually have a tiny glimpse or picture of what it would be like to endure. And it's made all the worse when he sees the blessings of Lazarus. In the face of the suffering that this man is now enduring, this rich man is now enduring, he sees the joys of Lazarus. The joys that he is experiencing hand in hand with Abraham. So now the man who had everything has nothing. And the man who seemed to have nothing has everything. So the question we have to ask when we see this shocking end to a man who seemed to have such high status and acclaim is why? Why would this shocking end be pointed to so clearly? Is the message there cannot be anybody rich in heaven? Is that what we should take away from this? Make sure as soon as you walk out the door you sell everything you own? You know, I mean, two chapters later, Christ would say, indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. I think that's oversimplifying the parable. What then would we say to Joseph, who indeed was blessed with riches on earth? What would we say to David? And certainly, what would we say to Solomon, if they were to hear this parable to take to heart? In this parable, Christ is pointing them to a very specific kind of rich man. One who is a lover of money. His stature. Ultimately, himself. And this is what the Pharisees needed to hear. Because they were these kind of men. As they were to see this rich man and his shocking end, they were these rich men. That's why I began reading at verse 14. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and they ridiculed Him. We're not just told about a rich man in this story. We see a rich man leading up to it. They're supposed to be leaders in the church, but rather they were lovers of money first and foremost. When they heard this parable, you'd think they would have found it shocking. If this could happen to the man that Christ is speaking about and describing in this way, what could happen to me? Certainly, it's what they had in store. They had the same end in store as what's being described here throughout this parable. It should have been a wake-up call to them. It should have been something to bring terror. You know, a light switch flipped on to the state they were in. And indeed, it can be a reminder for us all to take to heart. Because we too can have this conflict between appearances and the truth. There's an aspect in what we can appear to be. Appear to be blessed in giving so much in our work. Appear to be a blessing in helping others with gifts. An appearance to be those in high standing that many look up to and respect. And don't get me wrong, those are all wonderful attributes. That we who have been brought from death to life in Christ Jesus our Lord are to cling to and to love. But what we really need to ask ourselves is are we truly just these lovers of money? Above all else, are we letting money drive our daily thoughts and desires? Letting money drive our pride and arrogance? Letting money consume our fears and doubts? Ultimately turning money into a God. That's what was happening with these men who were standing before Christ and hearing this parable. That's what was making the picture they received of this rich man a shocking moment. Because the people were being reminded that they can't trust their social status. They can't trust their earthly riches. What made it all the more shocking is they were being reminded they couldn't trust the law. That was the second shocker they were given. They were given a reminder of the real law. In this parable, Christ gives them the real law reminder, and then we also see the reason for that reminder. Towards the end of that parable, we see a real reminder of the law coming in verses 27 and 28. It said, Then 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 prophets. Let them hear them. When we hear these words, this picture of a real law reminder coming forward, ultimately this is first a very sad moment, but it's also a very shocking reminder. It's a sad moment in those first two verses when this brother gives this cry asking for help, asking that even if he can't be saved, can't his brothers be saved? How often in times of regret do we want to say, if only, If only I could do it all over again. If only somebody would have told me. If only I'd studied an hour longer for that test, I know I would have passed. If only I hadn't tried to run that red light, that car accident would have never happened. If only I hadn't used the restroom on my layover, I wouldn't have missed the flight. There's tons of times in life where we think if only that hadn't happened, if only somebody could have warned me, this never would have taken place. And so what the man is saying here is he's trying to nip it in the bud. He's trying to make that request where, you know, it hasn't worked for me, but if only somebody had come to me and said, you need to hear the truth, hear the Law and the Prophets. And so this request would seem, when we first hear it, a really sad moment. You know, something really pitiful where compassion should be given. where the love being shown from this brother should be passed on. It seems like a pretty harsh response. But it's really just a shocking reminder when Abraham replies in verse 29, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. Ultimately, the