Luke 12-17, John 11

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THE RICH FOOL/THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

ICEBREAKER

I like to begin this week with the following icebreaker. I like to ask them if they have ever played the game bigger and better? What did you end up with? This is a classic Young Men’s/Young Women’s activity. And how it works, is you start out with something really small and of little value—like a paperclip or a thumbtack. And then you go door to door asking only one question. Do you have anything bigger or better than this that you would be willing to trade? And as you go from house to house you start to get things just a little bit better or a little bit bigger. And over time, as you keep making trades, the item you have just gets more and more valuable or greater in size. And it’s amazing what you can end up with. I remember my group coming back with a kayak. Another group coming back with a television, and somebody else with a fairly nice mountain bike. Now that little game is kind of a good microcosm of how our world works. Everybody seems to be running around playing bigger and better—always looking to trade up or expand their lifestyle. And really, there’s no end to it. There’s always something else to buy. Always something better to get. And in order to maintain these inflated lifestyles one must make more and more money. And money and affluence and materialism can often take a heavy spiritual toll on people. So then I like to take a class poll by asking the following question. “Is it possible to be rich and righteous? Wealthy and worthy? And I'm confident that that's going to generate some pretty emphatic opinions on the topic. And I think you'll find that most classes are going to come to the consensus that yeah, it is possible and they're probably going to be able to give you examples of those kinds of people that they know. I know of many wealthy but incredibly Christlike and charitable and faithful people out there. I can also think of some wealthy people who have allowed their money to go to their head which has led them down a path of materialism and pride. But then you could also ask, “Is it possible to be needy and greedy, or destitute and degenerate? And they will most likely agree that being poor doesn't necessarily guarantee humility or virtue. So perhaps we could come to the conclusion that the amount of money we have, whether it’s a lot or a little, is not a reflection of our righteousness. Can we all agree on that? I’m confident that when we see the Celestial Kingdom, there will be many individuals there that were extremely wealthy in this life, and there will be many who were extremely impoverished in this life that will be there, and everything in between. Still, one more question: Why do the scriptures have so many warnings about wealth? So many cautions? There are a lot more spiritual cautions given to the wealthy than the poor in the scriptures. Why do you think that is?

TRANSITION

Well, people are often surprised to find that Jesus actually has quite a bit to say about money and prosperity. Numerous stories and parables deal with the topic or contain money imagery. Just think about it. The parable of the Unmerciful Servant with its 10,000-talent debt, the parables of the Unjust Steward, the Tower Builder, the Laborers in the Vineyard, The Lost Coin, the Parable of the Talents, all have money in them. Then you have the stories of the coin in the fishes mouth, the widow’s mites, the rich, young ruler, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s amongst others. Just this week alone covers a number of these stories, but I’ve decided just to narrow our focus down to just two. Two parables on prosperity. Parables that can help us to live rich and righteous, wealthy and worthy, if we’ve been fortunate enough to be blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with abundance. And then we’ll continue our study of this topic next week with the story of the rich, young ruler. But those two parables are the parable of the Rich Fool, and the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. And please, remember that these parables are not only geared towards the ultra-wealthy. We may be tempted to think that they don’t really apply to us because there are others out there with much more money than we have. Well, there’s always someone richer out there. We shouldn’t feel that just because we don’t live in a mansion or have 10 cars and a yacht that this doesn’t apply to us. Let’s approach our study with humility and the Spirit to seek how these principles apply to us rather than all those “rich” people out there that we feel could use this lesson. Let’s look inward.

SEARCH

To help your students work through the message of these parables, you could provide them with the following study guide. It invites them to study the two parables with the following questions in mind: Why do you think the Lord called the rich man “foolish” and why do you think he ended up in hell? What problems can prosperity cause? List as many as you can find.

So what problems do you see? First the parable of the Rich Fool.

