Between Us and You A Great Chasm Has Been Fixed

9-28-25

Hoonah-Hadley

Luke 16:19-31

Call to Worship Psalm 91:1-6,14-16

Daily Verse Luke 16:26

Between Us and You A Great Chasm Has Been Fixed

“And 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.” (NIV) The context of our lesson is between a “certain rich man” and a “certain beggar named Lazarus.” One of the other offerings for this morning is found in 1 Timothy 6:6-19, my study bible gives this one the title of “Error and Greed”. Herein is the famous verse most of us have heard at one time or another, vs. 10 “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” There is an obvious emphasis on both these offerings on greed and contentment, money and poverty. 1 Tim. 6:6-9 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain…and having food and clothing, with which we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.” God teaches on certain subjects He knows we need taught on, things that trouble us, things that lead to hell, He is forever guiding us on which road to take. In fact, if we take a moment to consider our lives and how much time is consumed with money, working for it, saving it, spending it, managing it, mismanaging it, stressed out over it, playing the lottery. Why, the local gas station has taken over new ownership in the last couple years and though it still sells gas, it has become a casino of sorts. Gambling, a disease God calls “the love of money”, a root of evil.

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Less we forget and the truth gets lost in the hearing of it, the verse says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” What it doesn’t say is that money is the root of all kinds of evil. There is evil in the world, no secret there, and one of the major players in all kinds of evil is the “love” of money. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “…if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat…” 1 Timothy 5:18 “…The laborer is worthy his wages.”  Although it is nearly impossible to ignore the obvious here and one of the major lessons herein, our focus this morning is on the decisions we make in time and how they affect our eternal dwelling. Just for the record, going back to 1 Tim. 6:6-9, perdition is the loss of the soul, eternal damnation, hell, utter ruin. It’s a wide gate, it’s easy, many enter it, and it leads to destruction. There is a great chasm fixed within humanity, and it often comes by way of money, but likely the main lesson Jesus is teaching us with His red letters in the gospel of Luke is for His listeners to consider their destiny. Matt. 10:34-39 plays a critical role in our lesson today. “…I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother…and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” There of course is much to do with these red letters, but the focus here is found in the word “set”. Set among other things means to divide, alienate. We can call it many things, persecution, division, but it often comes from the most unlikely places and Christ is our prime example of that, for it was the church that nailed Him to the cross. Remember “the triumphal entry”, the people sang, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

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By the end of the week many of those same people were shouting, “Crucify Him!” Division is a biblical institution designed by God for a purpose. Don’t be surprised not if, but when you are persecuted by the church and/or your family. When you make a decision to follow Christ, your decision is contrary to the world. Division, persecution is a given. Matt. 10:22 “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake…When they persecute you…” John 16:33 There is peace in Jesus Christ, but “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 1 John 4:5-6 “They are of the world, therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. Those who know God hear us; those who are not of God do not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” Light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil, there is a great chasm fixed between us and them, neither can they come here nor can we go there. Luke 16:19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.” The obvious here is that this man was rich, he was known for his wealth, clothing and lavishness. Sumptus is Latin meaning “expense”. Extravagant is another synonym here, you get the idea. Vs. 20 “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate.” A few observation here, the rich man doesn’t have a name, the beggar does. The name Lazarus by the way, means “God has helped”. Furthermore, he is the only character in any of Jesus’s parables that is named. Matt. 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Lazarus doesn’t speak in this parable, which lends itself to humility. The rich man had a gate, Lazarus had his poverty. Matt. 23:12 “Those that exalts themselves will be humbled, and those that humble themselves will be exalted.” Poverty lends itself to humility.

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Vs. 22-23 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus at his bosom.” It is important to note that Abraham plays a major role in this parable. He was chosen by God, blessed by God, his name means “father of a multitude.” He was by most accounts, wealthy beyond measure. In my morning reading in 2 Chronicles 9:9, the queen of Sheba brought among other things to King Solomon, “one hundred and twenty talents of gold”, in layman’s terms, in today’s standards, at $1,900 per ounce, that would be approximately $8.36 billion. And this just a fraction of Solomon’s wealth, all appointed by God. This parable is not about what we have, but what we do not have, and what we have or don’t have separates us, one from another. Jesus uses wealth and poverty as an obvious example of contrast. There are dividing lines in life, lines for counties, states, countries. There is the east side and the west side, this denomination and that. Jesus tells us He came to bring division. Vs. 24-25 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things…Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.’” Our God is a God of great reversals. There is heaven and hell. Life and death brings division and distinction to human beings. Vs. 26 “And 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.” The decisions we make in time affect our eternal destiny. The beggar had a name, you have a name. God help us. Amen.