nothing is yet in its true form

In my own personal devotional preparation for Easter, I have been reading through the Gospels.  It is two days past Easter Sunday, but I was reading through the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus from the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel  of Luke and it hit me just how pertinent this passage is to understanding the gravity of Easter. If you haven’t read Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus, go read Luke 16:19-31.  Then come back and read my comments.

I will start from the end of the parable.  When I think about Easter and the resurrection stories of Jesus, it tends to be a joyful reflection on Christ conquering Satan, sin, and death (and it well should be).  However, there is a verse from this parable that gives me chills.

He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
(Luke 16:31)

Now let’s rewind.  Jesus tells the story of a rich man who lived his life in the lap of luxury, and a poor man named Lazarus who lived in misery.  Both men die and Lazarus is delivered to the bosom of Abraham (heaven) and the rich man goes to hades.  The rich man first asks for mercy (which he does not receive) and then he asks for the ghost of Lazarus to go to his brothers so that they will believe and be saved from the oncoming torment.  Whenever I read this passage I cannot help but be reminded of the ghost Jacob Marley visiting Ebenezer Scrooge to warn him about the consequences of his evil deeds.  Maybe Charles Dickens was reflecting on this passage of scripture when he penned A Christmas Carol because even after being visited by a spectre, Scrooge does not believe that he need change his life.  Regardless, Jesus answers the rich man that if his brothers did not believe Moses and the prophets they will not change their minds when a dead man comes to life.

This parable forces me to reflect on many passages of scripture.  Such as when Christ tells the scribes that they “search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).  These men who knew the Hebrew Bible more than anyone were incapable of recognizing the fulfillment of scripture when it came in the flesh.  Even more troubling to me is part of the Sermon on the Mount.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:17-19)

What is so daunting about this passage is the call to know God and cherish God’s law.  Having spent a significant around Christian culture, I am well versed in the Christian bumpersticker philosophy that Jesus is about “relationship not religion.”  I get sick to my stomach when I here this because I wonder if they understand what the seriousness of a disciple’s relationship with Jesus.

Most of all, I think there are three significant things I take away from Jesus parable in light of Easter.

1.  Easter was not God’s plan B.

When Jesus speaks of men not being “convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31b), he is making a theological statement about belief and the resurrection. The first statement he is making is about hardened hearts.  Jesus is trying to explain that it is not evidence that will prevent people from believing in him, it is the hardness of their heart towards the Gospel.  Secondly, I think Jesus is alluding to the fact that the Old Testament already spells out how to identify the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah.

Psalm 22 and Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 (among others) are clearly to be seen as predictions about the Messiah.  What Jesus wants them to understand is that his death and resurrection will come as no surprise to those who are paying attention.  God has known all along that Jesus was the plan for redemption.

2. Jesus’ Bible was the Old Testament.

This fact is overlooked by so many Christians it is remarkable.  It is amazing to me that people think they can understand Jesus and the New Testament without knowing anything about the Old Testament.  When Jesus tells Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), he is not at that time referring to the Gospels or the Pauline Epistles, he is talking about the Old Testament (and even quoting Deuteronomy 8:3).  Many Christians think the Old Testament is stale and boring, but Jesus saw it as his very sustenance.

3.  There are very real restrictions that will keep people from believing in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

In Matthew 13:13, Jesus tells his disciples, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (actually quoting Isaiah 6:9 here).  If Jesus is instinent that dead men coming back to life will not be enough evidence for people to believe, then we must take faith very serious.  In listing some spiritual gifts, Paul includes faith (1 Corinthians 12:9) and in Ephesians he emphasizes the point saying, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).  For believers, this should be a humbling reminder that we cannot even take pride in our faith.  We should be reminded that, “no one seeks for God (Romans 3:11)” and apart from the Spirit’s work in us we would still be slaves to sin (Romans 6:22).  Let us be thankful and humble in the knowledge that his blessing has fallen upon us.

With that said, we must also be reminded that there are those who will not believe.  We can give them as many copies of The Case For Christ as we can get our hands on, but they will not repent and believe.  I do not bring this up as some call to “Puritan uncertainty” wherby we doubt our election and devote ourselves to worry.  Far from that, we should pray for God’s mercy and revelation to our friends.  Easter has come and gone for another year, but the empty tomb is still empty and is still powerful.  Let us be aware of our failure and deficiency before a sovereign God, and let us be transformed by Christ in such a way that men would see our “good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).