Pastor's Corner, Part 2

[Continued from last week]

Fourth, this Gospel teaches that the sign of a man from the dead, like Jesus, the virgin-born, eternal Son of God, will not bring to repentance those who do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. It reads, "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead'" (Luke 16:27-31).

This is an astonishing teaching. It foreshadows Jesus' own resurrection from the dead and the permanent unbelief of the wicked Pharisees who killed Him. Those who refuse to learn the difference between true righteousness and wickedness from the Holy Scriptures will never repent. It doesn't matter how many amazing signs might be shown to them. Even if they were to be impressed by signs—by God's power—they would not be impressed by God's righteousness. Because they don't care about the difference between good and evil. This teaching reminds Christians that it is by God's Word alone that we and others are turned in heart. It convicts all sinners of their wickedness in caring more about signs than about the righteousness which the Scriptures proclaim. It reminds us, also, that the power of God's Word is sufficient to change the hearts of the wicked. So do not be discouraged that some do not believe, but courageously teach both the law and the gospel to your neighbors and family and those under your care.

Fifth, this Gospel teaches us that we are guilty of murder when we don't help our neighbor in every physical need. Now, Jesus does not say so in so many words. But the rich man goes to hell for not repenting of his wickedness—for not hearing Moses and the Prophets. And the only specific evil we are made aware of is that he did not care for the poor man Lazarus when he was more than capable of doing so. "Moreover," Jesus says, "even the dogs came and licked his sores" (Luke 16:21)—that is, Lazarus' sores. Lazarus was literally left to the dogs. The rich man broke the Fifth Commandment which says, "You shall not murder." Luther’s Small Catechism explains its meaning as, "We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need."

This teaches us that we are guilty of murdering our neighbor when we don't help him in every physical need. We don't have to kill him with a weapon, or take away his food. All we have to do to murder our neighbor is let him suffer and die when we can otherwise feed him and clothe him. We should not take it for granted that someone else, or the government, will take care of those who are put before us in need. We must be proactive; we should not assume; we should find out our neighbor's troubled situation and that he has what he needs. In fact, it seems that having the government handle so many cases of charity and need has simply given us an excuse to stop caring for our neighbor ourselves. "I've already paid my taxes!" you might say. "Why do I have to spend more money—and my time even—to do what I'm paying the government to do?" Well, simply, because God commands it. Love your neighbor, no matter whether there is a government organization for doing that. On the other hand, this does not mean that you have done something wrong when other people have less than you do. That is not the point. Rich people are not evil for being rich, nor are poor people good simply for being poor. The teaching here is that we are not to let our neighbors starve or freeze to death, or to die needlessly, when we can help them.

Finally, this Gospel teaches that Jesus is the true Rich Man who, being rich with all things as God, became the true Poor Man, so as to make us wicked ones rich by His poverty. Jesus is here preparing His hearers for what He Himself is doing as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. By these words He prepares us for what will become clear in the rest of Luke's Gospel. This is what Martin Luther, John Gerhard, and others sometimes called the "mystical" or "spiritual" meaning of a story like this.

The rich man is fabulously rich, but will not help the destitute Lazarus. Jesus, the Son of God, is even more fabulously rich as the owner and maker of all things. But Jesus does not disdain to make Himself fabulously poor like Lazarus by becoming man—by living in podunk Nazareth and actually being poor—and by being hated and "neglected" by the wealthy Pharisees unto death itself. Jesus sees the desperate need of wicked men—that of ourselves we are spiritually dead and doomed to hell—and He gives up His divine riches so that He might give them to us. We who are dead, doomed, and dying will be given new, eternal life and health. We who are physically suffering and poor will be given physical relief and even physical riches, in heaven, because by His death Jesus gives us His divine health and wealth. And all this takes place, most wonderfully and most importantly, because Jesus credits to us His righteousness. We are evil, so He is good in our place. We deserve hell, so He suffers hell that we may not have to. Jesus shows us true righteousness in His loving suffering for those who do not deserve Him, so that by faith in Him, we may be changed in heart, and enjoy His love, and love as He has loved us. Those who trust in Jesus' atonement for our sins, in our place, have His righteousness counted to them. Just like Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).

In summary, whether or not it is a parable, this story teaches us 1) that there is both a place of torment and a place of comfort for those who die; 2) that there is no opportunity for repentance and change of fate after death; 3) that the names of the damned are forgotten in some way, while God's "poor" are ever known to Him by name; 4) the sign of a man from the dead, like Jesus, will not bring to repentance those who do not listen to Moses and the Prophets; 5) We are guilty of murder when we don't help our neighbor in every physical need; and 6) Jesus is the true Rich Man who, being rich with all things as God, became the true Poor Man, so as to make us wicked ones rich by His poverty.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen!