Do You See the Poor?
Let me begin with two questions. First, have you ever been out somewhere and seen someone famous? How did you react? When this happens, it’s interesting how people respond. It’s not every day that the gods of our age come and walk among us mere mortals. This is why we stare at them!
I remember when my parents took us to see Chuck Norris when I was a kid. When he walked in we all oohed and awed. All eyes were on him as he walked down the aisle and onto the stage, and we all stayed afterward to get his autograph. And then there was the time Suzy and I were out for dinner and saw Mark Cuban. And the time we saw Tony Romo at a church we were at.
Something weird happens when a famous person shows up. It’s almost like we can’t help but stare and watch their every move. We try to nonchalantly glance over at them, hoping they see us, wondering what a person we see on TV looks like in real life. We love looking at the rich and famous.
Second question: Have you ever been stopped at a red light and seen a panhandler? Have you ever been driving through the city and seen poor people gathered under a bridge? Have you ever been out and about and had a homeless person brush by you?
When this happens, how do you respond? The sights and smells can be hard to take in. Do you turn away? Do you try to avoid eye contact with the panhandler, afraid that if they see you looking at them, they’ll come over to your car? Do you ever give them the dignity of a warm look and soft smile and quiet prayer for God to help and heal and save them?
The way we often react to the rich and to the poor couldn’t be more different. Our eyes are drawn toward the one and away from the other. We want to be near one and away from the other. We hope the one sees us while the other remains unseen by us.
The Generosity of True Faith
As we conclude Luke 16, Jesus tells a story about a rich man who didn’t see, or didn’t want to see, a poor man. In ways we may not like to admit, it’s a story about our hearts.
Jesus has been speaking to Pharisees who loved money but didn’t know God (vv. 14-15). In this context, he continues to teach on the effects of wealth in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (vv. 19-31). This parable, like the one that begins chapter 16, isn’t a denunciation of wealth. Rather, it serves as a warning about the dangers of wealth. Specifically, it’s a denunciation of the wealthy who neglect the poor.
But the parable is about more than money. It’s actually about how what we do with our money, especially in relation to the poor, has eternal implications. The main thrust of the parable is that what we do in this life matters in the next one. It’s a story that teaches us that how we hold our wealth reveals our heart.
The main point of this text is that living generously in this life is evidence that you’re ready for the next one. First, we’ll see Jesus’ call to live generously in verses 19-26. And second, we’ll see his call for us to believe God’s word in verses 27-31. This text tells us that living generously is evidence that we believe God’s word. This parable is about the generosity of true faith.
Live Generously
First, in verses 19-26, we see Jesus’ call for us to live generously. This parable is a story of two men, a rich man (v. 19) and a poor man (v. 20).
To be clear, this isn’t a story condemning wealth. In the Old Testament, Abraham and Job were very wealthy and very godly men. In the New Testament, Lydia, the first Christian in Europe, was “a seller of purple goods” and had a house large enough to host the church Paul planted in Philippi (Acts 16:11-15). Lydia was wealthy and godly.
But wealth can be a snare in the life of faith (16:13, 8:14), as it always comes with responsibility and temptation. This is why Jesus says it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Lk. 18:25). This parable illustrates that principle perfectly. It reminds us that Jesus warns about greed more than sex in the Gospels, yet most of us don’t think we’re guilty of greed.
The rich man is over-the-top rich. He wears purple cloth made from a dye extracted from snails (an expensive and difficult process) and “fine linen” undergarments. Anyone wearing a purple cloak over a bright linen undergarment would turn heads. And every day he feasts in his home (v. 19). He was never hungry and never without friends and family who wanted to be around his table.
Jesus intentionally doesn’t give the rich man a name. He may be rich and successful, but in this story, he has no honor. Jesus is saying that those who don’t show mercy to those in need don’t deserve a name.
Wouldn’t it be sad if all that can be said of us when we die is, “She was wealthy,” or “He was well-off and successful.” If all we’re known for is what we have and not what we are or what we do, then we’re like this rich man, not worthy of a name.
Then there’s Lazarus, the poor man. This isn’t the Lazarus who was Jesus’ friend. “Lazarus” was a common name at that time. Jesus says he was poor, sick, and hungry. These things often go together, which is why the best mercy ministries take a holistic approach.
Verse 20 says that someone lays Lazarus at the rich man’s gate. A house with a gate would’ve been a large and expensive property. But the gate is more than a symbol of wealth. It’s a boundary. It keeps anyone who the rich man doesn’t want to see out of his sight. Sure, the rich man likely looked at Lazarus by his gate, but every day he passes by him without seeing him.