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Wonderful. I don’t see anything wrong here. There is nothing wrong with bringing forth plentifully. In fact, one could argue that it was God himself blessing this man with plenty. I don’t think the problem is the prosperity itself. There’s nothing foolish or wrong about being prosperous or successful. Money in and of itself is not evil, neither is being rich. But what we do with that abundance makes all difference.

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Ah. So he has an issue to resolve here. His ground has produced so plentifully that he doesn’t have enough room to store all of his harvest. That's quite a problem to have. A nice problem, we might think, but a problem, nonetheless. So his question is a good one to ask ourselves if our ground has brought forth plentifully, “What shall I do?”

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

Now I believe that does illustrate a problem with prosperity. When we have extra, more than we can use, what is often our solution? We build bigger barns. That spirit of “building greater” is very prevalent in our currently upwardly mobile society. Especially in my home country of the United States. There is substantial evidence of what I might call, “The Creeping Average”. We keep buying larger and larger houses, even though their size isn’t justified by the sizes of our families or circumstances. We buy more cars, nicer cars. We get fancier clothing and jewelry. We buy more toys, take more luxurious vacations. The world always seems to have more expensive options for everything until they reach almost ridiculous proportions. Do you remember the story of the big chief executive who had the 6000$ shower curtain? There are no limits to excess. There is no end to the bigger barns phenomena. . The Lord calls this solution “foolish”. But why? Because if we’re not careful, we may end up chasing that ever-increasing standard of living forever, never satisfied. It can cause us to misplace our priorities. One of the problems with prosperity is that it may lead is into the “Building Bigger Barns” trap. The Lord has a better answer to that question, “What shall I do?” We’ll take a look at that in moment.

More problems?

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;

Now I don't have any problem with the first part of verse 19. His plans to lay up goods for his future. I think that’s probably good sound financial advice, to plan for your future and save. The Lord actually teaches that principle in other places in the scriptures. But it's the second part of that plan that I raise an eyebrow over. He says,

“take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

What’s wrong with that attitude? That attitude of “Well, since I have all this excess, my only concern now is going to be to consume it. I don't need to produce any more. I don’t need to work anymore. I'm going to go out and party away my life. I do think God has a problem with that hedonistic approach to life. Yes, we are here on this earth to have happiness, and times of relaxation and ease. But more importantly, we're here to learn and to work and to develop our knowledge and talents and to serve. He’s foolish because there must be more to life than just eating, drinking, and being merry.

The Lord’s blunt response to the rich man’s plan:

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Another problem with prosperity is that it’s temporal, earthly, and mortal. Death comes to all, both rich and poor. Long life is not guaranteed, even for the best of us. All his planning can’t ensure he’ll live long enough to enjoy his ease. We can’t take it with us. And to focus all that time and attention on something so temporary and fleeting while neglecting the weightier matters really is foolish.

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

The problem with prosperity here is that it caused him to forget God. He spent so much time laying up earthly treasure that he failed to prepare for an eternal world. This man was not rich towards God. He got so wrapped up in his temporary welfare that he neglected his spiritual welfare.

Now let’s take a look at our other parable. The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man found in Luke 16:19-31.

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Now we might even tie the two parables together by saying that the rich man in both are one and the same. The plan of the rich man in the first parable matches the actions of the rich man in the second. In verse 19 he clothes himself in fine linen and lives sumptuously every day. Sounds a whole lot like “take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry,” doesn’t it. But just as God says to the rich man in the first parable “this night thy soul shall be required of thee,” the rich man in the second dies and we get to see what happens to him. But there’s another important character in this story. Lazarus, a beggar that is laid at the rich man’s gate. So here’s the question:

Why do you think the rich man ends up in hell? Important point to make. It’s not because he’s rich. The message of this parable is not: Poor people go to heaven; rich people go to hell. Prosperity will not condemn us. But what do you think did?

