Monthly Archives: June 2021

Fear & Forgiveness – Sermon on Genesis 50:15-21 for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Genesis 50:15-21

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This is a phenomenal text and a beautiful conclusion to a long story of Joseph and his brothers. I know you’re familiar with it, but I still want to review it to highlight some details that are often overlooked so we can see just how dramatic this scene is.

Joseph’s father, Jacob, had two wives (which Scripture repeatedly shows is a bad idea), and his wives were sisters, Leah and Rachel, and this family arrangement poisoned the relationship of these two sisters. Because Jacob loved Rachel but not Leah (Gen. 29:31), God made it so Leah is able to have children, but Rachel isn’t. Without getting too much into the seedy details, only after Jacob has ten sons does Rachel conceive and bear Jacob’s two youngest sons, Joseph then Benjamin. So, of his twelve sons, Joseph was Jacob’s hands-down favorite, and Jacob didn’t hide that fact (Gen. 37:3).

When Joseph was seventeen years old (Gen. 37:2), he started telling his brothers about his dreams where they bow down to him and serve him (Gen 37:5-8). What can you say? He’s the spoiled-rotten, favorite child. Sometime shortly after this, Joseph’s brothers concoct a plan to murder Joseph (Gen. 37:19). But Joseph’s oldest brother, Reuben, convinces his brothers to simply throw Joseph in a pit, and Joseph ends up being sold to a caravan of slave traders. Joseph’s brothers lead their father to believe that Joseph has been attacked by a wild animal and is dead (Gen. 37:31-35). The slave traders take Joseph to Egypt where he is sold to a man named Potiphar who is an officer of Pharaoh and his title is the captain of the guard (Gen. 39:1). Joseph works hard and eventually becomes the overseer of everything in Potiphar’s house.

Potiphar’s wife finds Joseph attractive and tries to seduce him, but Joseph refuses to sin against God and his master. So, Potiphar’s wife makes false accusations against Joseph (Gen. 39:1-19). And just quickly – I’ve mentioned this before – I think there is good reason to believe that Potiphar doesn’t believe the accusations of his wife against Joseph because if he had Joseph would have been executed immediately. Instead, Potiphar puts Joseph into the same prison where Pharaoh’s prisoners are kept (Gen. 39:20), and Scripture tells us that the keeper of that prison is Pharaoh’s captain of the guard (Gen. 40:3), which you remember is Potiphar’s title. This helps explain why Joseph quickly gets put in charge of basically running the prison (Gen. 39:22-23).

While Joseph is there, Pharaoh’s chief baker and cupbearer anger Pharaoh and get thrown into the same prison where Joseph is. They each have a dream that troubles them, and Joseph notices they are down in the dumps. The cupbearer tells Joseph his dream, and God gives Joseph insight to interpret the dream. The cupbearer’s dream means that he will be restored to his position in three days, and Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him when he gets back to serving Pharaoh his wine (or whatever Pharaohs drink). The chief baker hears that the cupbearer’s dream means something good will happen, so the baker wants Joseph to interpret his dream. The baker, however, doesn’t get good news about his dream. Joseph interprets his dream to mean that Pharaoh will have him executed in three days. The baker is probably even more disappointed when the interpretation of both dreams comes true (Gen. 40:1-22). The only problem for Joseph is that the cupbearer forgets all about Joseph for two whole years (Gen. 40:23-41:1).

After those two years, Pharaoh himself has a couple of dreams that none of his magicians can interpret. Only then does the cupbearer remember about Joseph and the interpretation that God had given him about those two dreams (Gen. 40:8, 41:16). So, Joseph is brought before Pharaoh and hears his dreams about fat cows getting eaten by skinny cows and bad crops eating good crops. Joseph says that God is telling Pharaoh (Gen. 41:25, 28, 32) that seven years of plenty are coming, but those good years will be followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph suggests that Pharaoh tax one-fifth of the produce during the years of plenty so there will be enough food stored up for when the famine comes (Gen. 41:33-38). Pharaoh basically says, “You’re my guy. You’ve got the Spirit of God in you. You’ll be in charge of implementing this plan.” So, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of all Egypt, has everyone bow down to Joseph wherever he goes, and even gives Joseph one of his daughters as a wife (Gen. 41:37-45). And at this time, Joseph is thirty years old (Gen. 41:46).