No one pays attention to Lazarus except the scavenger dogs who lick his sores (v. 21). Lazarus’ only companions are unclean animals. There he is, at the gate of opulence, poor, covered in sores, probably lame, tossed there like a piece of trash, with the faint hope that someone will toss him some scraps of food. But because he “belongs to the invisible class of expendables,” no one sees him.[1]
Lazarus is just hanging on, surviving day by day. But he has something the rich man doesn’t. He has a name. His name is, ironically, from the Hebrew “Eliezar,” which means “God helps.” Eliezer was the name of Abraham’s heir and servant (Gen. 15:2).
The original audience (and us today) would likely assess these two men like this: The rich man is favored by God because his wealth is evidence of God’s blessing, while Lazarus is rejected by God because his poverty and sickness is evidence of God’s curse. We may wonder what sins Lazarus must’ve committed to be punished like that from God? We’d want to be around the rich man and probably have lots of suspicions about poor Lazarus.
But interestingly, Jesus names Lazarus, giving him a distinctive identity. By naming the poor man “Lazarus,” Jesus is saying, “He is poor and miserable, but God is still on his side.”[2] And as his name implies, and as we see next, God helps Lazarus even though the rich man didn’t.
A Great Reversal
These men lived on opposite sides of the tracks in life. But when they died, there was a great reversal (vv. 22-23). Lazarus dies and is taken to “Abraham’s side” (v. 22). The rich man dies and goes to “Hades” (v. 23).
Turns out that Lazarus isn’t cursed, he’s blessed! No burial is mentioned for him, but even if he wasn’t honored in his life or his death, he’s honored after his death. The angels of God lift him up to Abraham’s side, a place of honor and blessing and celebration.
The rich man was buried (v. 22b), and it was probably an elaborate burial. But his honor in life and death doesn’t lead to honor after his death. Rather, he’s cursed, finding himself being tormented in Hades.
Two Places
This story isn’t meant to be a systematic theology on heaven and hell. But it does teach us that there is conscious existence after we die, both for the lost and the saved. Which rules out the notion of soul-sleep, or the view that the soul is unconscious at the time of death, and annihilationism, the view that unbelievers cease to exist after death.
Secular materialists don’t believe in any existence at all after death. But even some Christians believe that the soul sleeps or is annihilated upon death. Jesus’ story undermines both these views. His point is that we’ll be very much alive after we die.
The rich man is very much aware and very much in pain. Part of the torment of Hades is that those who’re there seem to be all alone. There’s a “great chasm” separating the rich man from Lazarus in heaven (v. 26). There are no visitors or visitation hours for those imprisoned in hell.
In hell, the common grace of God is removed, including the common grace of relationships and conversation. You are stuck forever in solitary confinement.
Jesus’ teaching here also means there’s no such thing as purgatory, or a temporary habitation from which it’s possible to leave. There’s no highway from hell to heaven. Verse 26, “Those who would pass from here to you may not be able” means that there’s no evangelism in hell after death. And, “None may cross from there to us” means there’s no escape from hell. As Derek Thomas says, “Where we find ourselves after death is where we will be forever.”[3]
Request Denied
Unfortunately, death didn’t change the rich man’s heart. After dying, he makes two requests and both of them are self-centered. First, he cries for mercy and relief from the pain (v. 24). Even in death, he’s still bossing people around, “send Lazarus…” The fact that he knows Lazarus’s name means he knew him when he laid outside his gate when he was still alive. Though he never lifted a finger to help Lazarus, now he wants Lazarus to wet his finger to help him.
Abraham denies his request (v. 25). The great principle of reversal is at work and cannot be overturned. The rich man lacked mercy in life so he will receive none in death. The rich man could’ve helped but didn’t so now he suffers the consequences.
Even if Lazarus wanted to help, he couldn’t because of the “great chasm” separating them (v. 26). This means it’s too late for the rich man. He had his chance to know God and obey his Word in life, but he didn’t. So now he reaps what he has sowed.
Believe God’s Word
The rich man’s second request is in verses 27-31, where Jesus calls us to believe God’s word. The rich man’s second request is for the salvation of his five brothers (vv. 27-28). He wants Abraham to send Lazarus to his family to warn them about hell. This is an understandable request. It’s what we’d want our loved ones who die and go to hell to do for us.
But it’s also more selfishness. Even in hell, the rich man thinks Lazarus should serve him. He’s thinking about people besides himself, but only those in his family. He’s still stuck on his wants, and he wants to use Lazarus to get what he wants. And he thinks his brothers’ hardheartedness is so severe that only a visit by someone from the dead could shock them into repentance.
The Most Convincing Evidence
In verses 29-31, Abraham denies his second request. One writer says, “Abraham will have nothing to do with sensational appearances of the dead as a means of persuasion.”[4] Abraham says that the brothers have all they need for salvation in the Scriptures.
