And he said that I beg you father, to send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them lest they also come into this place of torment.
– Luke 16:27–28
Wow, what a picture. So this is a story that Jesus is telling a rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus a poor man at the rich man’s gate. There’s so much we could talk about based on this story as we see the great reversal. And those who seem like they had it all in this world and who neglected the needy at their gate, all that they had will ultimately prove empty. And those who have come to God in their need, trusted in him for his grace, everything will be reversed and they will have a kingdom. They’ll have more than they ever could have fathomed.
Luke 16:27–28 portrays a gruesome picture of hell.
The picture though is this rich man once he realizes the truth about eternity, saying to Abraham in this story, “Somebody go to my father’s house, I’ve got five brothers, warn them so that they don’t come to this place.” And I think about this passage whenever I’m talking with someone with whom I’m sharing the gospel… And they have relatives, family members they love who have died without the gospel, without trusting in Jesus.
And obviously it’s so heavy, indescribably heavy to consider where this person they loved is in eternity. At the same time, Luke 16 is a picture of where that person is saying, “Don’t come here. Please trust in Jesus. Be warned that there is a penalty, a payment, a judgment due sin.” And in this sense, we have a picture in the story of people in hell crying out for us on earth to believe the truth about Jesus.
To believe the truth from God’s Word and be saved. And you just carry this picture. There’s a sense in which people in hell are saying to you and me as followers of Jesus, “Go tell my friends, please somebody go and tell my family.”
Luke 16:27–28 reminds us of the urgency of the gospel.
We pray for unreached people each day on this podcast. When I think about unreached people who have died without Jesus, who are experiencing eternal suffering due sin, they are calling out in this sense. To you and me as the church, go and tell my family members, tell my mom, tell my dad, tell my kids, tell my brothers, tell my sisters that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is Savior, that they need Jesus. And so we pray, God, help us to live with eternal urgency today. God, we pray for people around us who don’t know you, who’ve not put their faith in Jesus. Lord, we do pray that you would open their eyes to be warned of sin and to receive your salvation.
God, we pray for the spread of the gospel today through our lives to people around us who don’t know you… Who are on a road that leads to eternal suffering due sin. And God, we pray for us to live with eternal urgency to share the gospel to them, with them… Right around us and all around the world. God help us to hear the cries of hell for family members and friends in need of the gospel.
Prayer for the Shaikh People
We pray specifically today for the Shaikh people of Nepal, India, and other countries.
God, 96 million Urdu-speaking Muslim men, women, and children, hardly any followers of Jesus among this Bengali Muslim people group. God, we pray 96 million, please cause the gospel to go to them. Please cause the church in India, Nepal, surrounding countries, and from other places around the world… To work to get the gospel to the Shaikh people and they might be warned… And that they might be saved by your Word, by grace through Jesus.
God, we pray help us to live in light of the reality that Jesus speaks about in Luke 16. Help us to live in light of that reality today… And as long as you give us breath in this short life we have here. Help us to live for what matters forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
