The Rich Glutton and Poor Lazarus - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, Jesus speaks of generosity through the story of a glutinous rich man and a poor beggar. The rich man gorged on his wealth with no attention to the sick and cold beggar right at his door. As a result, the rich man suffered when he died, but the poor man was restored. This story is inspired by Luke 16:19-31. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Luke 16:25 from the King James Version.

Episode 199: Another time as Jesus was teaching His disciples He told them the story of an ignorant rich man and a pitiable beggar. The rich man was selfish and indifferent to the suffering of the poor beggar that lived in front of his gate. When they died, it was Lazarus, the poor beggar, that was in the home of Abraham enjoying the good things he missed out on in life, while the rich man was in Hades tormented by hunger and thirst. Though the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his family about this, he refused saying they have The Word of God already to warn them, if they don’t listen to this, they won't listen to anything else.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. But Abraham said, son, remember that thou
in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus
evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luke sixteen twenty five. When I look at everything You've

(00:23):
blessed me with in my life, Lord, I stand in
awe and reverence at all the times You've come through
for me, and for all the times you've lavished me
with provision. As I think about to day's story from Luke,
I'm reminded through the life of the rich Glutton that
the purpose for blessing is to be a blessing to others.

(00:48):
May my life be first known by my love for
you God, then second by the generosity I lived by.
With every new year, I will not ask how how
much I can make. I will ask instead how much
I can give. With this paradigm shift, I acknowledge that

(01:09):
blessing and abundance are a byproduct of my generous heart.
For the life of the stingy gets smaller and smaller,
while the life of the generous gets larger and larger.
Because I am a change agent, I am always in
tune with the needs of your children, Lord, whether time, talents,

(01:30):
or treasures, I will give where I can because You've
blessed me so much. In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you
for praying with me today. Continue listening for an incredible
Bible story brought to you by Bible in a Year

(01:52):
dot com.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
The Rich Glutton and Poor Lazarus. In our last story,
we learned about Jesus's provision over Peter's taxes. Jesus also
gave a stiff warning to those who would threaten the
innocence of a child. Now we hear a story told
by Jesus, a story that has an eternal lesson with

(02:22):
great consequences, as inspired by the Gospels.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in
a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
I want you to know that I would absolutely love
to send you my daily devotional that will give you
fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment
we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention.

(02:53):
But it's in the midst of all this crush and
hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,
life changing Word by sending you my free daily email
devotional PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign

(03:14):
up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org
Jack Graham dot org. In our previous episode, we heard
how Jesus taught Peter about the freedom we have as
children of God, and we discovered the upside down nature
of God's kingdom, where the way up is down, where

(03:35):
humility and servanthood is a strength rather than a weakness.
So today we'll hear as Jesus tells a story that
reveals more of God's heart and speaks to the eternal
implications of our faith in this life and in the
life to come. Let's listen now to the Gospel.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Jesus sat among his disciples by the fire. The coals
glowed under the darkness above them. They ate beside the flames,
and Jesus told them parables and stories to illustrate heavenly meaning.
There was once a wealthy man. He was clothed in
fine linens, fat and content. He lavished in his chambers,

(04:14):
consuming fine meats and cheeses to fill his gullet. Crumbs
littered the floor of his dining hall and were picked
up by the dogs and rats. His wealth made him comfortable,
his comfort made him lazy, and his laziness made him selfish.
Only a few yards away, at the gates of the
rich man's property was a poor man named Lazarus. He

(04:36):
laid at the gate, nursing the sores on his feet.
Lazarus was hungry, thin, and sickly. Every night he would
dream of feasting on the crumbs that fell from the
rich man's table. Every day, the rich man would pass
by him, belly full in eyes forward. Lazarus was invisible
to the wealthy man. The only companions he had were

(04:58):
the dogs that licked the sores on his feet. On
one cold and dark evening, Lazarus was shivering outside the gate.
He lay on his side, eyes fixed on the warm
fire that could be seen from the window. Lazarus could
see the rich man gorging himself on fruits, meats, and bread.
His bones quivered from the frosty night. As Lazarus lay

(05:19):
on the cold ground, his heart began to beat slower
and slower, until eventually he drifted off into a deep sleep.
That night, alone and hungry, Lazarus died and was carried
by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man died
not too long after, no doubt, due to his gluttony. However,
he was not embraced by angels. Rather, he was cast

(05:42):
out into the dark depths of Hades. There he was
tormented with hunger and thirst. In his discomfort, the rich
man cried out to Abraham, saying, Father, Abraham, have mercy
on me. Then he peered into the light above. In
the windows of abraham house, he could see Lazarus drinking
the cool water of heaven and feasting. Please, the rich

(06:06):
man shouted, send Lazarus to dip his finger in the
water so I might have one drop. But Abraham shook
his head and said, remember your life, my child. Remember
that you received only good things and shared none of it.
But Lazarus only received bad. Now he dwells in comfort,

(06:27):
and you are the one who suffers. The once rich
man anguished in his hunger and pain, he looked up
to Abraham, gasping for every breath. Please, Father, send Lazarus
to my family's home, warn my father and brothers of
this punishment. Abraham shook his head again and said, they

(06:47):
have the prophets in Moses to guide them in how
to live and treat others, just as you did. But
if someone were to come from the dead and warn them,
perhaps they would listen. The man responded, Abraham began to
shut the gates between them and said, if they were
unwilling to listen to the word of God himself, surely
they would not be convinced if someone rose from the dead.