Now, just to sum up: Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery (Gen. 37:2). His first 13 years in Egypt are spent partly as a slave in Potiphar’s house and at least two (but probably more) years in prison before he becomes, basically, the prime minister of Egypt at age 30 (Gen. 41:46). For the next seven years, Joseph oversees the storing up of so much food and grain that they stopped keeping track of how much extra they had (Gen. 41:49). So, at this point, Joseph has been in Egypt for 20 years and is 37 when the famine starts. And the famine was so bad people from all over the earth came to Egypt to buy grain (Gen. 41:57).

Joseph’s father and brothers are still living in Canaan, and they have no food. So, Jacob sends Joseph’s brothers to go and buy grain in Egypt. All of Joseph’s brothers except his only full brother, Benjamin, go down to Egypt to buy food. But if you want to buy food in Egypt during this time, the guy you have to see is Joseph. So, when Joseph’s brothers arrive at the checkout counter, Joseph is the one taking the money (Gen. 42:1-6).  And when your life and the lives of everyone in your entire family is in the hands of the prime minister of the only country that has grain and when that prime minister is the clerk, you don’t ask if there are any sales, specials, or coupons. You don’t want to get him upset with you. You show him respect. So, Joseph’s brothers bow down to him fulfilling Joseph’s dream that he had twenty years before (Gen. 37:5-8). But Joseph’s brothers don’t recognize him after twenty years, and they figured he was dead. However, Joseph recognizes his brothers and remembers his dream (Gen. 42:9a).

Now, we need to pick up the pace. Joseph puts his brothers through the ringer for the next 3 chapters of Scripture which span two years. Joseph throws them in jail for three days (Gen. 42:9b-17). He sets them up to think that they didn’t pay for their food (Gen. 42:25, 35). Two years into the famine, Joseph’s brothers return to Egypt a second time to buy more food (Gen. 45:6). And Joseph shows favoritism to his only full brother Benjamin whom Joseph forced to come on this second trip (Gen. 43:34). And Joseph concocts a plan to make it appear that Benjamin has stolen Joseph’s silver cup (Gen. 44:1-2). When his brothers are confronted with this, the brothers all go back to try and save Benjamin from punishment because they know their father will die if they don’t return with Benjamin (Gen. 43:1-14; 44:18-29) whom Jacob thinks is the only living son of Rebekah (Gen. 35:16-20).

Now, before the brothers had left Canaan the second time to buy food, Reuben tried to make a deal with their father Jacob by saying, “We’re not going to get food in Egypt unless Benjamin comes with us, and if he doesn’t come back, you can kill my two sons” (Gen. 42:37-38). But Jacob doesn’t agree to this pagan-like, child sacrifice arrangement. But then Judah says, “Listen, dad, I’ll be responsible for Benjamin. If he doesn’t come back, you can kill me” (Gen. 43:8-10). So, when Judah sees that Joseph is going to punish Benjamin for stealing his cup, Judah gives a beautiful speech, which I’d encourage you to read later today (you can find it in Gen. 44:18-34). In that speech, Judah basically repeats the Gospel promises that Joseph had grown up hearing. Judah says, “I didn’t commit this sin, but treat me as the one who did.” In other words, Judah says, “Let the guilty one go free. Give me the punishment that one deserves, so he can return to the arms of his father.”

