Skip to content š„ This is the wake up call you need ā¢ Parables: Hell is an Ultimate Reality Part 1 ā¢ Rev Paul Jeyachandran Jun 15 Ā· 28 min ...more
š„ This is the wake up call you need ā¢ Parables: Hell is an Ultimate Reality Part 1 ā¢ Rev Paul Jeyachandran
June 15, 2025 Ā· 28 min
What if everything you assumed about eternity was wrong?In this gripping message, Rev Paul Jeyachandran unpacks one of Jesusā most confronting parablesāthe story of the rich man and Lazarus. It's not just a tale of riches and povertyāit's a shocking reversal that shatters religious assumptions and exposes the eternal consequences of how we live.Journey through Luke 16 as we uncover:ā¢ The devastating reality of hellāand why Jesus didnāt soften itā¢ The danger of spiritual pride masked by outward successā¢ The finality of death and the permanence of our eternal destinyā¢ Why Godās Word is more than enough to lead us to repentanceThis message is not just a warningāitās a wake-up call. Eternity is real. Hell is real. And the time to respond is now.āš Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scriptureš§ Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on ā ā ā ā Spotifyā ā ā ā , ā ā ā ā YouTubeā ā ā ā , & ā ā ā ā Pray.comā ā ā ā š Get FREE discipleship training and resources at ā ā ā ā IDMC Collegeā ā ā ā š Discover more at ā ā ā ā idmcmovement.comā ā ā ā #ParablesOfJesus #HellIsReal #Luke16 #RevPaulJeyachandran #MakingIntentionalDisciples #IDMC #Discipleship #EternalDestiny #JesusParables #BiblicalTeaching
Series IDMC Movement June 15, 2025 Ā· 28 min Ā· IDMC Movement
What if everything you assumed about eternity was wrong?In this gripping message, Rev Paul Jeyachandran unpacks one of Jesusā most confronting parablesāthe story of the rich man and Lazarus. It's not just a tale of riches and povertyāit's a shocking reversal that shatters religious assumptions and exposes the eternal consequences of how we live.Journey through Luke 16 as we uncover:ā¢ The devastating reality of hellāand why Jesus didnāt soften itā¢ The danger of spiritual pride masked by outward successā¢ The finality of death and the permanence of our eternal destinyā¢ Why Godās Word is more than enough to lead us to repentanceThis message is not just a warningāitās a wake-up call. Eternity is real. Hell is real. And the time to respond is now.āš Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scriptureš§ Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on ā ā ā ā Spotifyā ā ā ā , ā ā ā ā YouTubeā ā ā ā , & ā ā ā ā Pray.comā ā ā ā š Get FREE discipleship training and resources at ā ā ā ā IDMC Collegeā ā ā ā š Discover more at ā ā ā ā idmcmovement.comā ā ā ā #ParablesOfJesus #HellIsReal #Luke16 #RevPaulJeyachandran #MakingIntentionalDisciples #IDMC #Discipleship #EternalDestiny #JesusParables #BiblicalTeaching ...more Show the full description Show less What if everything you assumed about eternity was wrong?In this gripping message, Rev Paul Jeyachandran unpacks one of Jesusā most confronting parablesāthe story of the rich man and Lazarus. It's not just a tale of riches and povertyāit's a shocking reversal that shatters religious assumptions and exposes the eternal consequences of how we live.Journey through Luke 16 as we uncover:ā¢ The devastating reality of hellāand why Jesus didnāt soften itā¢ The danger of spiritual pride masked by outward successā¢ The finality of death and the permanence of our eternal destinyā¢ Why Godās Word is more than enough to lead us to repentanceThis message is not just a warningāitās a wake-up call. Eternity is real. Hell is real. And the time to respond is now.āš Subscribe for weekly discipleship messages grounded in Scriptureš§ Listen to Making Intentional Disciples with Rev Paul Jeyachandran on ā ā ā ā Spotifyā ā ā ā , ā ā ā ā YouTubeā ā ā ā , & ā ā ā ā Pray.comā ā ā ā š Get FREE discipleship training and resources at ā ā ā ā IDMC Collegeā ā ā ā š Discover more at ā ā ā ā idmcmovement.comā ā ā ā #ParablesOfJesus #HellIsReal #Luke16 #RevPaulJeyachandran #MakingIntentionalDisciples #IDMC #Discipleship #EternalDestiny #JesusParables #BiblicalTeaching
Series IDMC Movement
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
316K followers