I believe that it’s because he did nothing to help his fellow man. He was so wrapped up in building bigger barns and faring sumptuously that he ignored the plight of this beggar “laid at his gate”, just wanting to be fed with the crumbs of the rich man’s table. Therefore, where does he end up? In hell. What’s the problem with prosperity? It can cause us to ignore the plight of our fellow man. It often breeds selfishness. It can lead us to focusing so much of our time and attention to serving ourselves, that we do nothing to serve others. And that’s a problem in God’s eyes. He should have helped Lazarus.

Oh the Irony

Something else that I love about this second parable is it’s biting irony. Did you catch it? Is there something ironic about the names or labels given to the two men. One is just referred to as, “The Rich Man”, while the beggar is given a name: Lazarus. You know, this is the only parable Jesus ever told where one of the characters gets a name. That’s significant. What’s ironic about that? Well who is it that gets “named” in our society? Whose names are the ones we all know? It’s the successful, the rich, the celebrities. We all know their names. They’re honored and esteemed and exalted. But what about the poor? Do we know their names? No. We usually just refer to them as “the underprivileged, the homeless, the unfortunate”. They become the nameless, faceless masses of the marginalized and they fade into obscurity. But they all have names, and heavenly Father knows each one by name and they all have value and divine potential. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

And then did you see the irony in the description of their deaths. And I think you really have to read verse 22 with the right tone of voice. Here's how I read it.

“And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died and was buried.”

And you know I just can't help but read it like that. The beggar’s death sounds so poetic and descriptive while the rich man's death is abrupt and emotionless. What’s ironic about that? In our world, it’s the rich that have these elaborate funerals and publicized accounts off all their accomplishments. Everybody remembers them. In Jesus's day important people would have large monuments, memorials, or mausoleums built for them. While the poor often pass into the next life without any ceremony or acknowledgement. And some even pass away unknown and unmourned.

Now the rest of the parable shows their role reversal in heaven. Things in the afterlife are not quite the same as they are here on earth. The rich man finds himself in torment while Lazarus enjoys the presence of both prophets and deity. And this really gets me. The rich man requests that Lazarus be allowed to dip his finger in water to cool his tongue. A nice parallel to the crumbs that Lazarus desired to be fed from the rich man’s table. And we’re like, “Really? You never did anything for him in your life. And now you want him to do something for you?” Maybe the suggestion here is that if the rich man had helped Lazarus in some way during his mortal life then perhaps Lazarus could have helped him.

The Solutions

Now I know you’ve heard me say this before. The scriptures never present a problem without the solution being somewhere nearby.

The second half of Luke chapter 12 offers us a better way to live in prosperity. I believe if we can keep these principles in mind and apply them, then we can truly live both rich and righteous. Let’s take each in turn.

Luke 12:15, 23

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

And verse 23:

23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

This is the perfect antidote to the “Build Bigger Barns” trap. Remember that there's more to life than material wealth. Don’t get so worked up about where you live and what you eat and what you wear or what you drive. If you put your faith in God he'll make sure that you have what you need. And keep in mind that our money and possessions will mean nothing when we die. We can’t take it with us. I think it’s significant that both parables deal with death. Death has an interesting way of clarifying our priorities. You may be familiar with the famous Latin phrase: Memento Mori—which means: remember death. Why, because it helps us to keep our priorities straight. When we’re lying on our death bed, are we going to wish we’d spent more time at the office? Are we going to care that we didn’t make that extra thousand dollars. Are we going to care how big our house is? Not likely. We’ll probably wish we hadn’t spent so much time and anxiety building bigger barns and filling them with fruit. Instead, we’ll probably wish we’d spent more time on the things the gospel stresses. Our relationships, service, developing our minds, talents, and character. The solution is to remember that there is more to life than money. So much more. Don’t get sidetracked by the “building greater” mentality. It’s an easy trap to fall into.

