Young People’s Blog

“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus…and it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:20,22).

Here in today’s verses we have the opposite of our verses two days ago. Lazarus was a poor beggar, yet he knew the Lord. When he died, the angels carried him to Abraham’s bosom. This does not mean that rich men go into a lost eternity, while poor beggars are taken to heaven. No, it simply means that often those who are poor find it easier to come to Christ than those who are rich. The poor beggar Lazarus evidently had faith, and trusted the Lord, while the rich man ignored the Lord.

For a Jew, to be with Abraham after leaving this world was the best thing he could think of. For you and me, who know the Lord Jesus as Savior, we know that when we leave this world, it is to be with Christ. Where He is will be home for us! But here God uses language that a Jew could understand; later, after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the whole truth of the gospel came out, and vital truth about what happens after death was made perfectly clear.

“And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send Me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Long before this world was made, there was consultation within the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as to who would come down into this world and settle the whole matter of sin. There was only One who was suited to go, and that was our Lord Jesus Christ. He must become a man to come down into this world, and His immediate reply is, “Here am I; send Me.” What a blessed answer to the cry, “Who will go for us?”

Sometimes you and I may volunteer to do something, but we do not realize how difficult it is going to be. Then, when we find how hard it is, perhaps we wish we had not been so quick to volunteer. However, the Lord Jesus knew exactly what this world was like, and He knew that He would be rejected by His own people. He also knew that He must be crucified and die, and then rise again the third day. Yet His love motivated Him to say, “Here am I; send Me.” What love was His! The Lord Jesus will never be disappointed in what He has done on the cross, for God’s glory and for our blessing.

“The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (Luke 16:22-23 JND).

The verses for today are some of the most solemn verses in the Bible, for the Lord Jesus is telling us for the first time exactly what happens to an unbeliever after death. Here was a man who had lived without God, and who had enjoyed life in this world as a rich man. But after he died, he was in torments, for he did not know the Lord. This was spoken particularly to the Pharisees, who were covetous and loved to be rich.

The word hades does not refer to a place, as often portrayed in Greek mythology, but is rather the condition of a soul without a body. Yet the rich man could feel, and could speak. He was being tormented, and yet knew that Lazarus, who had known the Lord, was there in the best place a Jew could think of—with Abraham.

It is an awful thing to go out of this world without Christ, and to be in a place of torment forever. I hope that everyone who reads this calendar knows the Lord Jesus as Savior.

“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:11-13).

Here we have a lost son, and again, this is different from both the lost sheep and the lost coin. The son was not stupid like a sheep, nor was he lost because of someone else’s carelessness. No, the son was willful, and wanted his own way. Many of us are like that by nature. The son took his father’s money, and thought he could have a better time living away from home. But he soon spent all his money, and then he was in trouble. No one helped him, and he was reduced to feeding pigs for a living. A very sad situation!

But the Lord was working in his heart, and he realized his sinful condition. He repented, and went home, ready to tell his father that he was sorry, and wanted only to be a servant. But we know the rest of the story. The father did not go and look for him, but he was watching for him. As soon as the son came in sight, the father ran and hugged him, and kissed him. He brought the son home, cleaned him up, and made a feast for him.

This is what the Lord has done for us. He has brought us back to Himself, and forgiven us through His Son the Lord Jesus. Once there is real repentance in a sinner’s heart, God is ready to forgive him, and bless him.

“What woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?” (Luke 15:8).

A lost piece of silver is something different, for a coin cannot lose itself. A coin does not fall on the floor by itself, and then get hidden in a corner. No, someone must lose it by dropping it, or carrying it away.

That is like children, who perhaps are too young to understand their actions, but who are lost because they are born as part of a sinful race. When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought upon themselves all the consequences of sin, and each child born into this world is lost by nature.

Although they did not lose themselves, all those children are lost, and need to be found. The woman needed to light a candle and sweep the floor carefully, in order to find that lost silver piece. But when she found it, she was happy, and she told her neighbors about it too.