0:00 At IDMC Movement, we believe that the heart of the church lies in intentional disciple making. We are calling churches globally to return to their disciple making roots, to intentionally walk this journey of0:12 faith transforming hearts and lives. Let's walk this journey together and discover what it truly means to live out Christ's great commission and build a legacy of faith that impacts families,0:24 communities, and nations. This is The Call, a journey of intentional discipleship. Today, we're going to be talking about the parable of the rich man and0:36 poor Lazarus. The topic is hell is an ultimate eternal reality. Luke chapter 16 verses 19 to verse 31. Now, we already0:48 established a couple of things that I want to bring to your remembrance. Number 1, what's a parable? A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And the story that we are going to read0:59 today comes with an eternal warning, with a solemn warning. So we want to pay attention to this. We already established that there are 3 lenses to study1:11 any parable. The first is the setting of the parable, the occasion on which the parable was told. You always have to read the context to understand why1:23 Jesus gave this parable. The second thing is the story in the parable. We have to understand the plot. Like in any good story, you have to not only look for1:34 the story, but you've to wait for the twist, the surprise. So there is a tone, there's a tension, there's a twist in the narrative. In the same way, there is any good story1:46 has a gripping surprise. So watch for that. The third 1 is the significance of the parable. The point of the story in answer to the issue raised by the occasion. If you
1:58 understand the context, then you will understand the significance of the parable. See, Jesus said in parables so that even the simple can understand and even the wise
2:10 can look at it and be profound in its significance and meaning. I want you to listen to me carefully. What is today's text? Let's go to Luke chapter 16, and let's read
2:22 from verse 19 to verse 31. We're reading from the English Standard Version, ESV. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine
2:33 linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with
2:45 sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
2:58 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in
3:09 Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have
3:21 mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I'm in anguish in this flame. But Abraham
3:33 said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things. But now he is comforted
3:44 here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to
3:56 you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. Then he said, Then I beg you, father, to send him, meaning Lazarus, to my father's
4:08 house, for I have 5 brothers so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and
4:20 the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to
4:32 him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
4:44 God bless the reading of his word. Amen? I want us to apply the 3 things that we talked about. How do you study the parables? I want to give you 3 things this morning as we
4:56 unpack this story. 1, I want to retell the story. I want to retell the story. In other words, I want you to use your imagination to see how Jesus would
5:08 have said the story. Secondly, we want to reexamine the setting, why Jesus said this story. And then thirdly, we want to rediscover the significance
5:20 of this parable. Now, let's retell the story. Look at Luke chapter 16 and verse 19 to 31. It begins by saying, There was a
5:31 rich man. Now, this is how parables are that's how you identify a parable. Usually, a story begins with, Now, there was a certain man or a
5:43 king or a father. Now here, in this context, it was a rich man. Now, reason why some don't believe that this was a parable but was an actual story
5:55 is because unlike other parables, in this parable, Jesus names 1 of the characters. He has given 1 man, the poor man, the name
6:07 Lazarus. So you have to understand there was a significance why Jesus named 1 of the characters. But other than that, this has all the elements
6:19 of a parable. So when you retell the story, I want you to think about this. Now, whenever you read the parables we have already established, you've got to understand that Jewish
6:31 teachers teach through stories, but they use contrast. So this is a parable of contrast. Just like Jesus has taught many times, the wise man, the
6:43 foolish man, Here there is a contrast between a rich man and a poor man. So what are the contrasts? I want to give you 3 contrasts to consider. And this is the
6:54 characters, the circumstances, and maybe the cries that appear in this parable. Look at this. The first 1 is 2 persons. It's a contrast
7:06 in life. A rich man and a poor man. In verse 19, the Bible says, There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who
7:18 feasted sumptuously every day. In other words, in another translation, says, It was a habitual. It was habitual for Him. It was a habit for Him to dress up
7:30 every single day. And He was clothed in purple. Now, purple is a color for royalty. That's why when they put Jesus on the cross,
7:42 they clothed Him, they robed Him, they gave Him a robe made in purple. Why? Because they were mocking Him that He's the King of the Jews. Listen, purple was very expensive in those days. Why?
