Will You Be Buried or Carried? A Moment in Luke 16
Start Here:
Luke 16:19-31
Key Verse:
Luke 16:26 (ESV): “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.”
Major Moment:
Jesus warns of just eternal consequences and calls for repentance in this life.
“I don’t like you,” my oldest barked at her younger sister. She glanced at me, bracing for a consequence. I responded, “Try that again. Take it back.” She squared her shoulders, looked her sister in the eye, then paused. “Mama, how do I take it back?” she wondered. “That’s the thing about unkind words,” I said. “You can’t take them back. Please be kind.”
Spoken words cannot be taken back. Jesus shared a story in Luke 16:19-31 to show that the same is true of eternity—our earthly repentance, or lack thereof, carries eternal consequences.
Consider three relationships in this passage:
Jesus and the Pharisees
The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Pharisees and Abraham
Together, these three relationships reveal one truth: eternity belongs not to those who merely appear righteous, but to those whose repentance and faith in Christ produce lives marked by compassion, mercy, and wholehearted devotion to God.
1. Jesus & The Pharisees
Although Jesus had been teaching the disciples, the Pharisees were listening. After Jesus exposed their love of money and self-righteousness, they scoffed at Him (see Luke 16:14-15). In response, Jesus told a story that revealed the danger of trusting in outward righteousness while rejecting true repentance.
Jesus painted a picture of the rich man: sumptuous in life, but tormented in death. The rich man had everything in life, but nothing in eternity. This served as a warning to the Pharisees, whose hearts were far from God. Because they prioritized the appearance of holiness over true transformation, Jesus referred to them as “whitewashed tombs” (see Matthew 23:27). Jesus likened their outward appearance to tombs that were cleaned to make them easier to see, yet were still rotting from within. Like those tombs, the Pharisees were unclean on the inside. Without repentance, they would share the rich man’s fate.
The Pharisees’ love of wealth exposed something deeper. Though they appeared righteous, their lack of compassion revealed hearts that had not been transformed.
2. The Rich Man & Lazarus
Jesus contrasted the life, death, and afterlife of the rich man with that of the poor man, Lazarus.
Lazarus was a disabled beggar who had been laid at the gate of the rich man. He longed to eat the scraps from the rich man’s table. In verse 22, Lazarus died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man died and was buried; he appears in Hades. The difference between the men is not subtle. Lazarus’ death was the beginning of new life. The rich man’s death was the beginning of agony.
In Luke 16:24, the rich man begs for mercy. He begs Abraham to have pity and send Lazarus to cool his tongue. The irony is devastating: in death, he pleads for the mercy he refused to show the poor man in life (see Luke 16:20-21).
The narratives of these men point to a difficult reality: eternal consequences are just, meaning they are both fair and right. Lazarus’ place at Abraham’s side reveals that he belonged to God. His hope rested in the Lord rather than earthly comfort. The opposite is true for the rich man. His wealth became evidence of what he loved most. While Lazarus suffered at his gate, the rich man’s lack of mercy exposed a heart untouched by compassion.
Their stories point us to two central questions of this passage: Will you be buried in death, or carried into life? And is there evidence in your life of a transformed heart?
3. The Pharisees & Abraham
Jesus turned the story to Abraham, whom the Pharisees revered as their spiritual and ancestral father. They believed they shared in his righteousness through zekhut avot, a Jewish belief meaning “the merits of their fathers.”
After the rich man asks Lazarus to cool his tongue, Abraham answers him “son,” acknowledging their shared lineage. Yet, Abraham offers no rescue. He continues, “you are in agony…between us and you a great chasm has been fixed” (see Luke 16:25-26). Despite his heritage, the rich man was not saved. He could not claim Abraham’s inheritance merely because he descended from him. True children of Abraham are those who share Abraham’s faith.
When the rich man realizes his condition is unchangeable, he asks Lazarus to be sent to warn his family. Abraham responds that they are sufficiently warned through Moses and the Prophets, and “they should listen to them” (verse 29, HCSB). The rich man argues that a man rising from the dead would be a better warning.
The irony! Was Jesus' resurrection not enough?
But Abraham’s response is telling: the issue is not lack of evidence—it is lack of response. An unrepentant heart rejects the truth God has already revealed.
The exchange between the rich man and Abraham points to a significant truth: God’s Word is sufficient to lead us to repentance and rejecting it bears eternal consequences.
This warning is not only for the Pharisees. It’s for every person.
A Faith that Carries Us Into Life
Scripture is clear: salvation is a free, unearned gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). The only thing you bring to your salvation is your sin. Jesus paid the penalty for your sin on the cross, providing a rescue for you. The call of the gospel is to repent, believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and confess that He is Lord.
But genuine faith does more than change our eternity—it transforms our hearts. The evidence of a heart surrendered to God is a life increasingly marked by the character of His kingdom—compassion, mercy, justice, and faithfulness.
Neither good works nor lineage can secure your eternity in heaven. We are not saved because we are good enough, religious enough, or connected to the right people. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. And friend, be encouraged—all the evidence and provision you need to be carried into eternal life is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
But this passage invites us to ask: Does our life reflect the faith we claim? Like the rich man in Luke 16, we can deceive ourselves into believing we belong to God while our hearts remain unchanged. A heart transformed by Christ will reflect His love toward others.
The moment you die marks a fixed eternity. Without repentance, you will be buried in death. With repentance and faith in Jesus, you will be carried into life.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the gift of salvation that we could never earn on our own. Thank you that Jesus took the punishment we deserved and made a way for us to be reconciled to You.
Lord, search our hearts and reveal places where we have trusted in our own goodness, reputation, knowledge, or religious actions instead of trusting fully in You.
Transform us from the inside out so that our lives reflect Your kingdom. Teach us to walk in compassion, mercy, justice, and faithfulness.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Discussion:
Jesus describes the kingdom of God as being marked by compassion, mercy, justice, and faithfulness. Which of these areas do you see God growing in your life? Which area needs more surrender?
More Moments About Luke 16:19-31:
In Luke 16:20-21, Lazarus was laid at the gate, unable to walk, covered with open sores, hungry and neglected. His name, which means “God is my helper,” points to the hope of a man who depended on God even in his suffering.
Friend, if you are currently suffering, anchor your hope in Jesus. Repent of your sin and trust that the eternal promises of God are true—if you are in Christ, every tear will be wiped away and you will experience pain no more (Revelation 21:4).