Luke 12:31

31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The solution. Make sure that spiritual things come first in your life. Now does that mean chronologically or in terms of priority. I think it’s priority. I don’t think it means that I go out, get my testimony, find the Lord’s kingdom, get to the temple and make my covenants, and now I can go out and get on with the business of making money. I think it means that no matter what age or circumstances we are in, we always put the kingdom of God first. So if there is a conflict between making a greater profit and being honest, we choose to be honest, because we seek the kingdom of God first. If there is a conflict between honoring our family and church commitments and making extra income, we honor our commitments because we seek the Kingdom of God first. If there is a conflict between paying our tithing, and the desire to pad our investments, we pay our tithing because we seek the kingdom of God first. The kingdom of God becomes our priority in all situations. Having this guiding statement always at the back of our minds will help us to become rich towards God.

Luke 12:33

33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

What’s the solution. Give. Look for opportunities to bless and help your fellow man. That was the point of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. There are many in this world who are not as fortunate as we are. So we give alms—or make charitable expenditures. That is an integral part of the gospel, whether we like it or not. We look to bless and help those that can’t help themselves, or that have fallen on hard times and need our help to recover. I’d like to go back to our image of the barn. That barn that represents what we have and what we need. If God has shoveled plenty and abundance into our barn and it becomes full. When we have more than enough to live comfortably and meet our needs and righteous wants. What do we do when it’s full? We don’t do what the rich fool did, we don’t tear it down and build a bigger one. What we can do is open up the back door and start shoveling the abundance out. What does that look like in real life? There are all kinds of shoveling opportunities. Tithing, fast offerings, humanitarian aid, the missionary fund, direct help to struggling family and friends, educational and cultural opportunities, disaster relief efforts, charities that help people suffering in developing countries. There are so many opportunities to give. And do you know what often happens when there is somebody that is willing to shovel that abundance out their back door? I think God says to himself, “Well here is a rare individual, somebody that can be satisfied with enough and is willing to give. I’m going to bless them with even more”, and God starts shoveling the blessings into that individual’s front door even more quickly. So what do you do? Shovel it out the back just as quickly. If you have that ability to open the back door and be “familiar and free with [your] substance” as Jacob in the Book of Mormon taught, the I pray the Lord blesses you with millions.

Last one:

Luke 12:48

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

This is one of the most intimidating verses of all scripture to me. But the Lord reminds us of an important principle of prosperity. Something we must keep in mind. When we have been given much, then much is required—not expected, but required. So if we’re prosperous, I hope we understand and know who put us there. Money is power. And with great wealth, comes great responsibility. Think about that. What responsibilities do you feel God has placed on you with that blessing.

TRUTH

When I am blessed with prosperity and abundance, if I live a life of excess and ease and selfishness, then I am foolish.

When I am blessed with prosperity and abundance, if I remember what matters most and that much is required of me, put God’s kingdom first, and seek to help others, then I am wise.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Have your students complete the final section of the handout labeled, “THE APPLICATION” which says: Which of the following do you feel are your top three priorities in life?

 Advancing my career

 Having nice things

 Having a good time

 Have a good marriage/family life

 Having good friendships

 Making lots of money

 Having a good relationship with God

 Making a contribution to the world

 Attaining financial independence.

After considering today’s parables, do you feel you need to make any adjustments?

If so, how could you?

