“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom
Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'”
Hades, Strongs #G86 in the Old Testament was the place of the dead, also called Sheol.[1] Hades (or hell) is a place of reflection where the unrighteous die in their sin and were/are tormented by it by Satan.
Jesus told the Jews in John 8:23-24, “'You are from below,' He told them, 'I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.'”
There is also a place of paradise where the righteous are comforted. Paradise, paradeisos, Strongs #G3857 is a place of Eden according to sources. Jesus says in Revelation 2:7, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
This scripture in Revelation tells us that paradise still exists in the New Testament. Also, Paul speaks of a man who was caught up (he was not sure whether in the body or out) in paradise (2 Cor. 12:4).
According to the scripture verse in Luke, there was/is a large gulf between paradise and Hades that one could not pass from Hades to Paradise.
A few other things we do know from scripture are that even in the depth's of Sheol, God goes with us and does not forsake us (Psalm 139:8). And from David in Psalm 16:8-11, and the books of Acts, we know that Jesus went to Hades as he paid the price for our sin and was not left there (Acts 2:31).
Paul says in Ephesians 4:8-10, “This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
We also know that Jesus not only came out from the depths of Hades himself but that He became the bridge between Hades and Paradise for the unrighteous. I base this upon a few scriptures:
In Revelation 1:18 Jesus says, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Also, the man on the cross next to Jesus who admitted his unrighteous life and deserving punishment, looked to Jesus and in Luke 23:43, and Jesus said unto him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.”
God desires none to perish in their sin. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
We also know there is a final judgment or second death where the dead are judged and anyone not found written in the book of life as well as “death and Hades” themselves are “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:13-15). This lake of fire is the place that the Devil is sent to be tormented day and night for eternity (Rev. 20:10) away from God's goodness.
The scripture in Luke as I read it spoke to me around a few things:
The scripture in Luke spoke to me of a religion that is self focused. The Israelites had an incredibly rich inheritance. They had been given the very Words of God to steward. Instead of sharing what they had been given and spreading the good news, they kept it all for themselves. They horded it behind their gates thinking they had a place at the table of Abraham in paradise while the poor and the hungry all around them suffered in their unrighteousness. They had no compassion on those outside their own gates.
The scripture on Lazarus is close to my heart because one time as it was being preached about at a service at Open Door, I felt God speak to me “you are/were Lazarus at My gate.” I had many wounds that needed healing when I came to the Lord. Yet instead of being set down at the gate of a rich man who had no compassion on me and kept all his riches for himself, I had been set at the gate of Jesus.
He has been the rich man of my story. I had been placed at His feet and instead of eating from the crumbs at His table, He went out of His gates to pick me up and make a place for me at His table. Like the good Samaritan, He dressed my wounds, placed me in the care of those who would look out for me, and personally saw to my needs and healing. And He paid the price for it all.
“Justice is the heart of the Father....Justice is the fruit of revival, to see the poor as your brother, to give mercy to another” sings in the background.
In the same way the He cared for me, He invites us to care for others. I long to be better at seeing those around me who have been placed at my gate.
Second, the scripture in Luke spoke to me around not getting focused on outward actions but to remember that it is about our relationship with Christ.
While the Jewish religious leaders had an understanding of Hades, they never would have dreamed that they could have possibly been headed there. [a] They thought that because they followed the law, they were the select few going to heaven as the unrighteous around them would be tormented.
Commentary notes that it would have been a shock to people of the time. People of the time thought that riches denoted God's blessing and favor. It was Israelites who obeyed the Lord who prospered.[1]
Jesus was trying to get the Pharisees to wake up to their state of poverty they couldn't see. He says to them in Luke 16:15, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
The Pharisees did all the right things by fasting, praying, tithing, and reading the word. They experienced the blessing of riches so they thought things were fine when they were missing the mark completely. They were missing out on the best part, a relationship with Jesus.
Where am I going through the motions in external actions? Where do I feel I am right with God because of external circumstances of blessing and am missing the mark completely?
Christmas season can be especially busy and easy to get caught up in external activities. It is important to be intentional about our relationship with God and cultivate intimate moments with Him.
One way I do that during this season is that every year I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help me have something special to give Jesus for His birthday that would bless Him. Sometimes it is forgiving someone that wronged me and writing them a note of apology I would rather not. A few times it has been to share His birthday with someone else He loves and fast and pray for them.
Another time, at different times during the year I felt prompted to sit down and write and draw a page of what I loved about Him. I then wrapped the book and took it to a hermitage retreat right after Christmas. At the retreat I then opened it up and read it to Him. I had the most incredible time and I always hold in my heart that weekend.
This year for an advent practice I am taking the time to go through a book called “Were You There?” It is the story of Jesus coming with incredible narrative and beautiful pictures to meditate on as I move through the season.
I am also weekly taking a picture of an aspect of God and both writing and drawing around it as I meditate about who He is in my life. I have this book I was given called “Love's Face” where the author uses words on aspects that really speak to me like the following:
“Jesus, the Light of the World, entered darkness for all.
Jesus, creator and giver of life, gave up His own.
Jesus, love of life, died of a broken heart.
Jesus, who bears the government of the world upon His shoulders, stumbled and fell beneath the weight of a wooden cross – from the weight of our sins.
Jesus, our healer, became sick, wounded, dehydrated, feverish, swollen, disjointed, emotionally stricken, spiritually broken, and left to die.” [2]
Let's not go through the motions in this season or hurry to our next activity. Let be intentional as to make room for Jesus in our heart's and lives this season. Invite Him to sit down and sup with us. Clear our schedules to celebrate Him. He is so good and so worth it.
Lord, You do everything so well. Teach us to really follow You this season. Help us to not be so busy with good things that we miss the best part. Help us to both be intentional in our relationship with You and thoughtful with our care of others around us. Open our eyes to the needs around us and how we can meet them.
a. One of the Pharisees or lawyers proclaimed at a dinner, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (He was most likely speaking of himself and the other Pharisees and lawyers who were there with him).
Jesus went on to tell a parable about a group who was invited to supper and made excuses. He then invited the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind as well as all those who were on the fringes of society and compelled them to come to the supper so that His house would be filled. He noted that none of those invited would be at this great feast. (Luke 14:15-24)
1. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Lk 16:23
2. Montreuil, Margaret. Love's Face. Living Waters Publishing, Prior Lake, MN. 1997.
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