Luke 16

18 See Mark 10:11-12 and comment.

19-21 Here Jesus gives His most frightening warning to the rich Jewish leaders. And this warning is for all who live in comfort and ignore the poor at their door.

Jesus described two men, a rich Jew and a beggar. One lived in happiness and contentment, and the other lived in misery. One was praised by men; the other was despised by men. Only the dogs cared for Lazarus the beggar.

The rich man thought he was a religious man, a good Jew. Jesus doesn’t say that he was a wicked man, or that he did evil. He was a good man in the world’s eyes. He perhaps was a Pharisee, a leader of the people. He was respected by all.

22-24 However, what man respects, God detests (verse 15). God opposes the proud and exalts the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Therefore, when Lazarus died, the angels carried his spirit to heaven, to Abraham’s side. But the rich man was cast into hell.³⁴

The rich man was not cast into hell because he was rich. He was cast into hell because he loved his riches (1 Timothy 6:10). He did not use his riches to help the poor; he was unmercif ul (see Matthew 25:41-46 and comment).

When the rich man reached hell, his mind was suddenly opened. At that moment he realized what a terrible mistake he had made. He had lived for his money, for his pride, for himself, instead of for God. That was his mistake.

The rich man asked for mercy from Abraham. He had shown no mercy while on earth; now in hell he asked for mercy. He called Abraham his father, because Abraham is the father of all Jews. He asked only that his tongue might be cooled with a drop of water.³⁵

25-26 But there was no relief possible for the rich man. Between heaven and hell a great chasm has been fixed. No one can pass from one side to the other. The judgment of God is final. If a man does not care for God and for his neighbor in this life, God will not care for him in the next life, and he will be sent to hell for all eternity. The judgment of God cannot be overturned after it has been made. The rich man had received his consolation on earth, and now it was no more (Luke 6:24).

Therefore, friends, while there is still time before you die, make peace with God. Repent of your sins, and turn to Jesus. Because after death you will never have another chance.

Repent today. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Because you may die tonight (see Luke 12:20). And if you do, you will spend eternity in hell.

Think how long eternity is. Men go to jail for one year, five years, twenty years, and they think that’s a very long time. But eternity in hell is not like that. It never ends.

Let no one say, “I am not rich; therefore, this parable does not apply to me.” Because it applies to anyone—rich or poor—who seeks possessions for himself, who does not help his neighbor, who is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21). Therefore, let each person ask himself: “What am I seeking? What kind of treasure am I storing up—spiritual treasure or earthly treasure? Am I serving God or am I, in fact, serving my possessions? Who is my master—God or money?” The poor man also makes money his “god.” This parable is for everyone.

27-28 When the rich man saw that there was no hope, no means of finding relief, he thought of his family still living, his five brothers. He begged Abraham to let Lazarus go and warn them. He said, “Tell them what condition I am in. Tell them what hell is like, so that they might repent and not have to come to this terrible place.”

29 Abraham replied, “They don’t need any new warning. They have Moses and the Prophets.³⁶ Let them read and obey the Old Testament. If they don’t believe the Old Testament, they are not going to believe Lazarus” (see John 5:46-47).

30 But the rich man said, “If someone comes from the dead, they will believe and repent.”

31 But Abraham said, “If they have not believed already, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead.” And it was true. Even though Christ rose from the dead, most of the Jews refused to believe. They said His body had been stolen!

This parable does not teach that all rich men go to hell and all poor men go to heaven. Some rich people get to heaven and many poor people do not. There is only one key to heaven for both rich and poor, and that key is faith. If the rich man had repented and believed, he would have had mercy on the poor man. He would have used his wealth to help his neighbor. And he would have gone to heaven.

In the same way, the beggar might not have gone to heaven. He might have been angry with God, bitter. He might have refused to believe. If so, he would have gone to hell.

Therefore, for both rich and poor, there is only one road to heaven. It is a narrow road, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:14). It is the road of repentance and faith in Christ.