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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Benjamin Ng

The Rich Man And Lazarus

Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Gracious loving Father, thank you so much for this time that we have this afternoon.

And Lord, as we open your word, I pray that you bless us with the Holy Spirit once more.

Lead us and guide us, O Lord, that you may help to help us to discern the truths that are hidden within.

And Lord, I know that we cannot go through the whole Bible this afternoon, but as we look at a portion of your scripture, may it be applicable to all of our lives this afternoon.

Send with me in your Bible to Luke chapter 16.

This is a study that I stumbled across in virginia we create bible studies based currently on the parables and we do them on bible study friday night Bible study groups and I was preparing this 1 and because I'm here this weekend.

So you are going to be my General Friday night group on Saturday afternoon But in Luke chapter 16, I want to look at a parable.

A parable that I'm sure most of us are familiar with, but yet we don't discern the deeper truth about this.

And I didn't until I studied this thoroughly.

Now, starting with Luke chapter 16 and verse 19.

And we're gonna read till the end of the chapter.

The Bible says, there was a rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day.

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

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 and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torment 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.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime Receive its good things and likewise likewise Lazarus evil things But now he is comforted and thou art tormented 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 hence.

Verse 27 then he said I pray thee therefore father that Thou would have sent him to my father's house for I have 5 brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment Abraham saith unto him they have Moses And the prophets let them hear them and he said nay father abraham But if 1 went unto them from the dead they will what?

Repent and verse 31 and he said unto him if they hear not moses and the prophets Neither will they be persuaded the 1 rose from the dead long parable some 13 verses and we read here about 2 characters the rich man and Lazarus but actually There is a third character that comes out.

And generally, this parable is brought out, number 1, by the evangelicals to prove that hellfire is now.

And then it's an eternally burning torment.

And of course, we as good Seventh-day Adventists bring this out to show them it's a parable, it's an illustration, it's not true.

Give me some examples of how we know that this is a parable.

He would have to have a pretty big bosom, exactly.

So Abraham's bosom cannot hold everybody, right?

We could kind of pull that 1, but it could also be a true story too, right?

How else do we know that this is a parable?

Okay, so the communication between heaven and hell, if there was a great gulf, they wouldn't be able to converse.

If I was a rich man in hell, I wouldn't ask for a drop of water.

Please bring out your pail, your bucket, or your hose and spray it my way, right?

Don't get Lazarus just to dip his finger in water and just tip of my tongue, that's it.

So this is a parable that Jesus bring out to illustrate something.

But in many times, we think it's about the dead.

Really this is where Jesus begins his story.

Because you see this is a continuous dialogue of Jesus teaching the people and he's trying to teach them something.

Luke chapter 15 and verse 1 he says, Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him and the Pharisees inscribed murmured a murmured saying this man receive the sinners and eateth with them and as a result he digs into these parables first in Luke chapter 15 3 parables prodigal son the woman with a lost coin and also the lost sheep, right and then in Luke chapter 16 We go further on and in verse 14.

The Bible says and the Pharisees also who were what?

Covetous heard all these things and they derided him and as a result he brings up this parable But in the context of this he's speaking to the Pharisees for 2 reasons Number 1 they were said.

Oh, why Jesus do you eat with sinners and publicans?

But secondly, he was dealing with the issue of what?

Covetousness Luke chapter 16 verse 14 and as a result he gives this parable 3 characters rich man and Lazarus and Abraham Now literally, what do we understand about rich man other than he's rich what we understand about him ok but what we know about the description of this rich man in this parable?

Now, what does purple represent in the Bible?

This man seemingly on the outside was a righteous person and he was a child of the king as some may say he was of royal lineage and he fed sumptuously every day but there's something else that we understand about this rich man verse 24 and he cried and said father Abraham The fact that the rich man called Abraham father, it represents a Jew.

So could I say that he was a Christian in our day, application wise.

He is a Christian on the outside and all appearances he was rich, but he had the fine linen or the so-called righteousness of Jesus Christ.

He laid near the rich man's house and what else?

I'm sorry I'm not preaching to you this I'm asking you to dig so you give me answers okay he was full of blemishes full of sores right what else he wanted he was eating what crumbs He wasn't eating the full bread that the rich man had So this guy he was a sinner through and through poor and he only had the smallest amount spiritually speaking of spiritual food Now in the Bible applying this who do we who does this represent?

Who does a rich man and Lazarus represent?

James chapter 2 and verse 5 The Bible says how can my beloved brethren hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in what faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him so God has chosen who the poor of this world to be what rich in faith And so really when we look at Abraham and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16, it's the distinction between those that are rich in faith and poor in faith.

Keep this in mind, okay, because this is what the Bible outlines.

So those that have faith or much faith are those that are poor.

And maybe when we turn to other Bible texts, you just keep your finger on that because we're gonna go back and forth a lot But then it says in verse 22 and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom and The rich man also died and was buried And we see 2 consequences the Lazarus ends up in where?

Heaven and Lazarus the rich man ends up where in hell Okay, he was buried he died And so we see 2 classes of people And let's gather this as we build this story rich man poor in faith Lazarus rich in faith 1 ends up in Hell and the other in heaven.

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The Rich Man And Lazarus

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