Everybody knows the people who are rich. It’s always been that way. You could probably list a bunch of them off the top of your head. Martin Luther, in his 95 theses, wrote for thesis 86 “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” He was actually citing a common criticism of his day about the selling of indulgences, but who is Crassus? Marcus Licinius Crassus was a general in Rome before the birth of Christ, and he used his wealth to buy up most of the city using some pretty shady tactics. He owned the fire brigade, and when fires started, as they often did, he would put the fire brigade on hold until the owner of the burning building agreed to make him a deal. “I’d like to buy your building, and you had better agree quick, before you don’t have a building left to sell!” Over two thousand years later his name is still remembered as belonging to one of the richest men in history.
By contrast, the poor in this world aren’t so often known or remembered, but the one in Jesus’ story is. In this story there’s a rich man and a poor one. Or at least that’s how it looked to the world. But in reality, poor Lazarus was very rich indeed. Not with worldly wealth. No, he was rich toward God.
We find this account in Luke 16, where Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, who, Luke tells us, “loved money.” (v.14). Many of the Pharisees came from wealthy families. They might have held various influential positions in their communities. They certainly viewed it as very important that they look good before the people. They sneered at Jesus when he told them that they cannot serve both God and mammon. And so Jesus told them this story.
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and 21longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores.
It’s worth noting that the rich man here is not described as a particularly evil guy. He’s not like Crassus, taking advantage of people. He’s not a cartoonish villain, cackling to himself about how his wealth gives him power over other people’s lives.
That’s an important point to make because even though we might not think of ourselves as being wealthy in our day, we aren’t so far away from this guy. He’s just a man, like us. And some of the luxuries we have are things that back then people could only dream about. Look at how much of an inconvenience we consider it when we can’t demand that the temperature in the room bow to our will!
In truth, our lives are probably closer to that of the rich man than they are to that of the other man, poor Lazarus. Lazarus must have been lame, since he had been laid at the gate. The rich man didn’t go out of his way to help him, but nobody else did either. The only ones who paid attention to him were the dogs, who licked his sores. These were wild dogs, not friendly dogs. The scavengers were waiting for him to die.
But it wasn’t just the dogs who knew him. Everybody knows the people who are rich. Surely many people knew that rich man’s name. But Jesus knew the name of Lazarus. Lazarus might even be a real person, but even if he’s only a fictional character for this story Jesus is showing something great here. He doesn’t give a name for the rich man. It doesn’t matter to him how rich he was or how popular he was to his friends. Jesus gives the name of Lazarus.
That name is important because it describes the man’s faith. Lazarus comes from Eliezer, which means “God is my help.” And as Jesus tells the story we see that God certainly is this man’s help. Jesus said,
22Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. 24He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’
25“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. 26Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
Death comes for us all. Rich or poor, it doesn’t matter. It’s one of those great equalizers. The richest Crassus dies as does the slave Spartacus. And all of a sudden the rich man’s riches don’t seem so valuable, do they? Think of it. He spent his whole life living for all these things. He had his purple clothes and fine linen. He lived in luxury every day. It was everything he wanted. And now it was gone.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, take this to heart! Your time here is short. There are so many things you can spend your life pursuing. You might fill your life with riches, or with your career, or with entertainment or hobbies, but a day will come for you when none of that matters. I have visited many nursing homes. I have stood beside many death beds. No man or woman at the end of his life wants to boast of his amazing vacations, or flashy cars. His hobbies are in the past. His luxuries are no comfort. His riches mean nothing.
Be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes, you just might get it. “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things.” The rich man lived for his riches. He got everything he wanted. What is it that you want in life?
From a worldly perspective we might look at these two men, the rich man and poor Lazarus, and assume that their earthly lot correlates with how much God esteems them. “Look at that rich man. Look at his success! Look at his ease! Surely he must be someone God loves! God has taken notice of him. God has answered his prayers.” Certainly that was the way the Pharisees thought. “God I thank you that I am not like all those other people, people who are poor and destitute, people who are disabled, people who are sickly.”
And yes, if God loves the rich man by giving him riches, then God must have forgotten all about the poor beggar. Is God like us, who know the names of the wealthy and are wowed by their luxurious lifestyles, and barely pay any attention to those who are sick and helpless? Or perhaps its even worse than that. Maybe it’s like with the blind man Jesus and his disciples met in John 9. The disciples assumed not that he was forgotten, but that this was a punishment. “Who sinned?,” they asked Jesus, “this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
But how very wrong this thinking is! Not only is Lazarus known by God, but he is loved by him. Far from being forgotten or despised by God, Lazarus is the one who had nothing in this world to live for and so by God’s grace he put his hope entirely in the God who is his help and his salvation.
How do you know that God doesn’t despise the poor and lowly? Who has ever been poorer and lowlier than God made himself? Jesus is God and Lord over all. The universe belongs to him, with more riches than we can imagine. But Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8 “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.” He suffered hell with all its torments for you. Jesus came to be the God who helps all people, to turn the hearts of the rich away from their riches to trust in him, and to give consolation to all who are poor and suffering.
And so there’s a beautiful and supremely comforting lesson in this story from our Lord Jesus. When you are feeling like poor Lazarus, like you have nothing left in this life to live for, like you might be satisfied even with some meager scraps that fall from the table of those who are blessed more than you, your Savior has not forgotten you. He knows you by name. He is your help and your salvation.
This life is short and full of troubles. But look to its end. When Lazarus died there may not have been a big funeral with many mourners. But what great riches were his! Where once he was roughly carried and dumped to beg outside a rich man’s gate, now he is carried by the holy angels of God. Where once he had only the company of mangy scavenging dogs, now he is comforted at Abraham’s side, in his bosom, like a child in his father’s lap. And he will never leave it.
That’s what waits for you, you who are not known in this world but known, and loved, by God. Moses and all the prophets and apostles testify to it. God has sent his Son to die and to rise for you, to give you life, to make you rich toward God. Amen.