Luke 16:19-31
Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘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.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
It is hard to convince people of the Resurrection Story, who do not believe in Jesus...Some think the resurrection of Jesus is impossible...Some think it as a miracle...Habit and seeing things repeat themselves makes it easier for us to believe in things, even if we do not understand them completely...Blaise Pascal said that both the birth of a new life and the resurrection of a dead life could be looked at in the same type of thinking...Pascal said this, “Atheists...What grounds have they for saying that no one can rise from the dead?...Which is harder, to be born or to rise again?...That what has never been should be, or that what has been should be once more?...Is it harder to come into existence than to come back?...Habit makes us find the one easy, while lack of habit makes us find the other impossible.”...
Jesus tells us a Parable about the Resurrection Story...In this story the Patriarch Abraham tells a rich man how he had good things on earth..."Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony...And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."...The rich man answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers...Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment."...“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’...“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’..."He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’"...