7:54 The purple dye is a very rare commodity. It is made out of a shellfish, a kind of a snail, a pedigree snail that is
8:05 crushed. But you know how many snails you have to crush to get dye for even 1 garment? It's about 12000 of those. That's why it was very expensive. That means this man
8:17 must be not only a prominent citizen, but he was a prosperous citizen. He was 1 of the elites. He was the wealthiest of the wealthy. And here the Bible says he was clothed in purple
8:30 every single day. Not only that, the Bible also says his inner garments. In other words, even his underwear was made of fine linen. And fine linen in those days
8:42 come from the Egyptian cotton. It is 1 of the best kinds. And here he says, that means what the Bible is trying to portray is, here is a man who is opulent. He's lavish in his
8:54 lifestyle. He's wealthy beyond our imagination. And the Bible also goes on to say, Who feasted sumptuously every single day. Wow. In other words,
9:06 he had a feast, lavish feast, all the desires of his heart, he was able to eat and be merry and have full good time. Then in verse 20, you find the contrast. You find
9:18 at his gate. See, again, the word here is very clear, at his gate. The reason is the language is at his gate, not at his door, is because he lives in a compound.
9:30 Maybe there was walls surrounding his house and a bigger gate. At his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, and then the Bible goes on to say, Who desired to be fed with
9:41 what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. Look at the contrast that Jesus presents. Here is a rich man and here is a poor
9:53 man. And the poor man is at the gate of this rich man's house. And the Bible says he was coward with sores. Imagine this. Rich man,
10:05 coward, clothed with purple. Here is a man, coward with sores. Covered with sores means from the head to the feet, he has sores, ulcers, lesions
10:17 all over. Despicable to look at. And that's exactly what Jesus was trying to highlight. It was gross. Not only that, in verse 21, He says, Who
10:29 desired to be fed from what fell from the rich man's table. See, when the rich dined in those days, during their feast, would use their fingers to eat,
10:41 and they would take bread and they would dip it into sauces, maybe like olive oil and other sauces, and they would eat. But now, their fingers have become greasy. And in those
10:53 days, they didn't have napkins. So what do they use to wipe away the grease? They take pieces of bread, the bread that they used to eat. They take the pieces of bread, and they wipe their fingers.
11:05 And they take the, remove the grease. And what do they do with that bread? They can't use that bread again. So they throw it under the table. So after the feast was over, the servants would come and collect all that
11:17 crumbs that fall from the master's table. All the bread that have fallen from the king's table, the master's table, the noble's table. And then they will bring it out to the road and they will throw it for
11:29 dogs to eat. And the Bible says here, that is what he desired to be fed. Verse 21, Who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table.
11:41 Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. Here's a man who not only had sores, the only comfort he got
11:53 was the stray dogs, the dirty dogs, the street dogs come and lick his sore. I want you to think about this. That could have been even a little bit of relief,
12:05 but I do think those dogs were eating away his flesh. This is the contrast. It's a graphic portrayal of opulent wealth and abject poverty.
12:17 What Jesus was trying to highlight is, here is a contrast that you and I need to capture. That means this man can't help himself. He can't even chew away the
12:28 dogs. He can't feed himself. But here's a man who is in pain, in agony, in anguish, And this is
12:40 what his life was. But the only thing that we get out of this verse is that he had a name. So the rich man, poor man. The poor man was named
12:51 Lazarus. Do you know what Lazarus means? Lazarus actually means God has helped. God is my help or God has helped.
13:03 But when you look at him externally, you wouldn't say that God has helped him. You would actually condemn him because the Jewish people, especially the Pharisees, had a
13:15 theological belief that the more blessed you are, the more prosperous you are, that God must favor you, that you must be righteous in the eyes of God. Therefore, God has blessed you and
13:27 prospered you. Whereas if you're poor and if you are cursed, if you're poor and you're sick and you're dying, that means you're cursed. So when they look at this Lazarus, they would look at
13:39 him as someone who is despicable before God, cursed by God. He's going through a trial in life. And here is the contrast I want you to capture. That's the 2
13:51 persons. Don't miss it. The second contrast is 2 persons. The contrast even in their death. Look at what happens here. 1 goes to paradise
14:03 and 1 experiences perdition. Verse 22 says, The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. Now, here's a beautiful
14:14 picture. The moment a person died, the Bible says, Angels came and carried him to Abraham's side. Now, this is a story. So, Jesus is giving
14:26 them a of portrayal of what would have happened, but we can't take this as a doctrine and say, This is what happens when someone dies. But I want you to listen to me
14:38 carefully. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. Right there, there is a contrast. The contrast is that poor man died and no 1
14:50 noticed it. Only when there was a stench in the place, I'm using my imagination. Only when there was a stench in the place, the rich man would have commanded the servants
15:01 to take that body and dump it. See here, the Bible actually gives a beautiful picture. At his gate was laid a poor
15:13 man. The word laid is a word to be thrown. In other words, somebody somewhere took compassion on him and said, you you will die miserable death. Why not come and
15:24 be in the house in front of the rich man's house? Maybe he can help you. So someone took him from somewhere and dumped him there, threw him there. The same thing happened in his death.
