Two Rich Men and Lazarus
- The rich men of this age who are lovers of money justify themselves by their earthly riches
- Jesus is the Rich Man who loves mankind, and justifies others by means His heavenly riches, namely His precious blood
- Lazarus, the poor sick beggar, is all who desire to be fed with the crumbs that fall from Jesus’ table.
Earlier in Luke 16 Jesus famously says: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Then shortly before telling today’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus, He explains: “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.” Thus, the issue of money and earthly wealth, and how we Christians are meant to treat our earthly riches, is most certainly at the forefront of today’s text. But today isn’t just a text about stewardship, rather as all the scriptures do, these scriptures direct us to Christ. Through this wicked rich man we can come to see the true Rich Man, Jesus Christ, and learn what it means to be Christians like Lazarus.
So let us first turn to consider the rich man in today’s parable. He was clothed in purple and fine white linen, both of which are valuable fabrics. Purple dye in the ancient world was difficult and expensive to manufacture, and as such only the wealthy of this age could afford to wear it. Similarly, fine white linen was time consuming to produce, and bleaching fabrics white was also challenging. He feasted sumptuously every day, which was a symbol of his wealth and a display of his importance in the community by constantly throwing extravagant parties. At the end of his life he died and was buried, which isn’t a derogatory statement, but rather implies that he had an honorable death and burial in the eyes of the world. Likely he had one of those funerals where the whole church was packed.
The rich man in the parable is comparable to the Pharisees who were lovers of money and justified themselves before men by what is exalted among men. Let’s be clear, we often think poorly about the Pharisees and maybe the rich man in today’s parable because we have been conditioned to do so because we know the Pharisees seek to kill Jesus, we think of them as the bad guys in the Bible. But that’s not how the Pharisees or the rich man would’ve been thought of at the time of Jesus.
To explain the Pharisees with today’s context, the Pharisees would be the faithful church goers. They would be the every-Sunday attenders, the ones who volunteer for every position and serve on every board of the church, the ones who bring their Bible and sing loudly and when they die everyone wonders how the church will ever be the same. These aren’t bad guys in any externally observable way.
Similarly the rich man in the parable. He threw feasts every day, probably not just for himself, but for the community. There’s a reason Lazarus was laid at his gate, and it’s probably because this was the most likely place to get help from those of means. The rich man was probably well loved in his town, probably very generous, likely has a wing in the hospital named after him for his huge donations, probably employs much of the town and gives good Christmas bonuses. The town’s wealth and success likely depends on this rich man, and the town has better roads and infrastructure and parks and a higher standard of living because of this rich man.
But in spite of the Pharisees’ and the rich man’s external generosity and kindness and success, Jesus sees through those things and declares: “God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” By means of mammon the lovers of money justify themselves. It doesn’t look like they’re doing anything wrong, but in reality, within their hearts they are seeking salvation through their earthly riches. Instead of looking ahead to the paradise which is yet to come, they are attempting to make this life their paradise. They love this world and its pleasures more than they love Christ and the world to come. This couldn’t possibly define us, could it?
But unlike this rich man who loved money and justified himself and lived only for fleeting pleasures, there is another Rich Man who loves mankind, justifies others by means of heavenly riches, that is Jesus. The rich man wore purple and fine white linen as a display of his wealth, while Jesus was dressed in purple by those who hated Him, as a mockery of Him. Jesus wasn’t dressed in royal robes for His own glory, but in humility He was shamefully treated for us. In Revelation the church is described as clothed in fine linen, but only on account of Christ whose blood washes us white. He was clothed in purple so that He may clothe us in robes of righteousness.
Jesus is the rich man who is preparing a sumptuous feast in His kingdom, and He calls and gathers the poor and crippled and blind and lame to dine at His feast. Jesus prepares on His holy mountain a feast of rich food, a feast of aged-wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. The Lord is the master of the feast and our cup overflows. He even calls to the highways and hedges and feeds us a foretaste of the feast today. What generosity that at this feast the Master feeds us food prepared from His own body, sacrificially given not only to stuff our bellies for a moment, but to nourish our souls for eternity.
The Rich Man, Jesus, also died and was buried, as we confess in the creed. He received a noble burial in a rich man’s private grave. But unlike the rich man in the parable, He is the only one who could cross this great chasm fixed between hell and heaven. From the grave He descended into hell, not to be tortured alongside the rich man from the parable, but to proclaim victory against hell. From the grave He rose from the dead, and continued to preach Moses and the Prophets. Then He ascended from earth to heaven with the angels at His side, from whence He shall return in the same way He ascended so that we may be carried with Him by the angels to dwell at Abraham’s side. Like Abraham’s children, children of the promise, children who are received into heaven through faith, we shall be taken home to dwell in the arms of our family. The rich man of the parable couldn’t bring his brothers with him to heaven, but the Rich Man Jesus has made us His brothers by adopting us into the Father’s family through the waters of baptism.
Because Jesus is the true Rich Man who welcomes us into His kingdom of grace, we must become Lazarus, poor sick beggars, laid at the feet of Jesus, longing to be fed with what falls from Jesus’ table. We enter into God’s kingdom not as lords and successful rich men, but as beggars, poor and destitute, entirely dependent upon our Lord’s mercy. Like the prodigal son longing to eat the pig food, like the Syrophonecian woman longing to be the dog and eat the children’s crumbs, so are we but poor miserable sinners, eating at the feet of Christ.
We are but Lazaruses, the ones whom God helps. We are the Lazaruses, the ones dead and in the grave, whom the Lord shall command: Come out! We must not long to feast sumptuously every day with what is exalted among men, for that is an abomination in the sight of God and leads only to hell. We must instead long to eat at the table of the Lord and be filled with every word that comes from the mouth of God. So by means of the great Rich Man, Jesus, we shall be comforted in paradise even if we suffered here on earth below.
Consider the consolation that awaits us! Though you may suffer terribly in this life, either ailments of mind or body, at your death the angels shall carry you to heaven. A chasm shall be fixed between you in paradise and those in hell, which means the comforts of paradise shall never be lost to you, and pain and suffering shall never afflict you again. You shall be carried to Abraham’s side, and you shall dwell among God’s people, your people, forever.
So as you await that great and magnificent day of the Lord’s return, let us heed the warning of Moses and the Prophets, of Jesus Himself, and avoid the love of earthly riches. Be generous with your temporary wealth and so teach your heart to love Him who gives earthly riches. Additionally, take heart to know that you don’t have to be successful in the eyes of man, you don’t need to be exalted among men, because the Lord has given you all that you need in the words of the holy scriptures. Here you have far more than crumbs from the Rich Man’s table, but you have a feast of heavenly wisdom. The Rich Man Jesus has risen from the dead and leads you to repent so that you may not only avoid the place of torment, but enter into the comforts of God’s peace and be seated at the table in our King’s banqueting hall.