Sermon Starters

Luxury and Poverty Key Verse: Luke 16:25 I. Riches and poverty contrasted A. Riches 1. Riches are a curse only if they hinder a person from entering God’s kingdom (Matt. 19:23, 24; Luke 18:23) or draw him away from God. 2. There were rich people who followed Jesus. a) Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57). b) Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2). c) The socially distinguished women ministered to Jesus out of their own resources (Luke 8:3). 3. Riches can be a blessing if they are used properly and unselfishly. B. Poverty 1. The word used for “beggar” in Greek is ptōchós (Luke 16:20), from the verb ptṓssō, “to crouch.” 2. Poor men can only survive by others helping them; hence, they are beggars. II. How the rich man lived A. He had more than he needed to live on. 1. He dressed himself in purple. a) Purple was an expensive dye found in the sac of a rare fish in the Aegean Sea, especially near Thyatira (Acts 16:14; Rev. 18:12). It was a mark of distinction to show he was rich. b) The verb in Greek is in the imperfect, enedidúsketo, “was dressing himself.” It was not an occasional affair but a constant custom. c) He did not have to; he chose to. 2. He dressed himself in fine linen. a) The word bússon is found only here and in Revelation 18:12. b) It was a type of fine cotton, highly prized by the ancients, especially in Egypt, where they used it to wrap their mummies. c) This rich man could not wait for his death to use this. He wanted to use it during his life in demonstration of his riches. B. He was always looking for a good time. 1) That is what the participle euphrainómenos means (Luke 16:19). It is derived from eú, an adverb meaning “well” and phrḗn, “mind.” It means glad-minded, feeling good and having fun. 2) Life was reduced to uninterrupted fun-making, a constant search for whatever made him feel good. C. Whatever he did was for vain show. 1) The English word “sumptuously” in Greek, is lamprṓs, “a shining, showing off way.” This adverb is used only here and is derived from the verb lámpō, “shine,” from which our word “lamp” is derived. 2) The adverb lamprṓs, at the end of verse nineteen, indicates his motive of displaying his riches, his fancy clothes, and his merrymaking. 3) He was a show-off and such a show-off cannot be a Christian, our Lord implies through this story. D. His heartless, selfish lifestyle was an indication that he was not a believer (Matt. 12:34). E. The fact that the rich man descended into Hades after death was proof he was not a believer. 1) The word translated “hell” in verse twenty-three in Greek is hádēs, “the place where the disembodied unrighteous go.” 2) It was a place of torture, a place which can be avoided only through transforming, living faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:18, 36; for the word hádēs see Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15; Acts 2:27, 31). 3) If there is no hádēs, “a place of punishment for unbelievers,” then Jesus must be a liar! There is hádēs because Jesus said there is. 4) There is also a place of rest after death for the believers because Jesus said there is. He called it “Abraham’s bosom” because Abraham is considered the patriarch of believers (John 8:39, 56; Acts 3:13, 25; 13:26; Rom. 4:3, 9, 12, 16; Gal. 3:6–9, 16, 18, 29; Heb. 11:8; James 2:21, 23). III. How Lazarus lived A. “He placed himself.” 1) The Greek verb is ebéblēto in the pluperfect, which stresses the condition of a past action. 2) It is to be taken rather with the middle meaning and not the passive, indicating Lazarus placed himself at the entrance to the palace of the rich man who was not concerned when he saw the leper’s deplorable existence. B. He was ulcerated. 1) The Greek word is HĒLKŌMÉNOS from hélkos, ulcer. He was full of ulcers, an indication that he had leprosy. 2) They must have been visible ulcers that should have caused any human being to be moved to compassion. Although this rich man may have been the best dressed, merry-making person, he was not humane. C. He would have been satisfied with the crumbs which kept falling (piptóntōn) from the rich man’s table. 1) Satisfaction with crumbs is characteristic of a believer’s life. 2) He did not revolt against the rich man’s behavior. 3) He was more humane to the dogs by allowing them to lick his wounds than the rich man ever thought of being to him. D. Lazarus was truly a believer in spite of his sickness, suffering, and poverty. 1) He died and his soul was tenderly carried, the Greek word indicates, to Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise by waiting angels. 2) The prevailing philosophy that believers should be healthy and wealthy is totally erroneous (John 16:33). 3) A Christian has peace not because of health and abundance, but in spite of it. Spiros Zodhiates, Sermon Starters : Volumes 1-4 (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1998).