15:36 Someone took him and dumped him somewhere. He had no burial. Whereas the Bible says the rich man had a burial. In other words, all his friends would have gathered. The professional mourners would have
15:48 come. They would have been hired. The best of the best would have been hired to come and weep and cry and wail. Many would have stood and given eulogy of how good this man was, that he would be
16:00 enjoying the feast with Abraham in eternity. Listen, everything ended. The Bible says, he ended
16:12 up dead and was buried. He was given a proper funeral. But then verse 23 says, And in Hades, being in torment, He lifted up His eyes and saw far off Lazarus.
16:24 He saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. Now, Jesus is using the story where He's trying to bring home a point,
16:36 but this is not a doctrinal thing that, well, you can see from hell who is in heaven, and you can see from heaven who is in hell. The Bible doesn't explain that anywhere else. But
16:48 Jesus in the story gives you a vivid picture. He's in hell. He's in torment. Now, want you to think about this. This is where the greatest contrast actually
17:00 happens. Why? Because for the people who are hearers, the Pharisees are the ones that are hearing this. That's the context. The Pharisees who are hearing the story, when Jesus says there's
17:12 a rich man who feasted sumptuously every day, who clothed in purple, they will be saying, blessed man, blessed man, blessed man. Why? Because God is favoring him. God has prospered him. When
17:24 they hear about the poor man named Lazarus, they would say cursed man, cursed man. Why? Because in their mind, he is deserted by God. But here's the twist. This is
17:36 the surprise element that you and I need to pay attention to. See, if Jesus had said to the listeners, Both the rich man and the poor
17:47 Lazarus both went to heaven and both were in Abraham's side, it would already be surprise for the hearers. They will be scratching their head and saying, How
18:00 is that possible? He is prosperous. He is blessed by God. This man is cursed by God. Why would both end up in Abraham's bosom? Listen carefully. But Jesus went further and He said, No,
18:12 1 went to heaven. The 1 you didn't imagine will go to heaven, went to heaven. And the 1 you thought will be in Abraham's bosom was actually in Hades. And Hades is another word for
18:23 hell. And this is the twist in the story. And I want you to listen to me carefully. This is the grand reversal of the kingdom of God
18:35 that Jesus came to establish. This is the truth that gospel teaches us. That in the eyes of men, you could be someone who is applauded, someone
18:47 who is validated, someone who is recognized as righteous in external affairs, but God is not impressed by your external affairs. God looks at something deeper. Pay attention to this.
18:59 But what we also need to take home is that death is the great neutralizer. Now, that's the contrast in death. Let's look at the third contrast. There are
19:10 2 prayers that the man in hell prayed, and he also actually gives us a glimpse of what it's like to be in hell. This is a contrast in eternity.
19:23 First, he prays for a relief for himself. The second 1, he prays for redemption for his family. Look at this. He says in verse 24, And he called out,
19:35 Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am in anguish in this flame. Circle a couple of words. He
19:47 says, I'm in anguish here. I'm in anguish. And this is what He's saying. He's looking at Abraham and He's
19:58 addressing Abraham as father. Why would He address Abraham as father? Because that's the covenantal relationship they have. Abraham is considered the father of
20:10 faith for all the Jewish nation. So there's Abraham, my father. So he's calling on that familial connection. He's
20:22 calling on his pedigree, his heritage as a descendant of Abraham. I deserve better. I shouldn't be in hell. I deserve better. In other words, he's looking at father Abraham and says, father Abraham, send Lazarus. I
20:34 want you to listen to me carefully. Who is Lazarus here? Lazarus is not his slave, is not his servant, but can you see the pride in this man's heart that he demands
20:45 that Abraham send Lazarus? He's not even asking Lazarus, Lazarus, could you please come and help me? No. The pride that he carries. The rich man,
20:57 even in hell, was still proud, was still very self sufficient and self reliant. And look at what he demands. He says, Dip your the end of his finger in water and
21:09 cool my tongue. Now, you and I, we need to understand this. How much water can you get by dipping your finger in water? It's only a drop at the most. And
21:21 what what was Jesus highlighting here? That the drop of water is not going to give him any relief, but when you're going through such agony, such pain, even the simplest
21:33 form of relief will give some sort of relief. That's the key. In other words, the agony was truly great. Verse 25,
21:45 Abraham responds to that request. And in his response, he actually refuses. Listen to this. But Abraham said, child, remember. Now,
21:57 in this context, Jesus continues with that father son relationship. He doesn't deny this man that he has no legal right to call Abraham father. See, even in the
22:09 story, Jesus actually comes along and says, child, remember that in your life, in your lifetime, you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner, bad things.