CONCLUSION

With whatever principle of the gospel we’re examining, I always think it's good for us to consider its role in our final judgment. We know from the scriptures that one day we will render an account of our lives and our stewardship over what God has blessed us with. So some might imagine him coming to us and saying, “I blessed you with great abundance. I put you in ideal financial circumstances. I sent you to a situation and family where you had the opportunity to gain an education. I sent you to a country with a government that allowed you to succeed, and I gave you a body and a mind capable of doing the work. I put you in a position to help and bless the lives of many. What did you accomplish with all that I gave you?” Now if that has been our circumstance, are we going to feel comfortable saying, “Oh Lord, you should check out the size of my house. It was so big there were rooms in it that I never even went in. You should see how many vehicles I have in my garage, all top-of-the-line. And you'll love what’ve done with the backyard. And checkout all the toys I've got and trailers to haul each one of them, and my bank account is so full that I have to get creative to even find ways to spend it.” Is that what we’re going want to say? Or would we rather be able to say something like, “Lord, you blessed me greatly. I lived in a comfortable home, and I drove nice vehicles and I did fun things with my family. But I was generous in my fast offerings, and I always paid my tithing. I worked hard and looked for ways to help other people. And I always put you first Lord. I served faithfully in my callings. I was honest in my business dealings, even when it wasn’t advantageous to my income. I tried to keep my tastes simple and unexcessive. I tried not to get too wrapped in always having what was bigger and better. And what I was blessed with in excess of my wants and needs I tried to do good with it—for me and my family, but also my community and those people who were not as blessed as I was.” And if we can say something like that, then I can imagine the Lord looking at us and smiling and saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into my rest.

THE PRODIGAL SON (Luke 15:11-32)

Now on to the king of all parables. One of the greatest masterpieces of Christian literature: The parable of the prodigal son.

ICEBREAKER

This hands down is my favorite parable of all time. And it's just beautifully written. As an icebreaker, I would start with an object lesson that I've actually seen teachers use to teach repentance but personally think is a terrible object lesson and a very inaccurate description of how repentance works. So what I do is I kind of turned that on its head and I still use it, but I ask why it's not a good object lesson. And I’ve found that it works really well. So what you do is you pull out a hammer, nail and board and say that the board represents your worthiness, your spiritual potential, your value in the church, and the nail represents sin. And then you pound the nail into the board and say “sin”. And then you say “repentance” and then pry the nail out with the claw of the hammer. Now what's wrong with that illustration? And I imagine your students will give you some really great answers to that. Now whether they bring it up or not, I make sure to point out that one of the reasons I don’t like that illustration is because I believe that when we repent there is no hole left behind. I know a lot of people who feel that when they've sinned, that they know they can repent, they believe that they can repent, but they always feel like they’re a bit less than all those others out there who haven't committed that sin. They feel that they can never truly be what they could have been. They're forgiven, but there’s still a hole.

TRANSITION

Is that true? The parable of the prodigal son will help us answer that question.

SEARCH

Here’s how I might approach the parable. It’s such a powerful one that I don’t think it needs much by way of activities in order for it to have power. So I choose a fairly simple approach here. I would just read them the parable as the teacher. But be sure to read it carefully, with emotion, with voice—not monotone or with indifference. But to guide them a little, I would do a “Pick and Ponder” activity. Before I read the parable I would display the following questions. They don’t need to feel a need to answer all of them, but to just pick one or two to focus on and to have them in mind while they listen.

Here are the questions:

What does the parable teach us about sin?

What inspired the prodigal son to return?

What is different about what the prodigal son plans to say to his father, and what he actually says? Why do you think that is?

What does the parable teach you about returning home (repentance)?

What does the parable teach you about God?

What principle does the older brother teach you?

What does the parable teach us about sin?

Verse 13 tells us that the prodigal goes into a far country. I would venture to guess the name of that country was Babylon. And what do we often do when we journey to Babylon? Into the world. We waste our substance. That substance may be money, our integrity, our health, our virtue, testimony, love, potential. Sin is a waste of the gifts we’ve been given. A waste of our inheritance. Just one verse later he’s spent it all and begins to be in want. The fact that this part of the story is so short suggests to me that the pleasures of sin are fleeting. There may be some momentary gratification it provides, but it never lasts and ultimately leads to want. How much does Babylon demand of us? All. Babylon will take all that you have and give you nothing in return. The “far country” entices one to “spend all”, yet cares not when you begin “to be in want.” Verse 15 says that he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine and he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him. Another truth about sin is that sin leads to hunger. Spiritual hunger. And what does the world have to offer? Nothing. Just pig slop. No substance. No nourishment, just husks.