(07:10):
And with those words, the rich man was shut away forever.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Today's scripture begins with Jesus telling the disciples a story.
It's a parable. It's interesting to note that of all
the parables Jesus told, this one is unique in that
he named one of the characters. It was a man
named Lazarus. The meaning of this man's name is God
Will Help, which may seem an odd choice given the
man's condition. Lazarus, you see, had nothing and no one.

(07:42):
He lived in hunger, cold, and pain. Dogs would come
to lick his swords, surely compounding his pain, his suffering,
and his humiliation. Why would such a man be given
a name like God Will Help? Lazarus lived outside the
gates of a rich man's home. He isn't given a name,

(08:03):
that is, the rich man is not given a name.
But it seems he has everything that he needs, the
best clothes made of fine linen, and delicious, sumptuous food
to enjoy. But as we all know, death is no
respect of wealth, or position or power. And so one
day Jesus said, both of the men died, and just

(08:23):
as in life, their condition could not have been more different.
Their condition and death was polar opposite of one another.
Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham, a place of
rest for those who followed God and obeyed his commandments.
In an instant, his life was changed. The hunger, the thirst,
the pain was gone, and he entered a place of

(08:45):
peace and comfort. This is like heaven. The rich man, however,
went to Hades, where he lived in punishment and pain,
outside of paradise. Jesus then said, the rich man called
from his place of torment, meant to Abraham, asking for
just a bit of comfort. If Lazars could just dip

(09:06):
his finger in water and place just to drop on
his tongue, to get one moment of respite from his
anguish and torment. This, my friends, is hell. Of course,
it is impossible for him to be comforted in hell.
Abraham reminded the man of the comfort and pleasures he
enjoyed in life, and the suffering that the other man,

(09:27):
the poor man Lazarus, had endured. Though Abraham did not
say so specifically, we can understand that in life this
man was indifferent to the pain of others. Surely he
would have seen and even heard Lazarus outside his gates,
and yet he nor no one else provided for the
poor man. The only comfort Lazarus had was God's comfort. Indeed,

(09:50):
as his name suggests, God will help. Abraham also pointed
out that there was a great chasm separating the two places,
reaching him would simply be impossible. At this point, he
was beyond hope. You see, we are all separated from
God by this great divide in life. There is only
one who can cross it, and that one is Jesus,

(10:14):
who brings us to the Father. He died on a
cross to bridge the chasm between heaven and Hell. He
bridges the separation between us and God, just as it
was true for the rich man in death. There is
no hope for those who have rejected God, those who
have turned their back on Jesus. The choice is made

(10:35):
and fate is final. This is why we must be
so urgent and sharing the Gospel, the good news of
Jesus with our friends and family, and even strangers we
meet who are separated from God and need the hope
that we know in Christ. The rich man then made
another request, if Lazrath could just return to his family's

(10:56):
home and warn them that they might not come to
this terrible place of separation from God. He was desperate
to save his loved ones from this eternal fate, but
it was too late. Abraham then replied that they have
Moses and the Prophets, that they should listen to them.
That wasn't enough for this man, He protested, saying that

(11:17):
if someone could just return from the dead, they would
repent for you and me. With the benefit of hindsight,
we can see the foreshadowing of this statement, and we
can understand the hard truth in Abraham's response. For in
Luke sixteen thirty one, we read he said to him,
if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither

(11:38):
will they be convinced. If someone should rise from the dead.
Jesus knew that he himself would one day soon die
and then rise from the dead, and many who had
failed to see God's truth pointing them to the Law
and the prophets would also fail to believe in him,
even though he rose from the grave. Ultimately, Lazarus name

(12:01):
reminds us, Yes, God will help. He'll help us in
this life to find comfort even in the most dire
and deathly of circumstances. And He's provided the true help,
the everlasting help. We need, the Savior who can open
Heaven's doors with nail scarred hands through his death and resurrection.
But we must believe in him by repenting of our

(12:23):
sin and putting our faith in Christ and Christ's alone.
He is the help we need. He is the hope
that we have in this life and in the life
to come. And if you want this brand new life,
why not where you are right now, bow your head
and pray a prayer like this. Dear God, I thank

(12:44):
you for loving me, for sending your son into the
world to be my savior. I believe, Jesus that you
died and rose again, and that you're coming again for me,
and I trust you as my Lord and my Savior, Lord,
I give you my heart. I will follow you by
the power of your spirit all the days of my life. Amen.

(13:09):
Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, and before we go,
I want you to know that I would love to
send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
every single day. So visit Jack Graham dot org to
sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jack Graham

(13:29):
dot org.