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Jesus' Stories: The Gulf Between

Jesus told many stories during His ministry here. Some were parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin, Luke 15:1-10; the tenants in Luke 20; the ten minas in Luke 19. Some were true stories: the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 and the prodigal son in Luke 15. We have also been given stories of real encounters with Jesus: Nicodemus in John 3, the rich young ruler in Mark 10, and the woman at the well in John 4.

Let’s look at one of the true stories:
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 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."

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. 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."

He answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 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." (Luke 16:19-31)
This story is not a parable. Lazarus is named, as is Abraham. This is the real thing. This is history.

This judgment on the rich man and Lazarus was instantaneous. There is no second chance after death. The gulf between them is fixed. If this were a parable, it would only mean that the reality is even worse. There is a real place of punishment and a real place of happiness, and it starts when we die.

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