And you have to realize how impactful this is. Joseph has been the only Christian in Egypt for 22 years now. He didn’t have any fellowship with fellow believers. He had to be content simply remembering the Gospel promises his father had taught him up until he was sold into slavery at age 17. Now, at age 39 he gets to hear his brother Judah preaching that Gospel to him. Judah is living out the Gospel promise that he failed to live out 22 years before when he had a hand in selling Joseph into slavery.

Joseph is so overcome with emotion that he reveals himself to his brothers. He tells them to get Jacob and the whole family and move to Egypt because there are still five years of famine left (Gen 45:6). The family arrives in Egypt and lives in the best land of Egypt. And Joseph takes care of them for the next seventeen years in Egypt until Jacob dies (Gen. 47:28). Which, finally, brings us to our text.

Even though Joseph had forgiven his brothers (Gen. 45:4-15) and provided for them during those seventeen years, they still fear that Joseph is going to punish them now that their father had died. Joseph’s brothers make up this story, “Hey, bro, right before he died, dad totally told us that you can’t punish us for our sin against you 39 years ago.” You see, through those 39 years, Joseph’s brothers are repeatedly haunted by their guilt of sinning against Joseph (Gen. 42:21-22, 28; 43:18; 44:16). And even after living for 17 years under Joseph’s care and forgiveness, they are still afraid that their sin is going to be punished by Joseph.

But look how beautifully Joseph replies (Gen. 50:19-20), “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” In other words, Joseph is saying, “Listen, I wasn’t just taking care of you because I loved dad, and now I’m going to get back at you because he’s gone. I have truly forgiven you. I love you, and will continue to care for you.” And please notice carefully what Joseph said there, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

Think back to our Gospel reading today (Lk. 6:36-42). Those verses contain every non-Christian’s favorite saying of Jesus, “Judge not.” If any atheist knows a lick of Scripture, it’s probably those two words of Jesus. But the way unbelievers (and even some Christians) twist those words is abhorrent. In fact, the words of Jesus in our Gospel reading today are probably the most misunderstood, taken-out-of-context words of all Scripture. Sinners love to say, “Jesus told you not to judge.”

But when our Lord says, “Judge not,” Christ isn’t saying that Christians are never allowed to point out the sin of others and call them to repentance. Instead, Jesus wants us to not be hypocrites. Christ doesn’t want us judging others unless we recognize that we need repentance too. So, Jesus gives the analogy of the logs and specks in eyes. In short, Jesus wants you to repent of and remove your timbers of sin in your eye so that you can see clearly and help remove the specks of sin in your neighbor’s eye. Jesus is clear that He wants everyone’s eyes to be free of logs and specks.

Now, all of that brings us back to Joseph and his brothers. The brothers feared that the only reason Joseph was being nice to them was because of their father Jacob. Now, their dad is gone, and they figure the hammer is about to fall, so they fear. So, see how Joseph, in such a godly way, addresses the seriousness of their sin by rightly acknowledging that they meant evil against him. He doesn’t say that their sin didn’t matter. But then, Joseph immediately comforts them with the Gospel and forgiveness.

Dear Christians, if we identify ourselves as any of the characters in this story, it should be Joseph’s brothers. We follow their pattern. We sin and fear that our punishment is just waiting to fall, but our brother, Jesus, comforts us with His forgiveness and cares for us for all eternity.

Jesus teaches us that we sinners are right to fear God. Jesus says in Mt. 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” According to Christ, we should fear God. And when we do, God comforts us and kindly speaks His absolution over us. Psalm 130:3-4 says, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” Because Jesus, the sinless One, has died in your place, God forgives you and cares for you. Because Jesus went to the cross to shed His blood providing everything you need for eternal life, you are set free to run back to the arms of your Heavenly Father.

When you rightly fear God because of your sin, He smiles back at you and says, “Yes, your sin is terrible, but I have taken care of it. I love and forgive you.” When you fear, love, and trust in God above all else, God says to you, “Fear not, my beloved child.” And when God, the only One who is worthy of your fear does that for you, you are set free from all fears because His perfect love casts out your fear (1 Jn. 4:18) now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Invited – Sermon on Proverbs 9:1-10 for the Second Sunday after Trinity

Proverbs 9:1-10

1   Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.

