The Great Chasm and the Sufficiency of Scripture Text: Luke 16:19-31
Introduction: A World of Inverted Realities
We live in an age that is terrified of finality. Our culture is built on the sandy foundation of endless revision, of second chances that bleed into third and fourth chances, of do-overs and reinventions. The modern man wants a universe with no fixed points, a story with no final chapter, and a life with no ultimate consequences. He wants to be able to edit his choices indefinitely, and he has constructed a worldview where every chasm has a bridge and every verdict can be appealed. Into this sentimental and squishy consensus, Jesus tells a story that is as hard as granite and as final as the grave. And not just the grave, but what lies beyond it.
This parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is not a gentle suggestion. It is a blast of arctic air into the warm, stuffy room of our self-serving assumptions. It is a story about the great reversal, the ultimate inversion of fortunes that God has built into the moral fabric of the universe. It is a story designed to shock the sensibilities of the Pharisees, who were lovers of money and who believed that their earthly prosperity was a clear sign of God's favor. Jesus takes their entire value system, their theology of glory, and turns it completely upside down. He is telling them, and us, that the spiritual accounting of this life is not finalized until the next, and that the audits in that place are severe, thorough, and irreversible.
We must understand that this is not a fairy tale. When Jesus pulls back the curtain to show us what happens after death, He is revealing reality. This is not speculative theology; it is divine revelation. And what it reveals is a world of fixed realities, of conscious existence after death, of comfort and torment, and of a great, unbridgeable chasm. But the ultimate point of the story is not simply to give us a glimpse into the afterlife. The ultimate point is to drive us back to this life, to the book that is already in our hands. The punchline of the parable is the utter sufficiency of the Word of God. If we will not hear Moses and the Prophets, then not even a ghost story will save us.
The Text
"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. But a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 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. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you are not able to, and none may cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I am asking you, father, that you send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’"
(Luke 16:19-31 LSB)
The Great Reversal in This Life (vv. 19-21)
Jesus begins by painting a picture of two extremes, a diptych of earthly existence.
"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. But a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores." (Luke 16:19-21)
First, we have the rich man. He is nameless, which is the first clue to his ultimate insignificance. His identity is entirely wrapped up in his possessions. He wears purple, the color of royalty, and fine linen, a fabric of extreme luxury. His life is one continuous party, living in splendor "every day." Notice that he is not condemned for being a thief or an overt oppressor. His sin is far more subtle, and far more common. He is condemned for a life of insulated self-indulgence. He lived in a bubble of comfort, utterly oblivious to the suffering world on his doorstep. Lazarus is not miles away; he is "at his gate." The rich man had to step over him, or at least around him, every single day.
Then we have Lazarus. He is the only character in any of Jesus' parables to be given a personal name. Lazarus means "God is my help." While the rich man had his wealth, Lazarus had only God. His condition is one of abject misery. He is a beggar, covered in sores, and so weak he is "laid" at the gate by others. His desire is minimal, not for a place at the table, but for the crumbs that fell from it. And to add insult to injury, the dogs, unclean animals, come and lick his open sores. In the eyes of the world, and certainly in the eyes of the Pharisees, this man was cursed by God. The rich man was blessed; Lazarus was cursed. This was their neat and tidy theology. Jesus is about to detonate it.
The Great Reversal in the Next (vv. 22-23)
Death is the great equalizer, but it is also the great separator. It is the doorway to a permanent and fixed state.
"Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke 16:22-23 LSB)
Lazarus dies first. His burial is not mentioned; his body was likely thrown into a common grave. But his soul receives a royal escort. He is "carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom." This was a common Jewish expression for the place of comfort and fellowship for the righteous dead in Sheol, or as the New Testament calls it, Hades. It is a place of conscious rest, in the company of the father of the faithful.
Then the rich man dies. Notice the contrast: "and was buried." He undoubtedly had a magnificent funeral. The whole town turned out. There were professional mourners and a grand tomb. But there were no angels. His body was honored while his soul went straight to torment. He lifts up his eyes "in Hades." It is crucial that we distinguish our terms here. Hades is not the final Hell, the lake of fire, which the Bible calls Gehenna. Hades, or Sheol in the Old Testament, is the intermediate state, the place of departed spirits before the final judgment. But even here, it is divided. There is a place of comfort, Abraham's bosom, and a place of torment. The rich man finds himself on the wrong side of the divide, and his torment is immediate and conscious.
The Unbridgeable Chasm (vv. 24-26)
In torment, the rich man finally speaks. And his words reveal that death has not changed his heart in the slightest.
