Welcome back to JUST STRAIGHT TALK, Bonus Segment: “Lazarus and the Rich Man.”
This one is not for arguing. It is for listening. It is for letting the heart wake up. Jesus told this
story in Luke 16:19-31, and the way he tells it is direct. No extra details. No soft edges. Just truth
with a clean cut.
In Luke 16:19-21, Jesus describes a rich man living in luxury, dressed in fine clothing, and
enjoying a life of constant comfort. Then Jesus places Lazarus right outside the rich man’s gate.
Lazarus is not miles away. He is not hidden. He is right there, at the entrance of the rich man’s
daily life. Lazarus is described as poor, sick, and hungry, longing for crumbs that fall from the
rich man’s table. Even the dogs come and lick his sores. That detail matters. It is not there for
drama. It is there to show how low Lazarus had fallen, and how long he had been left there.
Now listen to what Jesus does not say. Jesus does not say the rich man stole his money. Jesus does
not say he cheated people. Jesus does not even say he spoke cruelly to Lazarus. The rich man’s
problem is quieter, and that is why this story reaches so far. The rich man can live his whole life
without being “a villain” in his own mind, while stepping over a suffering man at his gate. That is
the first layer: comfort can make a person blind.
Then Luke 16:22-23 turns the page fast. Both men die. That is how life works sometimes. One
day feels normal. The next day becomes a line you cannot cross. Lazarus is carried by angels to
Abraham’s side, and the rich man finds himself in torment. Jesus does not spend time explaining
every detail of the afterlife. He shows the outcome. He shows the reversal. He shows that the
story did not end at the gate.
In Luke 16:24, the rich man calls out for Lazarus to bring even a drop of water. Notice what that
reveals. In life, the rich man would not give Lazarus crumbs. In death, he begs Lazarus for mercy.
The roles flip, but the rich man still speaks as if Lazarus exists to serve him. That is the second
layer: if a heart never learns mercy, it may still demand mercy without understanding it.
In Luke 16:25, Abraham answers that the rich man received good things in life while Lazarus
received bad things, and now Lazarus is comforted while the rich man is in anguish. This is not
Jesus teaching that poverty automatically saves and wealth automatically damns. The story itself
already showed the heart problem at the gate. The point is accountability. A life full of
opportunity carries responsibility. When your hands are full, your heart is being tested.
Then Luke 16:26 drops the line that should shake us: a great chasm has been fixed, and no one
can cross it. That is the part people want to skip. We like the idea of change, but we want it on our
schedule. This story says there is a time when choices harden into finality. That does not mean
God is unfair. It means life is serious. It means the soul is not a toy. It means the present has
weight.
Now in Luke 16:27-28, the rich man changes his request. He asks that someone be sent to warn
his five brothers. This is where the story gets personal for any of us who love family. He is
thinking about the people he left behind. But even here, we should look deeper. He is still trying
to manage outcomes without surrendering. He wants a warning for them, but there is no
confession of how he lived. This is another layer: some people want rescue, but they do not want
repentance.
In Luke 16:29, Abraham says the brothers have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to
them. The rich man argues in Luke 16:30 that a miracle would convince them. Abraham responds
in Luke 16:31 that if they do not listen to scripture, they will not be persuaded even if someone
rises from the dead. That is not a small statement. It is Jesus putting a spotlight on the human
heart. If a person refuses truth, they will explain away light. They will stay the same, even when
evidence screams.
So what is this saying to us, right now, in real life?
It is saying that the “gate” is not just a gate. It is the space between your comfort and somebody
else’s pain. It is the place where you can pretend you did not see. It is the moment you can say,
“Somebody else will handle it.” It is the point where you can stay busy and still be missing what
matters.
And Lazarus is not just one man in a story. Lazarus is the person you keep overlooking. The call
you keep postponing. The apology you keep delaying. The kindness you keep meaning to give.
The neighbor you know is struggling. The family member you avoid because you do not want to
feel uncomfortable. The stranger whose need you label as “not my problem.”
Luke 16:19-31 is not asking you to become broke. It is asking you to become awake.
Lazarus’ name means “God is my help.” That is a message by itself. In Luke 16:20-21, Lazarus
has no safety net, no comfort, no human rescue. Yet his life is not meaningless. His pain is not
invisible to God. The rich man had everything, but the story shows that possessions are not
protection from eternity.
If this talk is a journey, then here is where it takes you: to the edge of your own gate. And it asks
one question that is not meant to shame you, but to save you.
Who is outside your gate?
And what will you do while there is still time?
Heavenly father, search our hearts. Help us to see what we have been ignoring. Teach us to live
with compassion, not just intention. Give us courage to act, humility to listen, and wisdom to
value what lasts. Help us not to waste our days on comfort while love is waiting at our gate.
Amen.
Remember, TRUTH DON’T CHANGE. JUST STRAIGHT TALK