2   She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.

3   She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,

4   “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,

5   “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.

6   Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”

7   Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

8   Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9   Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, we’re diving right in. Jesus is Wisdom who speaks in this text. Jesus is the one who has prepared this banquet and invites the simple (probably best understood as ‘gullible’) and those who lack sense to a feast He has prepared. Don’t be offended by that interpretation just because Wisdom here is given feminine pronouns. “Wisdom has built her house, hewn her pillars, slaughtered her beasts, mixed her wine…” etc. The word “wisdom” in both Hebrew and Greek is a feminine noun, so don’t let that confuse you. This text is not teaching that God is a woman. Wisdom is the everlasting, eternal, infinite, almighty Son of God.

A bit of context helps cement this interpretation. Back in Pro. 8:22-23, 27-31, Wisdom says of Himself,

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.
Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth….
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman.”

In other words, God created with and through Wisdom, and all of that echoes the opening of the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:1-3, 14). And if that isn’t enough to prove that Jesus is Wisdom who is speaking here, in Lk. 11:31 Jesus calls Himself the Wisdom greater than Solomon. And in 1 Cor. 1:30, Paul says that Jesus is the wisdom from God.

Jesus, the eternal Son of God and wisdom of God, is the Father’s voice to the world. Jesus reveals God’s heart. And Christ gives us true wisdom that remains when everything else is gone. And look at this beautiful invitation:

He prepares the food, sets the table, and calls all people – even the gullible and senseless – to come to the banquet. This feast is free by grace. God charges no admission fee, and the guests have no bill at the end of the meal. They don’t even have to cover the tip. Those who have no money are invited to come and have their fill. This beautiful picture is also what we saw in our Gospel lesson (Lk. 14:15-23). There, the king doesn’t care if the guests are poor, crippled, blind, or lame. He doesn’t even care if they are citizens of his kingdom. He tells his servants, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that My house may be filled.” God has a banquet. He wants His tables to be filled with guests. He desires that all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

The past three times these readings have come up, I’ve preached on that Gospel text and highlighted the importance of coming to church because the riches of the feast that God gives us right here, in this sanctuary, are so grand, elaborate, and infinitely valuable. But I’m not preaching on the Gospel lesson today. The main overlap of the Gospel lesson and this lesson from Proverbs is the invitation and how we are commissioned by God to spread that invitation to the divine feast far and wide. So, for the rest of this sermon, let’s consider evangelism and witnessing.

Honestly, there is a lot of bad theology when it comes to evangelism and sharing the Gospel. I want to consider three truths about evangelism today. There are more, but these three are central. And I want to be very clear at the outset here. I’m going to criticize some of the common trends and ideas about evangelism. Just because I criticize them doesn’t mean that those things have never worked to share the Gospel.  Instead, I hope that as we consider what the Scriptures have to say about salvation and how we see that Christianity spread in the book of Acts, you are encouraged and emboldened to simply be who you are in Christ. Be a sinner who has been washed in Christ’s forgiveness. That is all the equipping you need to be a faithful inviter to God’s eternal feast.

The first truth about sharing the Gospel is that evangelism is nothing more than simply announcing that there is a feast that is ready and free to any who will come. As v. 4 of our text said, Wisdom sends us to proclaim, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” And as they arrive at the banquet, Wisdom – in other words Jesus – says to them, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight” (v. 5-6).

God gives us opportunities to invite to a banquet; He doesn’t call us to scare people into heaven. Plays like “Heaven’s Gates, Hell’s Flames” and fire-and-brimstone-street-corner preaching aren’t what Christians are about. Christians are about the free Gospel, the abundant mercy of Christ, and the joy of the eternal banquet. Yes, the horrors of hell are real. But if people are scared into believing in God, they are more slaves than children. And God wants children to love and cherish. Christian, you have the Gospel – the greatest news ever. Jesus has died and shed His blood for the forgiveness of your sins. That message is for all people. Out of His pure mercy, Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). God’s greatest delight is to give sinners His kingdom and have them as His guests at His banquet.