What inspired the prodigal to return?

It was the memory of home and a loving father that prompts him to make his plan to return. That memory was more powerful than hunger. Parents of wayward children should keep this in mind. When you wonder if your efforts to raise them in the gospel have done any good. Who knows when some memory of home and faith will inspire a return. I also love that line in verse 17 where it says, “he came to himself”. The part of us that wants to change, that wants to follow Jesus Christ, that is our real self, our best self. The saint within us, not the natural man. We’ll talk about that idea a little later in more detail.

What is different about what the prodigal son plans to say to his father, and what he actually says? Why do you think that is?

In verses 18-19 he plans to say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants.

And do you know anyone who has approached repentance with that feeling or attitude? I think it’s a very common fear in the penitent. They want to go home, but they don’t feel like they can go home as sons but can only return as servants. In their mind they are “no longer worthy” to be called sons. The relationship between the father and the child has somehow changed. They just want to be servants and be near the Father once again. They just want to be spiritually nourished again. That’s enough. But they feel that they will forever just be second class citizens in Zion.

But what does the prodigal son actually say when he gets there? He only says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And am no more worthy to be called thy son;”

And why is that? Why doesn’t he say the rest?

And this is where the next two questions come into play. The questions that I feel are the most important of all—the question the parable is designed to answer. What does the parable teach us about returning home? And What does the parable teach us about God?

When I repent, do I come back as a servant or a son?

Verse 20

20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

That’s got to be the most beautiful verse in the entire New Testament. I mean the boy has not even said anything yet. The father doesn’t even ask for an explanation. He’s just overjoyed that his son has come home.

So why doesn’t the son say the rest of his planned speech? It’s out of a sense of surprise and awe. “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And am no more worthy to be called thy son;” And I might add “So why do you treat me as one?” Because it’s obvious, right from the start that his Father has chosen to see and receive him as a son.

And so the Father says to his servants:

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry

This parable really isn’t about learning the doctrine of grace on a mind level, but about feeling the doctrine of grace on a spiritual and an emotional level. How does the Father feel when we return to him? He feels joy! Immense joy! Let’s throw a party joy! That’s the key emotion that accompanies the doctrine of grace. Joy. We didn’t get a chance to read them, but the two introductory parables in this chapter, the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the lost coin also share this message. The joy God feels when one of his beloved children returns to Him. There are no servants in Christ’s Church, only sons, and only daughters. We worship a running to meet us, fall on your neck, kiss on the check, ring on the finger, kill the fatted calf God. A God that rejoices at our return. Please don’t forget that.

If there is anyone listening to this right now who feels like a servant in God’s kingdom because of something they’ve done in their past. I want you to know, that if you’ve returned, this is how your Father in Heaven feels about you. You are not a second-class citizen in his kingdom. If you feel that way then I’m afraid you're not as happy as your Heavenly Father intends you to be. And I'd encourage you to feel that embrace, put that ring on your finger, eat the fatted calf, and then dance and be merry. Because that's how good our Father in heaven is. Joy follows repentance and forgiveness.

What principle does the older brother teach you?

Now the final question deals with the older brother and his reaction to the prodigal’s return. For time’s sake, I believe there has been a lot said and shared about that other son and I don’t feel like I really have anything too profound to add. I feel that the other son teaches us that if the father is willing to forgive others with such graciousness and ease then so should we. We too should rejoice when others repent and welcome them back into our company in the same way. For those that have not sinned seriously and returned, we may wonder about the party thrown for them, and not for us. We may struggle with verse 7 which says:

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

I don’t think this is an invitation to comparable rejoicing or debates over who the Lord loves more or which he would prefer us to be. With the “one” there is an intensity of joy over their return. With the ninety and nine there is a constancy of joy. The first joy is celebratory, the second is a quieter, more comforting joy. As the father says to the older brother, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine”. The joys are equal in a sense, though of differing qualities.

