This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Luke’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 28 September 2025. The Lectionary Bible Readings were: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 & Luke 16:19-31.

This is an updated version of a talk I originally gave at Emmanuel, Billericay on Sunday 2 July 2023.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen

Introduction
Among the many symbolic actions Jeremiah was commanded to perform, this one stands out as a sign, not of judgement, but of hope: hope for God’s restoration the other side of judgement. Resurrection hope, if you like. He is commanded to put his money where his mouth has been (Jeremiah 31 predicts God’s new covenant with Israel): in the teeth of enemy invasion and imminent disaster, he is to buy a field. I am reminded of Martin Luther, who declared that if he knew the kingdom of God was to come tomorrow, he would go out and plant a tree.

God’s future, breaking into and making sense of the present, is the subject of this week’s Lukan parable. It’s interesting to note that out of the 38 parables Jesus told, this is the only occasion, where he gives a name to a character. It’s normally, a man, a woman, a farmer, or a son. But here, Jesus names the poor man as Lazarus (God is my help), and the rich man … well … he was rich! Legend has it that the rich man was called Dives.

Some scholars suggest that this wasn’t a parable at all, but a true story, which is why Jesus names Lazarus – perhaps he was the homeless beggar on the street that everyone knew and, if that is true, then this gives this story a very different and personal insight. Jesus paints a picture of contrasts in this parable, so I’m going to look at three contrasts this morning: a contrast in life; a contrast in death; and a contrast in eternity.

1. A Contrast in Life vs 19 – 21
Jesus makes the point, vs19 that the rich man dressed in the best clothes. We know that purple was a costly dye and only the wealthy could afford to buy it. It was a status symbol and, combined with the linen, it was the ultimate in designer clothing – yes, they even had ‘labels’ in those days! The rich man wanted for nothing and lived an extravagant lifestyle of luxurious comfort. In contrast, Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate.

Now we don’t know if the rich man was bothered or not about him being there because of the Jewish law to support beggars (known as Alms). He may not want to have been seen to be ‘moving him on’ – so allowing him to remain there could be seen as an act of compassion and of fulfilling the law. However, the hopeless state of Lazarus is further illustrated by the fact that, the dogs licked his sores and, in his desperation to eat, ate what fell from the rich man’s table. Perhaps he rummaged through his bins!

2. A Contrast in Death vs 22
When they died, I can imagine folk commenting how much they missed the rich man and how glad they were to see the back of Lazarus. Up until this point, the spiritual state of these men hasn’t been mentioned. But we must assume that Lazarus was a faithful follower of God because when he died: the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.

There’s no such comfort for the rich man; when he died, he was buried. Jesus doesn’t condemn him for being rich but for living to please himself and for his lack of compassion. The rich man would have been buried with a lavish, expensive and traditional funeral and elaborate tomb. Lazarus would have been given a pauper’s burial. I’ve taken a few paupers funerals over the years when there’s just been me and the funeral directors and the crematorium assistant. Uganda – coffin on a bicycle!

3. A Contrast in Eternity vs 23 – 31
Death, according to the Bible, takes place when the spirit leaves the body (James 2:26).  But death is not the end, but the beginning of a whole new existence in another world.  For the Christian, death means to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 1:21). For the unbeliever, death means to be away from God’s presence.

There’s always a lot of debate about the existence of hell. Some say we shouldn’t preach on it, and some say we don’t preach on it enough. And that’s because hell was, and is, such a taboo subject in modern theology. Some theologians and scholars suggest that hell doesn’t exist at all because a loving heavenly Father wouldn’t allow his creation to suffer in this way – but that’s not what the Bible teaches. The crucifixion was an integral part of God’s plan of salvation for the whole world.

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross for our sins if he had nothing to save us from? But if hell doesn’t exist, why did Jesus talk so openly about it?  The fact that Jesus talks about the torment of hell in this way, suggests it’s a reality that we should seriously consider.

Even though death is something each one of us will face at some point in our lives, it’s a topic we don’t find it easy to talk about. The British tend not to do so. However, I believe Christian’s can talk positively about death because of Jesus’ resurrection. Because when Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, He abolished the power of death once and for all and gives all of us a certain and sure hope that death is not the end but only the beginning.

The interesting thing about the rich man in Hades is that he began to pray, firstly for himself, vs24: Father Abraham, have pity 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 fire. Abraham replies with a compassion that the rich man was lacking in his own life, vs25: Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. For him the good things of life had been fine clothes with that age-old attitude of eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.

One of the most important words in this verse is remember.  Hell, it seems, will be a place of eternal remembrance and regret. Where everyone will have a crystal-clear memory of their lives and the decisions they made. However, this time it won’t be over something people did, but remorse over something they didn’t do.

If you’ve never recognised Jesus as Saviour and you die in unbelief, you’ll recall these exact words I’m speaking now. You’ll remember hearing the Spirit of God say to you: Come to me …  but if you walk away and reject Jesus’ offer of eternal life, you’ll live to regret it forever. How many people will be saying: “If only I’d done this, if only I’d done that, if only …”

Abraham goes onto say, vs26: besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. This great chasm is fixed. Once in hell, you are in hell for eternity, there will be no deliverance, no second chance – make no mistake about that.

In vs27, and for the first time in the story, the rich man shows some interest in others, and the second prayer was prayed for his brothers: I beg you, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers.  Let him warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment. But Abraham makes no effort to communicate with his brothers. Presumably, the brothers are as rich and careless in life as he was.

In vs29, Abraham reminds him: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. Abraham suggests that the appearance of one raised from the dead, vs31, will not bring conviction to those who refuse to accept God’s word – it seems as if Jesus is alluding to his own rising from the dead. How many times have we heard people say: I’ll believe in God if Jesus comes and stands right in front of me?

C.S. Lewis, in his quite remarkable book ‘The Great Divorce’ based on this parable, writes:

Good beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First, they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouth for food, or their eyes to see.

The rich man pleads: If someone goes to them from the dead things will be different; that will bring them to repentance. They will repent, the rich man had failed to do this, and he now sees that it is the one thing he was lacking.  It is not wealth, poverty, alms, or influence that is needed, but repentance. He thought repentance was for others, but not for himself.

Conclusion
In 1000 AD, 186 years after the death of Emperor Charlemagne, officials of the Emperor Otto re-opened Charlemagne’s tomb. Charlemagne was one of the richest and most powerful rulers the world has ever known.  Before them was an extraordinary sight, in the midst of all the finery buried with him – the gold, the jewels, the priceless treasure – there was the skeleton of Charlemagne himself, still seated on his throne, still wearing his crown. In his lap, lay a Bible, and a bony finger rested on Mark chapter 8:36: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?”

The rich man gained everything but lost so much more.  Let us pray that each one of us won’t make the same mistakes as the rich man in this parable.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.