The second truth about evangelism is that you don’t have to go out and find people to evangelize. I’ve been through (and even taught) evangelism models that encourage you to seek people out, strike up a conversation, and then turn that conversation to spiritual matters so you can share about Jesus. First off, not a lot of people are comfortable doing that. And very few people who are comfortable doing that can do it naturally – especially when the person they are trying to evangelize tries to change the subject away from spiritual matters. I’ve been a victim (and I’m using that word a little sarcastically) of people who are part of pyramid schemes. Of course, they don’t call it a pyramid scheme – it’s ‘multi-level-marketing.’ At first, they are very friendly and outgoing, but then comes the moment when they try to feel me out about their great, wonderful product. When they realize I’m not interested in purchasing or selling their product, they aren’t interested in me anymore. And you know what that does to my opinion of them? Yeah.

Dear saints, you don’t have to seek out potential converts to Christianity. Repeatedly in the book of Acts, the apostles would proclaim the Gospel in the synagogues – to the people who were already familiar with God’s Word. In those synagogues, some would believe in Christ, but many would reject. The interesting thing is that the apostles never sought out people who were unfamiliar with God’s Word. They never made cold calls. God would simply bring people to the apostles, they would preach, point to Jesus, and people would believe.

Just a few examples: At Pentecost, God brought people together by the sound of the rushing wind (Act. 2:5-6) and the apostles pointed them to Jesus. In Acts 3, Peter and John go to the Temple for prayer one afternoon and encounter a paralyzed man who was begging. Peter tells the guy, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you, but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” The guy does, and whole crowds get drawn to Peter and John to hear more about Jesus (Act. 3:1-4:37). God dropped the Ethiopian eunuch into Phillip’s life (Act. 8:26-38). And when Phillip was done baptizing the eunuch, God teleported him somewhere else to share the Gospel (Act. 8:39-40). God told Cornelius to send for Peter (Act. 10:1-8). We could go on and on. But I’d encourage you, read the book of Acts this week, and notice how God just drops people into the lives of the apostles. Then they simply share the Gospel and point the people whom God put in their lives to Jesus.

Dear saints, you don’t have to seek people out. Be faithful in the vocations and callings that God has given you. Be a good spouse, parent, child, worker, student, neighbor, whatever. Have the best, most genuine relationship possible with the people God brings into your life. Be an authentic person and be ready to give an answer for the reason for the hope that is in you (1 Pet. 3:15-16). As you have opportunity, point them to Jesus, and invite them here where Jesus has prepared His banquet. The most recent survey I saw showed that 86% of people who attend a church go to that congregation because a friend invited them. Be friendly to people not in an effort to convert them – that isn’t true friendship. Just be a friend, and be ready for God to open doors to sharing the Gospel. Like Phillip did for Nathaniel, invite people to come and see Jesus (Jn. 1:46).

Finally, the third truth about evangelism is this: Rest in the fact that you can’t mess it up. Dear saints, Scripture is clear on this. No one will go to hell because you failed in sharing the Gospel with them. It isn’t possible. Jesus promises in Jn. 10:27-29, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

There is a fascinating verse in Acts 13 about this. Just to give a bit of the context here: Paul and his companions arrive in the city of Antioch (Act 13:13ff). As was their custom, they go to the synagogue and are asked by the rulers if they have a word of encouragement. Paul preaches a little sermon about Jesus (Act. 13:16-41). Some believe, and Paul and Barnabas are invited to come again the next Sabbath. When they do, the whole city of Antioch gathered together to hear the Word of the Lord (Act. 13:44). Paul and Barnabas again share about Jesus. Some were filled with jealousy and were contradicting what Paul was preaching and reviling him (Act. 13:45). But then (and this might be the most important verse you can memorize to encourage you as you think about evangelism), Acts 13:48b, “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