The Lord reminds us that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. Even the angels are happy when someone gets saved!

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4).

In this fifteenth chapter of Luke, we have three things that are lost—a sheep, a coin, and a son. Each of these three things brings some important truths before us. First of all, we have a lost sheep.

Sheep are hardy animals and can survive in harsh climates, but unfortunately they are somewhat stupid animals. They wander off easily, and then cannot find their way home again. They are also quite unable to defend themselves against predators such as wolves, coyotes, cougars, etc.

That sheep is like the natural man who is lost in sin. Often he does not realize he is lost until some trouble comes along. Like a sheep, he needs someone to go out and find him.

The Lord Jesus is like the shepherd who is not content to have only the other ninety-nine sheep. He wants the one that is lost, and He does not rest until He finds it. Then He carries it home on His shoulders, and is happy that He found that lost sheep.

“Take heed therefore that the light that is in thee be not darkness” (Luke 11:35).

When the Lord Jesus came into the world, He could say, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Later He could say to His disciples and His followers, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). For nearly 2,000 years since then, the world has had the light of the gospel through the followers of the Lord Jesus. This is especially true of Europe, and North and South America.

However, if this light is refused, then the darkness is greater than among those who never had the light. If we reject the light God has given us, then the light that is in us becomes darkness. Then we find out the truth of God’s Word—“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). We need to watch, so that Satan does not take away the light that God gives us, and we end up in darkness. Sadly, this is happening in much of the western world today, and moral darkness is the result.

“There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:1-3).

“In Rama there was a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2:18).

Yesterday in the town of Uvalde, TX, U.S.A., there was a mass shooting in an elementary school, in which nineteen children and two teachers were killed. Eventually the shooter himself was killed by law enforcement officers. Today many parents, relatives, and friends are mourning the tragedy, while many others wonder what can be done to stop such awful things from happening.

As we see in our verses today, a similar thing happened over 2,000 years ago, when Herod ordered all the young boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding area to be killed. By doing this he hoped to kill the Lord Jesus, who was also a young child then. Many cried and mourned at that time too.

However, in neither situation did people deal with the real problem. In Israel, as we see in our first verse, all Jerusalem was troubled when they heard the news that the Lord Jesus was born. They were not ready for Him. Likewise today, as nations in North America we have rejected the Word of God, engaged in open sin, and ridiculed any who hold firmly to the principles of God’s Word. Is it any wonder that we are reaping the fruits of all this?

“But His citizens hated Him, and sent a message after Him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

When the Lord Jesus came to this earth as a man, as we have commented before, He presented Himself to the Jews as their rightful King. He gave all the evidence needed to show them who He was, yet they refused to believe on Him.

After the Lord Jesus had been crucified, had died, and was risen and ascended back to heaven, the disciples and others again preached forgiveness through the name of the Lord Jesus. But once again the Jewish nation rejected that preaching, and stoned Stephen to death. You can read about this in Acts 7. This was the messenger whom they sent after the Lord Jesus, effectively saying that they would not have the Lord Jesus to reign over them.

In a coming day some of them will recognize Him as having been the true Messiah, and in that day they will own Him as their rightful King, when He comes in power and glory. How good it is for you and me to own Him now as the Son of God, and the rightful Lord of all!

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection…they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

Yesterday we commented that when the Lord Jesus comes back to this world to take His rightful place, He will come as King, and reign for a thousand years. Here in our verse today we see the proof that we will reign with Him. All those who have died in Christ, and those who are alive when He comes, will be taken up and be part of the first resurrection.

While it is true that we shall reign over this world with Christ, it is important to realize that our place will be in heaven. We will not live on earth, but rather will reign over the earth, with Christ. But all this will be done from heaven, for that is our home. God will bring the nation of Israel, and other nations, into blessing on earth. However, as the church—the bride of Christ, our home is heavenly.

The first resurrection consists only of believers. The resurrection of unbelievers will not take place until the end of the thousand years of the millennium, and it will be very sad, for they will be raised only for judgment.