Jesus is saying that it’s better to send the lost brothers a Bible than a resurrected person. He says if they don’t believe the Word of God, they won’t believe a miracle.
What would you think is more convincing, someone coming to you from the dead, or someone bringing you a Bible? If we’re honest, we’d say seeing the resurrected person.
Jesus’ point is that signs from God are pointless if our heart isn’t right. Darrell Bock says this better than I can:
“Only a responsive heart will listen to God’s message and respond to his great works. No amount of wonder-working can change a heart that is unwilling to be challenged by God’s demand for righteousness. A lack of signs is not why people reject Jesus. Rather, people willfully reject him. The heart cannot see what it is not looking for.”[5]
A refusal to repent isn’t the result of the lack of evidence but due to a stony heart. Jesus’ message is one of repentance, and those who see their need and repent receive his forgiveness and become compassionate and generous people.
Living generously in this life is evidence that you’re ready for the next one. What we do with our money, especially in relation to the poor, has eternal implications.
What About You?
What about you? Where will you be five minutes after you die? Will you go to Abraham’s side or to Hades? How much money you have is irrelevant. Whether you put your faith in Jesus and your faith is proved through a sacrificial life is all that matters.
You have to decide what you’ll do with the good news of Jesus Christ. There is life after death in either heaven or hell and the time to choose between these two destinies is now. The gospel is only good news if you accept it before you die.
Not Caring for the Poor Means You Don’t Know God
The rich man has no concern for the basic needs of the poor man at his doorstep. He uses his wealth on himself every day. He sees Lazarus but ignores him. He doesn’t offer him food or clothing or basic medical care, and he dies and goes straight to hell.
Jesus isn’t teaching that the poor go to heaven and the rich go to hell. He is teaching that how we see and respond to needs around us is evidence of whether heaven or hell is in our hearts.
The rich man didn’t end up in Hades because he was rich, but because he had no faith. How do we know that? Because he had no deeds that flowed from faith (Js. 2:14-17). If he truly knew God, he would’ve done what he could to help the poor. The consistent teaching of the Bible is that God’s people care about the poor. The apostle John says, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 Jn. 3:17)
If we love our money and possessions more than we love God and the people God made, we may be headed to the same place as this rich man. Again Derek Thomas puts it bluntly: “If money matters more than people, it shows you have an unregenerate heart.”[6]
Another writer brings the point home, and is worth quoting at length:
“Wealth may indeed be a blessing from God and the result of hard work, but…what the parable attacks is a particular kind of wealth, wealth that does not see poverty and suffering. It attacks the idea that possessions are for one’s own use and that they are owned without responsibility to God and other people. This is not, as some have feared, an opiate for the poor which will keep them satisfied with a handout. The parable does not tell us how the wealthy are to assist the poor, but it insists that the poor are brothers and sisters of the wealthy and that the injustice of the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty cannot be tolerated.
Increasingly our societies are divided into the haves and the have-nots, especially as the stock market has skyrocketed and technology has flourished. In many countries the disparity is obscene. In urban areas (like Dallas, the wealthy neighborhoods) overshadow poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Lazarus is still at the gate. Parables like this one insist that Christians must not be like the rich man who cares only for his kind and cannot see the poor until too late. We dare not have a gospel with an evangelistic emphasis and no concern for the poor. Any gospel that is not good news to the poor is not the gospel of Jesus (see Luke 4:18-22)…
The issue here is the willingness and ability to see a person in need and respond. The rich man’s wealth and self-centeredness do not allow him to see Lazarus. If Jesus asked Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’ (Luke 7:44), he could as well have asked the rich man, ‘Do you see Lazarus?’ The ability to see is the mark of Christian discipleship…
Numerous questions exist about how individuals and churches should help poor people – to say nothing of dealing with more systemic poverty or poor countries. Let us have our discussions about how we should act and the problems to avoid. But God forbid that we not see, not care, and not act to alleviate the plight of the poor. Open your eyes to see Lazarus at the gate.”[7]
The only thing that will open our eyes to see Lazarus at the gate is grace. 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
We deserve nothing but Jesus became poor to give us everything. When we understand this grace and receive it, it changes our hearts and opens our hands.
[1]Diane G. Chen, Luke: A New Covenant Commentary, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017), 228.
[2]Klyne R. Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 429.
[3]Derek W. H. Thomas, Heaven on Earth: What the Bible Teaches about Life to Come (Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2018), 25.
[4]Chen, 230.
[5]Darrell L. Bock, Luke, Volume 2: 9:51-24:53, in Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament, ed. Moises Silva (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996), 1378.
[6]Thomas, 25.
[7]Snodgrass, 433-4, emphasis his.