Dear saints, salvation belongs to God (Jon. 2:9; Ps. 3:8; Rev. 7:10). You and all Christians are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Since you aren’t the source of either salvation or grace, the work of saving people belongs exclusively to God. God can and does use you to be His salt and light (Mt. 5:13-16), and when He does, God be praised! But know that no one, not a single soul, will end up in hell because you have failed. You aren’t that powerful. You cannot erase someone’s name from the book of life (Rev. 3:5). Romans 8:38-39 says, “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Dear saints, evangelism, inviting anyone to Jesus’ banquet is zero risk, infinite reward.

Dear saints, there is a banquet. It is free to you and to all. You are invited, and you have the privilege and joy of inviting others. So, invite them. Invite them because of the joy of being part of that feast yourself.

The banquet is prepared. The gifts are ready. Jesus calls you, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Carried – Sermon on Luke 16:19-31 for the First Sunday after Trinity

Luke 16:19-31

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 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.’”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Right off the bat, this text confirms that there are things much worse than being poor, hungry, covered with sores, and having dogs as your only friends and caretakers. There is eternal life after this life, and after you die, there are only two destinations. Heaven and hell are real. You will spend eternity either in bliss with God your Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, or in eternal damnation and torment.

Because that truth stares you in the face when hearing this text, I want us to focus for a moment on a rich man in this text.

There was a rich man who was adorned with the finest garb. This man daily feasted on the best food. Wherever he went, he was chauffeured around in decadence. This rich man had the most precious things in all creation and was truly blessed. And this rich man’s name was… Lazarus.

Now, I can hear what you’re thinking: “Pastor, Lazarus didn’t have anything good in this life. Abraham even said that Lazarus received bad things in his lifetime.” Absolutely, I’ll concede that point. But with this parable, Jesus is trying to fix our hearts where true joys are found. Both in this life and the next, true joy is to be found in the promises of God’s Word.

Too often, we Christians are tempted to think that if things aren’t going a certain way that God is mad at us. I often hear testimonies of Christians who will say things like, “I thought I was saved, but…” Then, they’ll recount some difficulty or hardship they have gone through. Then they will continue, “But then, I truly gave my life to Jesus, and everything got so much better. And now I’m really saved.” Honestly, that is sad to hear.

Dear saints, beware that kind of thinking and mentality. The devil wants us to tie our assurance of salvation to how things are going in this life. Honestly, that type of thinking is precisely what the book of Job is teaching against. God says that Job is righteous and upright (Job 1:8, 2:3), but the devil says, “Hey God, let me have a crack at him. Let me take everything from him – his wealth, family, possessions, and health. And Job will curse You to Your face, God” (Job 1:9-11, 2:4-5). And even when Job’s friends try to get Job to confess that he must have done something sinful to cause all the evil he endured, Job clung to faith in God’s promises.

Considering our life and judging what God thinks of us based on our blessings or lack of blessings is a dangerous place to be. Jesus Himself says that the life of faith is going to be difficult. Remember, Jesus promises that if the world persecuted Him, believers will be persecuted too (Jn. 15:20). Jesus calls Christians to follow Him which means picking up a cross – not a lazy boy (Lk. 9:23). If we are always stuck looking at how our lives are going, we’ll never be at rest as Christians. In fact, we will easily fall away. All the devil will have to do is keep bouncing us between highs and lows, and eventually, we will break.

Now, there are all sorts of ways we can go wrong when we consider this parable about Lazarus and the rich man unless we understand Jesus when He says, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk. 11:28). Those who hear God’s Word and believe it live blessed lives despite all appearances to the contrary. And that is the main difference between Lazarus and the rich man.

