Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.
6 sermons cite this verse
… And he gave him no answer. Why? Because the confidence of heaven is in the Scriptures. Luke chapter 16 and verse 31 In another context altogether, in the story, dramatic story, of the rich man and Lazarus, I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. He speaks from hell. He says, Go back and give them a special warning. And Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. In other words, they have their Bibles. Let them pay attention to the Bible. Oh, no, Father Abraham, he said. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. If somebody goes and does something really dramatic, you see, then they will believe. And he said to them, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. And that is the story of Judaism to this point. If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if the Messiah was to rise from the dead. …
so a number of years ago i uh read this book i've talked about it before but uh in it it talks about this uh this shinto japanese concept of misogi so the idea came out of the shinto religion that is you would do this if you wanted to like be purified you would go into like a frozen river or freezing river or like frozen like ocean that kind of situation and you'd go in one way and the idea is you'd be so enter into this discomfort to such a degree that you would emerged change, like the idea, right? The idea is that you do this difficult thing and it purifies you somehow. So that's the Shinto idea. In the West, we got a hold of that. And in the West, people kind of changed it. And they made it into like any kind of like physical or emotional or even like mental challenge. So the author of this book, he said that he and four of his friends, one of their masogis was, they went to the Pacific coast and they would dive down and pick up a rock that was really heavy, and they would walk on the ocean floor for five miles. …
LUKE xvi. 31. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. WE here have an account how the rich man in hell—after he had in vain begged of Abraham to send Lazarus to his relief—prays that Lazarus may be sent to his brethren to warn them, that they might take care for their salvation, and escape that place of torment. By the way, it may be proper to remark, that we cannot from this conclude, that the damned will have any workings of natural affection to their near relations in this world, or any concern for their salvation. The design of Christ was only parabolically to represent what different thoughts worldly and wicked men will have of things, when in hell, from what they have while upon earth. The rich man, when he was upon earth, only minded his honour, ease, and pleasure, and did not think it worth while to take care of his soul, and to be at much pains to escape hell. But now he is of another mind, and is sensible that if his five brethren, who live in the same careless neglect of their souls as he did, knew what hell is, they would take more care. …
But, further, to bind them to the observance of this duty, the past was made the pledge of the future, hope was grounded upon memory; all prayer for favour sent them back to the old mercies of God. "The Lord hath been mindful of us, He will bless us;" this was the form of their humble expectation. The favour vouchsafed to Abraham and Israel, and the deliverance from Egypt, were the objects on which hope dwelt, and were made the types of blessings in prospect. For instance, out of the many passages which might be cited, Isaiah says, "Awake . . . O arm of the Lord, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old." Micah, "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitary in the wood, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; according to the days of thy coming out of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things." The Psalms abound with like references to past mercies, as pledges and types of future. Prophesying of the reign of Christ, David says, "The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring My people again from the depths of the sea," and Moses too, speaking to the Israelites--"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee." Accordingly, while a coming Saviour was predicted, still the claims of past times on Jewish piety were maintained, by His being represented by the prophets under the name and character of David, or in the dress and office of Aaron; so that, the clearer the revelation of the glory in prospect, in the same degree greater honour was put upon the former Jewish saints who typified it. In like manner the blessings promised to the Christian Church are granted to it in the character of Israel, or of Jerusalem, or of Sion. …
Yes, you say; but if one came from the dead, if you saw the spirit of some departed friend you knew on earth: what then? What would it tell you that you do not know now? Do you now in your sober reason doubt the reality of the unseen world? not at all; only you cannot get yourself to act as if it were real. Would such a sight produce this effect? you think it would. Now I will grant this on one supposition. Do the startling accidents which happen to you now, produce any lasting effect upon you? Do they lead you to any habits of religion? If they do produce some effect, then I will grant to you that such a strange visitation, as you have supposed, would produce a greater effect; but if the events of life which now happen to you produce no lasting effect on you, and this I fear is the case, then too sure I am, that a miracle too would produce no lasting effect on you, though of course it would startle you more at the time. I say, I fear that what happens to you, as it is, produces no lasting effect on you. I mean, that the warnings which you really have, do not bring you to any habitual and regular religiousness; they may make you a little more afraid of this or that sin, or of this or that particular indulgence of it; but they do not tend at all to make you break with the world, and convert you to God. If they did make you take up religion in earnest, though in ever so poor a way, then I will grant that miracles would make you more in earnest. If God's ordinary warnings moved you, His extraordinary would move you more. It is quite true, that a serious mind would be made more serious by seeing a miracle, but this gives no ground for saying, that minds which are not serious, careless, worldly, self-indulgent persons, who are made not at all better by the warnings which are given them, would be made serious by those miraculous warnings which are not given. …
“If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” 1. How strange a paradox is this! How contrary to the common apprehension of men! Who is so confirmed in unbelief as not to think, “If one came to me from the dead, I should be effectually persuaded to repent?” But this passage affords us a more strange saying: (Luke 16:13:) “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” “No! Why not? Why cannot we serve both?” will a true servant of mammon say. Accordingly, the Pharisees, who supposed they served God, and did cordially serve mammon, derided him: exemykterizon. A word expressive of the deepest contempt. But he said, (Luke 16:15, ) “Ye are they who justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: And that which is highly esteemed among men, is (very commonly) an abomination before God:” A terrible proof of which our Lord subjoins in the remaining part of the chapter. 2. But is the subsequent account merely a parable, or a real history? It has been believed by many, and roundly asserted, to be a mere parable, because of one or two circumstances therein, which are not easy to be accounted for. In particular, it is hard to conceive, how a person in hell could hold conversation with one in paradise. But, admitting we cannot account for this, will it overbalance an express assertion of our Lord: “There was,” says our Lord, “a certain rich man.” — Was there not? Did such a man never exist? “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus.”- -Was there, or was there not? Is it not bold enough, positively to deny what our blessed Lord positively affirms? Therefore, we cannot reasonably doubt, but the whole narration, with all its circumstances, is exactly true. And Theophylact (one of the ancient commentators on the Scriptures) observes upon the text, that, “according to the tradition of the Jews, Lazarus lived at Jerusalem.” …