rich man now in hell had the law and the prophets. His brothers right now have the law and the prophets. And while it may seem like a very cold, harsh response from Abraham, we have to ask, is it really just harsh and heartless? Or is Christ really just giving a shocking reminder of the truth to these people? A reminder that they needed to hear of what the law really is. And what the law really should show. Because it was a point that this man in the parable had missed as he is now dwelling in hell. And it's a point that many of the people that Christ was speaking to had missed too. There's a reason He's giving this reminder of the Law, because again, when we look back at the prologue leading into this parable, we see how the people who were hearing this parable were treating the Law. They'd been given the Law and the Prophets. They'd abused the Law and the Prophets. And they'd ultimately ignored the Law and the Prophets. Now look at verse 16. 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. The law and the prophets were until John. These people were standing against Christ and they should have known they needed Him. Because they had the Law and the Prophets. As they looked upon the Law, as they heard the Word of the Prophets, they should have known that they needed more. That there was nothing they could do in and of themselves. That trusting in themselves to please the Lord only led to their sin and their failure. Rather, what did they do? They abused the Law and the Prophets. They abused the Law. They tried to dumb it down and simplify it. And Christ makes it so clear that they can't. He makes that so clear in verse 17, it's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. They can't change the law how they wanted to and make it say what they wanted it to say. But that's exactly what they were doing. And we may think that seems so odd, verse 18, right in the middle of all this. where it's speaking about divorce. Why would Christ put that right in the middle of this statement on the law and the kingdom and then this parable of the rich man? It's because that's exactly a huge point where the Pharisees were just making the law say what they wanted it to. They were abusing the law and the prophets. They were making divorce appear wherever they felt like it could appear for the most minimal reasons. And justifying it by making their own law. There's evidence that they would have a divorce take place because they found a woman who was more attractive. One who they thought could run the home better. And they would find reasons that they thought were scriptural to make this okay. It's so clear. Deuteronomy 24, we're told exactly that divorce should not be done. Malachi 2.16, God Himself said, I hate divorce. says the Lord, the God of Israel. Yet it was something being abused. Something these Pharisees who said they upheld the law so perfectly were being severe hypocrites about. So when we wonder why this one verse right here, it's so clear why Christ would put it forth. Because these who had been given the law and the prophets were abusing the law and the prophets and ultimately showing that they were ignoring the law and the prophets. Because in verse 15, He said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. These were men who took the law and the prophets and thought, we'll take care of it ourselves. Thank you very much. By dumbing down the law, they thought they could uphold it all themselves. It was ultimately ignoring the truth of the law. These men needed to be reminded of the primary intent of the law. What Christ said in Matthew 5.18, I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Beloved, we have to remember we can't uphold the law in the least. We fail time and time again. We need to take this to heart because it can be our temptation to dumb down the law. To justify reasons for divorce that are totally unbiblical. To justify our love for money that takes us away from the Christian walk are just two great examples that Christ is giving to us as His people right here. But we know the list could go on and on and on. Because we are so tempted to justify our actions that are sinful rather than owning them and acknowledging them and saying, I'm a sinner who falls short of the glory of God and needs one who could uphold the law and uphold it perfectly on my behalf and be pointed all the more to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's why we need this shocking reminder as well. We can't dumb down the law. We can't dumb down its requirements. We must realize how immense and impossible its requirements are for sinners such as us. Because it makes Christ's third shocking point something all the more essential. Because His third shocking point is pointing us to the resurrection. We also see in this parable a shocking rejection of the resurrection taking place. There's a shocking rejection of the resurrection. And it's kind of a bookend to our reading here this evening. Because the rejection of the resurrection takes place in verse 31. And we see the rejecters at the very beginning in verse 14. This rejection that takes place in verse 31 is really something that is pathetic. It's pathetic because we see a pathetic request and a pathetic result. It's a pathetic request at first. It's a request to