So, back to the idea that Lazarus was the truly rich man in this parable: Yes, absolutely. Lazarus was poor in this life, but when we consider what God’s Word says, we see that Lazarus was rich. In the parable, Jesus doesn’t say what kind of rags Lazarus wore, but Scripture does say that all believers are clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). In fact, Ephesians 5:25-27 says that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her and cleanse her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish. Because Lazarus was a Christian, that is how he was clothed – despite the appearance of his beggarly clothes.

In the parable, Jesus says that Lazarus was hungry and desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. But because Lazarus was a Christian, he did not live on bread alone, but on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt. 4:4). Lazarus knew the mercy of Christ, the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:14), who is the living bread that comes down from heaven (Jn. 6:50-51). That Word of God was sweet to Lazarus’ taste, sweeter than honey (Ps. 119:103).

And Lazarus had the finest chauffeurs who, when he died, carried him to Abraham’s side. The angels took care of all his transportation needs. Yes, despite all the suffering Lazarus had in this life, he was truly blessed.

And when we consider the rich man in the parable, we see the opposite. For all the temporal blessings the rich man had in this life, he did not have the most important thing – faith in God’s Word. Even as he is tormented in hell, the rich man continues to reject God’s Word. In damnation, he has the audacity to tell Abraham that God’s Word isn’t enough to warn his five living brothers about the peril of their sins. He demands that Lazarus be raised from the dead and warn them. But Abraham responds, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets (in other words, the Scriptures), neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” In other words, to hold fast to God’s Word is to be truly rich through faith in Christ. Blessed are those who hear the Work of God and keep it.

Don’t trip up on v. 25 where Abraham says, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things.” Some will say that statement teaches that the poor in this life go to heaven and the rich in this life go hell. That can’t be the case. Instead that again teaches us to not look at our blessings in this life, whether they be many or few.

Just think about the other rich man you heard about today in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 15:1-6) – Abraham himself. In his day, Abraham was one of the wealthiest men in the world. One night, the Lord promised Abraham that His reward would be very great. But when Abraham looked at himself, he saw an old, wrinkled man. When Abraham looked at his wife, he saw an old woman who was past the age of bearing children. Abraham looked over at his servant Eliezer who was going to get all Abraham’s stuff when he died because Abraham had no heir. So God took Abraham outside, told him to look at the stars and try to number them. And God promised, “So shall your offspring be.” And Abraham stopped looking at his temporal blessings, and he looked past the limitations that seemed to contradict God’s promise. Instead, Abraham believed the Lord, and God counted it to him as righteousness.

Lazarus had that same faith. The name “Lazarus” means “one whom God helps.” Even with his beggarly status in life, Lazarus rested on the promises of God for forgiveness, life, and salvation despite all appearances to the contrary. Those promises carried Lazarus throughout his life, so when he died, the angels carried Lazarus to paradise. Yes, the rich man had earthly treasures in this life, but once he died, those treasures were gone forever. Because he didn’t have faith in God’s Word, he had nothing and was truly poor.

So, parents, this is mainly directed at you, but it is also for all of us Christians: We need to reconsider how we encourage our children and young people. Too often, we urge kids to grow up to be like the unnamed rich man in the parable. Obviously, he was wildly successful financially. He was a family man who cared about his siblings. He was probably a very generous man. Why else would Lazarus be begging at this man’s gate each day? The unnamed rich man was independent, successful, and a model, upstanding citizen. But he lacked the faith and fear of God. And without that, he had nothing.

And don’t get me wrong here. It is good to teach, instruct, and encourage our children to work hard, be independent, earn an honest living, and take pride in their accomplishments. It is important to do that. But never to the neglect of faith in God’s Word. Above all else, let us train our children and encourage one another to be dependent upon God and rest in His promises.

Those promises of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness carry us through this life. And when our time comes, may we be found faithful to Christ and like Lazarus be carried by the angels to the side of our crucified, risen, and ascended Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.