TRUTH

When we repent, we return as sons not servants.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

A small application handout. It asks them to ponder the following question: Where do you most see yourself in the parable? The options:

· Feeling tempted to venture out into the far country

· In the distant country having a good time

· Suffering with the swine

· Fearfully journeying back to the Father

· Rejoicing in the arms of the Father

· Graciously welcoming other prodigals home

· Jealous and angry with God's forgiveness of others

What truth from the parable did you most need to hear today and why?

CONCLUSION

So back to our little object lesson? Why is it such a poor one? Repentance and God's forgiveness is more than just pulling out the nail. It's even more than just filling in the hole with putty. I believe it’s more like the fibers of the board miraculously weaving themselves back together and returning to their original state, or like getting a whole new board altogether. That's forgiveness. That’s the power of the grace of our Savior. When we return, we return as sons, not servants. I’m so grateful that he's like that because I know that I've needed that mercy and I know I continue to need it.

RAISING OF LAZARUS

ICEBREAKER

For an icebreaker to the story of Lazarus, I would do the following. Now it’s more of a youth icebreaker suggestion because I can’t imagine doing this in an adult class because it’s a bit rowdy, but it can be fun. And so I’d first ask: What is Lazarus known for? And they’ll get it. He was the friend of Jesus that was raised from the dead. And so I say, “In honor of that amazing miracle and the happiness it brought, we’re going to have a “Loose Lazarus” relay. In a way, we’re going to reenact this miracle with this race. So you divide your class into teams of at least 3 per team. One of the people on the team will need to play the part of Lazarus and you have them stand on one side of the room by themselves next to a roll of toilet paper. And then the other members of the team will be designated as either “binders” or “loosers”. When you say go, the binders will run across the room and their task will be to wrap their Lazarus up using the entire roll of toilet paper. Then once they’re done, they run back to the other side of the room and tag their “looser” teammates. Then they run across the room and their job is to loose Lazarus from the toilet paper wrapped around him. They are not finished until they have removed all traces of toilet paper and placed them in a garbage can or sack nearby. Then Lazarus and the “loosers” run back across the room to reunite with their team. Whichever team can do that the fastest, wins!

TRANSITION

And I might transition to the scriptures just by saying that I could see somebody objecting to doing this kind of a boisterous activity with a story like the raising of Lazarus. Because death and mourning are such solemn and serious kinds of topics. But you know what? I disagree. I think it’s a totally appropriate kind of activity to introduce this story, because in my mind the story of Lazarus is one of incredible joy, and celebration, and relief. Imagine the happiness that Lazarus’s family and friends must have felt at Jesus’s command to “loose him” from his graveclothes and back into a world of light and life. This is a story with a very happy ending. And that’s important as we consider how this story is relevant and applicable to us.

SEARCH

And that leads me my method for how I teach the story of Lazarus. It’s fairly simple. But sometimes I’ve found that it's the simple methods that work the best. It’s a personal relevance activity. As teachers we always want to try and make the scriptures as relevant to our students as possible. And the sooner we can show them that the scriptures relate to them, the more interest and engagement they are going to experience. So have your students do this “Choose your own Relevancy” activity before they even read the story. Have them read and select one of the three following situations and choose which scenario relates most to them or to choose the fourth option, which is to read with an open mind, looking for anything the Spirit wishes to teach them. Here they are:

1. I have recently lost a loved one and I’m struggling to come to grips with that loss

2. There is somebody that I love that has died spiritually and I’m beginning to lose hope that they will ever change or return

3. I am personally going through a really rough time right now and I wonder if anybody really understands or cares about my struggles.