22:21 But now he is comforted here, but you are in anguish. Now pause and ask yourself this question. What is Jesus saying? Jesus is not saying, listen here,
22:35 you in your earthly lifetime, you enjoyed the best of life. You actually had the best of life now. You enjoyed everything that was good that the world had to
22:46 offer. But that was in your earthly lifetime, you enjoyed good, but Lazarus did not enjoy anything good. So now he is in heaven enjoying all that is good and you enjoy anguish.
22:58 Lazarus endured anguish on earth. You endure anguish in eternity. Is that what Jesus is saying? Jesus is not saying that better not enjoy the world
23:10 too much. Because if you enjoy the world too much or if you have too many things or if you're too wealthy or too prosperous in this earthly life, in eternity, you will suffer. Is that what he's saying?
23:22 No. He's not saying that because Abraham himself was a wealthy man. God blessed him, prospered him. He became so wealthy, even the land
23:34 struggled to contain the wealth. Listen, the reason I'm saying this is because Jesus was not addressing the external wealth. Jesus was addressing the internal heart.
23:47 The problem was the heart. That's what he's trying to address here. Listen, in verse 26, And besides all this, between us, you and us, there's a great chasm that has
23:59 been fixed. In order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able to come and may not cross from here to you or from you to me. In other words, 1 cannot go from heaven to
24:11 hell and hell to heaven. You know, sometimes if you watch televangelists, sometimes you get the picture that you could actually spend an afternoon in heaven and dinner in hell
24:23 because they come up with stories of they've been here, been there, done this. But the Bible says, once you go to hell, you can't come out. Listen to me carefully. This is what the
24:34 here it says, it's an irrevocable condition. In other words, once you are in an eternal destiny, that eternal destiny is
24:46 permanent. It's irrevocable. You cannot escape no matter what you do, you cannot escape from that grip of that eternal destiny. Listen to me carefully. And he says, there's a
24:57 great chasm that's separating us. Look at verse 27. The second prayer he prays. And he said, then I beg you father to send him to my father's house for I have 5 brothers so that he may warn
25:09 them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Look, here is a man who is in hell himself, but he ends up becoming like a missionary. He says, I'm the
25:21 only 1 here. I hope my 5 brothers don't end up here. So Father Abraham, please send Lazarus so that he can go and warn them. Now pay attention to
25:33 this. He adopted a missionary zeal. He understood what it's like to be in hell. And he says, I would rather not wish this upon anyone, my family members. And he says,
25:45 I do believe. If someone said go there and tell them they will believe. So here he adopts a missionary zeal. Look at this in verse 29. But Abraham replied, again,
25:57 refuses the request and gives him a reason why. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. What does that mean? Moses and prophets. Moses represents the 5 first 5
26:09 books of the old testament. The Torah, the law and prophets. All the scripture writings, the messianic prophecies, all that has been recorded for us. Pretty much he's saying
26:21 the entire Old Testament is given to them. Let them hear them. Why? Because if you carefully listen to the what the law and what the prophets were saying, you would conclude,
26:33 I cannot save myself. I need a substitution. I need someone to take my place and die on my behalf. At IDMC Movement, we believe
26:45 in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, bringing the hope and truth of Jesus Christ to the world. Through our global outreach, we have the incredible opportunity
26:57 to share the gospel in homes across the globe and journey with people toward authentic discipleship. Throughout scripture, we see how the early church came together,
27:09 giving generously to ensure the ministry of the gospel could continue. Today, you have the opportunity to partner with us in the same mission. Your financial support is more than just
27:21 a contribution. It's a way to join God's work, bringing the light of Christ to places where your presence may never reach, but where your giving can. As Paul reminds us in Philippians
27:32 4 17, Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. By partnering with us IDMC Movement, you are investing in lives being
27:44 transformed, families being restored, and communities being renewed through the power of the gospel. To give, simply visit us online or scan the QR code on screen.
27:56 Thank you for your generous gift and for partnering with IDMC Movement in spreading Christ's messages across the globe into every heart and home among the nations.
28:11 Thank you for joining us today. We hope that this message was an inspiration to you and help you in your journey of discipleship. Join us next time on The Call, a journey of
28:22 intentional discipleship.
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