Devotion for First Sunday after Trinity, 26 June 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for First Sunday after Trinity, 26 June 2011 Anno Domini

“ 19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31)
It is a glaringly solemn fact that there is a state of the dead and a state of the living. In fact, all will taste the one time physical death of this world. However, the state of the living in Christ is not a real death, but rather a transition from a worldly form of living to a spiritual. The scriptures describe that death of a Christian as a twinkling of the eye. When we were children, we played out doors on Sunday afternoon and Saturdays until we would literally drop to sleep at night. We slept soundly through the next eight or nine hours and awoke believing that we had only just closed our eyes momentarily. So shall it be for those who die in Christ. But the wicked suffer an entirely different state. They will suffer eternal death in the unquenchable fires of Hell. The following parable of Christ describes this state.
The Story of Two Men – one wealthy, the other poor. “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.” The rich man’s name is not mentioned. In fact, he has no name since it is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He was a wealthy man who fared sumptuously everyday. The sin was not wealth, but how he lived his life in indifference to the needy around him. Our personal identity is of no consequence in Hell.
“ And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” Now we see a certain beggar who does, indeed, have a name – Lazarus. He had no means of living at all but was forced to beg for every bite he ate. Even the crumbs from the rich man’s table would have sufficed this poor beggar’s need. The dogs, too, were accustomed to beg their food and felt pity for one in worse stead than themselves – “a touching act of brute pity, in the absence of human relief. It is a case of heartless indifference, amidst luxuries of every kind, to one of God's poorest and most afflicted ones, presented daily before the eye.” (JFB)
Comes now the event which awaits us all alike: “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried.” My Lord tenderly relates the account of Lazarus, but the rich man lacks any benefit of sympathy. It always comes to pass that we die, and so it has come to pass that the beggar dies. Note what happens at the death of Lazarus: he was carried by the dignitaries of God (Angels) into the bosom of Abraham. What treatment awaits those who die in Christian faith! What an escort we shall have! Poor beggar Lazarus is no longer beggar. His name is recorded in the Book of Life! But what of the rich man? He also died, but here the destinies divide profoundly: “ the rich man also died, and was buried.” Lazarus went up; the rich man went down to the grave and hell.
What privilege does a rich man have in Hell? He has the privilege of becoming, himself, a beggar. “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” He lifts UP his eyes and sees Lazarus in blissful comfort in the bosom of our father Abraham. He is in torment of hellfire. The distance between the rich man and Lazarus is a very great distance, but those in Hell can see those who live in Paradise. It must add tremendously to the awareness of their shame. He now begs Abraham to enjoin the help of Lazarus on his behalf. If Lazarus would but dip his finger in water to cool the tongue of this wealthy wretch, it would be a tremendous comfort to him. He who refused the crumbs of his table now begs for only a wet finger dipped in water from the former beggar. But Lazarus cannot see the rich man, or hear his pleading.
“But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” Please note the kind regard Abraham pays the rich man in calling him son. But this is the only mercy Abraham can show this man. Our memories will be crisp as our burnt garments in Hell. Does the rich man remember the opulence he enjoyed while Lazarus was perishing for hunger and disease? Remember? See now how Lazarus is in comfort, but you are suffering in misery. Your deeds on earth do count and, in the rich man’s case, they count against him.
“ And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” This great gulf cannot be bridged unlike the claims we have of men going to heaven for some ninety minutes, or to Hell for nineteen minutes and returning. There is no crossing between earth and Heaven, or Heaven and Hell, except that provided in God’s Word. The benefit of the heavenly dweller lies in the fact that he cannot observe the suffering of those he may have known and cared for in earth.
“Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” Familial love and sympathies even prevail in Hell. The rich man has five brothers who are on the same expedited road to Hell that he was on. He believes if Lazarus returns from the dead to give testimony to his brothers, they will amend their ways and seek the face of God. How sad that those in Hell will know and see their loved ones that they have misled in life suffer such pains and torment! He does not want his brothers to suffer this terrible faith. Are we so concerned about our own loved ones?
“Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” Yes, indeed. It was Moses to whom they may have given lip service in life, but they did not search further into the One whom Moses looked forward to in faith. The excuse is always that nobody ever warned me. Had they believed Moses in faith, they would have known of the Coming Christ. But they were not even faithful in the small intelligence they had of Scripture. Another point to consider is this: The prophets clearly foretold the Coming Christ, yet even the Pharisees rejected their teaching when it was abundantly fulfilled in their faces.
“And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” The unbelieving always seek after some fantastic sign or miracle. Even when they observed the miracles of Jesus, many remained in unbelief. When the Mighty Outstretched Arm of the Lord separated the waters of the Red Sea, and descended in a fog on Mt Sinai, or made its presence known in a cloud by day and a fire by night, the grumblers and murmurers were not hushed. “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” (Matt 16:4) Christ means to express that we look at the miracle of Jonah whereas Jonah was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and Christ was likewise three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Christ rose from the Tomb in three days after dying for our sins. That is enough for us to believe unto salvation without further acts or miracles.
Father Abraham tells the rich man that if the people do not believe the prophets, neither will they believe if one is resurrected from the dead. “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Christ did, in fact, rise from the dead. This is one of the fundamental of our Apostles’ Creed and Scripture itself that unites us in Christian faith. Lack of faith in the Old Testament prophecies will blind the eye to the truth of the Gospel of Christ. I pray that no reader to whom these words come is blinded to these glorious truths.