Abraham, first of all. Why is this prayer now being given to Abraham? The man here still doesn't get who he should be calling out to. He still doesn't understand who a cry should go forth to. He's a child of Abraham. Certainly, he calls his father Abraham and Abraham responds to him as a son. But he doesn't understand that God is his true Father. He has fallen away from being a true son of Abraham in the way of the covenant, in the way of the people of God. And so it makes this cry that he gives to Abraham just really sad and pathetic to begin with. And it leads to a very pathetic result as well. Because what is Abraham's response? It makes it clear that it wouldn't do any good. That these men have hard hearts. Hearts so hardened that even one raised from the dead would not get through to them. That's something that maybe we could miss when we first read through it or if we're just reading chapter to chapter. Kind of keep on reading and not think about it. But even one raised from the dead would not get through to them. What an unbelievable thing to hear. Because you think about just stories that have been written and how that powerful idea of somebody who is dead appearing to somebody has such an impact. You think of a Christmas carol when Ebenezer Scrooge is confronted by Jacob Marley, how shocked he is. You think of the Hamlet, Shakespeare's Hamlet, how he is amazed to see his father's ghost. Here Abraham tells the rich man that their hearts are so hardened, it will make no difference. It's truly pathetic, sad, but ultimately it's prophetic. Here these words that Christ is saying are not just something out of the blue in this parable. It's pointing to something that is coming not too far down the road. Christ is giving these words in the parable to point to something that's truly going to happen. There before them stood Christ. who would rise again. And there before Him stood men to whom it would make no difference. And that's important to note. And what's important to note as well is we see that it's not just the rejection in the parable that we're given, but we're pointed to the very rejecters as well in these Pharisees. Because in the opening words, in verse 14, we're told the Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all things and they ridiculed Him. They ridiculed Him. What we find in this passage points to who these men would be to Christ throughout His life, throughout the messages He gave to His death on the cross and to His resurrection. The same language of ridicule would be what was said to Him upon the cross. Luke 23, we're told, the people stood watching and the rulers even sneered or ridiculed Him. He said He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One. And when Christ Himself would rise from the dead, there would be doubters of the resurrection. We see that in the words that Christ would say. He would be speaking of these hard-hearted Pharisees in words that He would say throughout Luke. In Luke 9, He said the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and must be killed. On the third day, be raised to life. In Luke 18, He'll be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him. On the third day, He will rise again. In the midst of His own resurrection, there would be those for whom it would do no good that they would have hard hearts and doubt the truths that He was proclaiming just as He was proclaiming here in this parable before them. Beloved, we need to hear these words because there are those with hard hearts who are not convinced by the good news of the resurrection even to this very day. Doubters still today who will try to say the Gospels don't match up. There's too many differences in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for me to believe it. These facts just don't make sense. These miracles could not possibly happen. And I will not believe it. You know, Jesus was a good man. He was a great social figure. He did so much good. But He couldn't be the Son of God and He certainly couldn't have risen. People of God, I say to you, hear these words of the parable and hear the truth of Scripture. As we were told in Luke 24, He is not here. He has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again. So I say to you all, remember the shocking words we hear in this parable. It's not just a shocking report from a weatherman, or some shocking humor from a DJ, or a shocking presentation from a hip pastor. It's shocking because it's the truth. It's the words of Christ that we've been given. That we can't trust in ourselves. We can't uphold the law. But we must look to Christ and Him alone to conquer the power of sin and Satan. Amen. Let's pray together. O Lord our God, We thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the hope that You give to us. That though it may seem shocking, You have conquered the power of sin and Satan in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and ascension. We thank You, Lord, that as Your children You have brought us to life as well. So we pray, Lord, in the days ahead, by the power of the Holy Spirit, You would work in us that we may be no longer conquered by the law, but live in thanksgiving for what You have done. So give us strength by the Holy Spirit, we pray, in Jesus' name and all God's people said, Amen.