"And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember... between us and you there is a great chasm fixed...'" (Luke 16:24-26 LSB)
Look at his arrogance. He still sees Lazarus as an errand boy. "Send Lazarus." He does not cry out to God for mercy; he appeals to his lineage, "Father Abraham." He is still trying to pull strings, to rely on his earthly status. He wants Lazarus to serve him, to bring him a drop of water. He still does not see Lazarus as a person, but as a utility. His agony has not produced repentance, only regret and a desire for relief.
Abraham's reply is devastatingly calm and logical. First, he says, "Child, remember." Memory persists in the afterlife. The rich man is forced to recall his life of "good things," his self-indulgence, while Lazarus received "bad things." The scales are now balanced. This is not karma; this is divine justice. The comfort Lazarus now enjoys is a direct reversal of his earthly suffering, and the rich man's agony is the consequence of his unrepented sin of lovelessness.
Second, and most importantly, Abraham reveals the absolute finality of their situations. "Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed." The Greek word for "fixed" means it has been permanently established. It is uncrossable. There are no transfers, no appeals, no second chances after death. The choices made in this life have eternal consequences. This is a terrifying truth for a culture that believes in infinite mulligans. The gospel is a message of urgent grace for today, because a day is coming when the door will be shut and the chasm will be fixed.
The Sufficiency of Scripture (vv. 27-31)
Having failed to get relief for himself, the rich man pivots to a new concern: his five brothers. This sounds noble, but it is actually a subtle attack on God's justice and His chosen means of revelation.
"And he said, ‘Then I am asking you, father, that you send him to my father’s house... so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ...‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’" (Luke 16:27-31 LSB)
The rich man is essentially saying, "God didn't give us enough information. If we had known it was this bad, we would have lived differently. We need a more spectacular sign. We need a ghost." He argues with Abraham: "No... but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!" He believes the problem is a lack of evidence, a lack of spectacle.
Abraham's response is the central point of the entire parable. "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." The written Word of God is sufficient. It contains everything necessary for life and godliness. It clearly teaches justice, mercy, love for neighbor, and warnings about the judgment to come. The problem is not a lack of information; it is a lack of submission. The problem is not in the head; it is in the heart. The rich man and his brothers did not have a crisis of evidence; they had a crisis of obedience. They heard the Scriptures read every Sabbath, but they did not listen. Their hearts were hardened by wealth and comfort.
The final line is one of the most chilling and prophetic statements Jesus ever made. "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." This is not a hypothetical. Jesus is speaking about Himself. A few chapters later in this same gospel, another man named Lazarus would be raised from the dead. And did the Pharisees repent? No, they plotted to kill him. And shortly after that, Jesus Himself, the Son of God, would rise from the dead in the ultimate sign. And did the religious leaders repent? No, they bribed the guards to lie about it. The resurrection does not create faith; it confirms the faith of those who have already submitted to the Word. A heart that is in rebellion against the plain teaching of Scripture will always find a way to explain away a miracle. The problem is never a lack of light from God, but a love of darkness in men.
Conclusion: The Only Bridge Across the Chasm
This parable forces us to confront the great realities. There is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned. Our choices in this brief life echo into eternity. And there is a great chasm fixed.
But the story is told before the cross. And because of the cross, there is a bridge that spans that chasm, but it is a bridge that must be crossed from this side. That bridge is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who descended into Hades, not in torment, but as a conqueror. He is the one who rose from the dead, not as a ghostly messenger, but as the firstfruits of the new creation.
The rich man was condemned not because he was rich, but because he trusted in his riches and was blind to his neighbor and deaf to the Word. He lived as though this life were everything. Lazarus was saved not because he was poor, but because in his poverty, his only hope was in God, the God revealed in Moses and the Prophets. The question this parable puts to every one of us is this: What are you listening to? Are you listening to the siren song of this age, which tells you that your comfort is ultimate and that consequences are a myth? Or are you listening to Moses and the Prophets, which is to say, are you listening to the entire Word of God that testifies about Jesus Christ?
Do not demand a special sign. Do not wait for a voice from beyond the grave. You have the Word. It is sufficient. It is powerful. It testifies to the one who died and rose again. If you will not believe that Word, then nothing will persuade you. But if you do believe it, if you repent of your self-sufficiency and trust in Christ alone, then you will find that the angels are waiting. They are waiting to carry you home, not to a temporary comfort in Abraham's bosom, but to the eternal presence of Christ Himself, where all the chasms are closed and all the sorrows are healed.