But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ Luke 16:29 CSB God actually expects us to pay attention to His Word. This rich man and his family were exposed to the truth. They could make no excuses. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth! You alone know everything. But…

because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment. Luke 16:28 Did this new condition cause the rich man for the very first time to think of others instead of himself? Well, at least he thinks of his own brethren after making the request for himself.…

‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— Luke 16:27 In the Gospel of John chapter 8 and verse 44 Jesus tells the Jewish people ‘You are of your father the devil’. And yet, here He tells a story of a man in hell still calling Abraham his father…

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’ Luke 16:26 CSB We do not know a lot about the afterlife, whether in ancient times or now. However, what…

‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. Luke 16:25 CSB The word choice here is quite significant. Abraham calls the man his son because this rich man was indeed Jewish by ethnicity.…

‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’ Luke 16:24 The Word of God is fresh every time we read it. And we learn new things all the time. Upon…

And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. Luke 16:23 To hear that Lazarus was at the side of Abraham and not the rich man was backwards to those listening to Jesus. Their sensibilities were threatened by this teaching. The last thing…

One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. Luke 16:22 Some things that are part of our popular culture in connection with death and the afterlife are very fanciful and have no basis in Scripture. However, Jesus does here…

He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. Luke 16:21 Lazarus would have loved to eat off the floor in the rich man’s house. To understand the contrast here, we have to understand the role of dogs in ancient times.…

But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was left at his gate. Luke 16:20 Notice very well the way this is stated. Lazarus was ‘left’ or ‘laid’ at the rich man’s gate. This poor fellow was obviously the victim of a malady that was not communicable. And, as such he was put in…