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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 10 - Lazarus and the Rich Man
Luke 16:24-26
24 And [kai] [autos] he cried [phoneo] and said [epo] , Father [pater] Abraham [Abraam] , have mercy [eleeo] on me [me] , and [kai] send [pempo] Lazarus [Lazaros] , that [hina] he may dip [bapto] the tip [akron] of his [autos] finger [daktulos] in water [hudor] , and [kai] cool [katapsucho] my [mou] tongue [glossa] ; for [hoti] I am tormented [odunao] in [en] this [taute] flame [phlox] .
25 But [de] Abraham [Abraam] said [epo] , Son [teknon] , remember [mnaomai] that [hoti] thou [su] in [en] thy [sou] lifetime [zoe] receivedst [apolambano] thy [sou] good things [agathos] , and [kai] likewise [homoios] Lazarus [Lazaros] evil things [kakos] : but [de] now [nun] [hode] he is comforted [parakaleo] , and [de] thou [su] art tormented [odunao] .
26 And [kai] beside [epi] all [pas] this [toutois] , between [metaxu] us [hemon] and [kai] you [humon] there is [sterizo] a great [megas] gulf [chasma] fixed [sterizo] : so that [hopos] they which would [thelo] pass [diabaino] from hence [enteuthen] to [pros] you [humas] cannot [me] [dunamai] ; neither [mede] can they pass [diaperao] to [pros] us [hemas] , that would come from thence [ekeithen] . KJV-Interlinear
24 'And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 'But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' NASB
The land of Torments is a miserable and lonely place. The rich man, now poor and in misery looks up and sees afar off, Abraham. But his seeing is not actual, but in his memories. He recalls the good life and the moments wherein he had the best of the best.
He remembers all that applied to his carnal and lust filled life. Anyone who lives outside of salvation, relies on their lusts, their passions, their attitude that they need nothing more than what they can see and taste, and touch and so forth. God is far from their mind, and even if they consider a god of some sort, then it is only a god of convenience, convenient to their desires of life.
The rich man had no sympathy for Lazarus nor any other person who was in need in this life. And now the rich man calls out for the mercy which he ridiculed and withheld during his own life. He ignored the truth for his pleasures. He ignored the truth so as to not contradict the values of the world, the peer pressures, the possible ostracism's he might encounter if he turned to the real God. He ignored the truth because he saw his life and future in the power of the worldliness that surrounded Him.
And now truth came knocking at the end of his life and only after it was too late, did truth finally catch his attention. But even then he does not call out to God, but to the memories of his ancestors and the pleasure he once knew.
But for a little drop of cool water, for a friend to talk to, for someone to come and give some companionship and comfort. The rich man, though in Torments with billions (perhaps) of other lost souls, had no friend, no companion, no one to fellowship with. He was all alone. Furthermore, he was in terrible agony form the pain of the fires, pressures of torments which are not defined specifically but indicate that it is beyond the bearable. And it was never going to end, but would only get far, far worse, when the Great White Throne occurred.
Abraham answers. There is a great gulf deep, impassible from either direction. No one can cross over that divide, because it is not for any man to cross after death, but was designed to be crossed during life with ones belief in Christ. Jesus Christ provided that crossing bridge, and Jesus Christ is the only one who can provide such an escape. No Buddhist's, no Islamic's, no Hindu's, no cult's, no guru's, no philosophy, no belief of any kind other than faith in Christ can provide a path out of eternal condemnation. Once a person has died there is no way out of damnation. There is no relief, no mercy, nothing that would make life easier in the fires of hell.
Just as Esau traded his future to Jacob, for a meal, so too the rich man traded his eternal destiny for a life of pleasure, and carnal, and temporary prosperity.
He was not condemned for his life style. There is nothing wrong in being rich and having the good life for ones self and family, but his error was in not crossing over that deep and impassible gorge while he had a bridge to use during his life on earth.
He could have heeded the counsel of God, but he ignored it. He selected a life of greed, and selfishness, and indifference, and even ridicule of truth. And when he died, he saw his mistake too late, but even in death he refused to acknowledge the one and only person around which all of life revolves - Jesus Christ.
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