4. Something Else? Keep your mind open to anything the Spirit wishes to teach you.

Now as we go through the account of the raising of Lazarus, listen with your particular situation in mind. What does the story teach you and how can it help you? Then invite them to listen to a recording of John 11:1-45 and follow along in their scriptures to the story. If you go to the Church website and navigate to the John 11 scripture page, if you click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, it will give you the option to download an audio version of the chapter. Or you could just play it from your phone. It will take about 6 minutes to listen to the chapter up to verse 45. Once they’ve listened and been given some time to ponder, have them share their thoughts. What did they learn? How did the scriptures help them in their situation. And boy, you can get some really great personal insightful participation with that. When you set it up this way.

And that’s because I believe that the story of the raising of Lazarus relates really well to each of those three situations. And allow me to briefly show you how and perhaps could help you in responding to some of the comments that might be made.

Situation #1—Lazarus, Come Forth

For situation number one, this story can really bring hope to somebody who has lost a loved one. You can reassure them that Christ has power over death and that every single one of us is going to be able to experience a moment just like Mary and Martha did. They had felt the loss and the grief of watching their brother die, but all of that anguish was removed through the power and the love of the Savior. I believe that that is going to be our experience as well with the loss of those that WE love. We're also going to have a period of time when we will be separated from our loved ones, and we will mourn and grieve. There will be a time of loss. But that is temporary! Death is not the end. Martha’s conversation with Jesus is a beautiful place to see this principle. It illuminates the spiritual truth behind this outward miracle. Verses 20-27:

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Martha stands as a shining example of faith in the resurrection. She believed in this miracle before it ever even happened. Jesus made her that promise that he was the resurrection and the life. Thy brother shall rise again! That is a promise to anyone who has lost someone. Thy mother shall live again, thy father, thy sister, thy friend. One day we too will see our loved ones come forth just like Lazarus did and we’ll rejoice with them. Can you imagine that moment for just a second. Imagine how it would feel if you went to church this next week, and Jesus walked in and said he had a special surprise for you. And he looked out into the hallway and said, “Come forth”, and that person who you love and have lost comes walking around the corner, alive and well. What would you do? How would you feel? I have faith that you WILL have that experience one day as you maintain your faith in Christ. They will come forth and be loosed from the bands of death, because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Situation #2-Yet shall he live

Situation #2 is also greatly relevant, but from a different perspective. Remember that every miracle Jesus performed was not just an act of compassion but an act of teaching. Every time he healed somebody physically, he was demonstrating, teaching people including us, what he has the power to do on a spiritual level as well. We’ve talked about this before, and we’ve seen this message in many of the stories we’ve studied this year. Jesus can cause the spiritually blind to see. He can cause the spiritually lame to walk and make the spiritual leper whole. But here we have the greatest miracle that the Savior had performed up to this point. John places it in a central position in his Gospel. It’s the culmination of all of Christ’s earlier miracles and contains the promise of the greatest miracle he will yet perform, that of his resurrection and final victory over death. Lazarus had been dead for four whole days. We get from the first part of the story that Jesus deliberately waited that long and knew that Lazarus had died. Now why on earth would he do such a thing? He answers in verse 15, “to the intent that ye may believe”. See, the Jews believed that the spirit lingered near the body after death, but that it completely left the body after three days. So that helps us understand the reason for his delay. So Lazarus, not to be insensitive or anything, was not just mostly dead at that point, he's all dead. And that’s what made this miracle so incredible. Jesus had raised people from the dead in the past, like Jairus daughter, son of the widow of Nain, but in both of those cases, they had only been dead for a short time. But here, there was really no reason left to have any kind of hope that Jesus or anybody could bring him back. But he does. Jesus had complete power over physical death. Therefore he also has power over what? Spiritual death. A power so strong that he can bring back people who seem to have absolutely no hope. We may be tempted to look at them and say, they are gone! They are not just mostly spiritually dead, they are all spiritually dead, in our eyes. But not Christ’s. There is no reason to lose hope in somebody. We just never know what might happen in that person’s life, what experiences the Lord will bring them, what efforts are Father in Heaven may employ to help awaken them. I know that I've seen people in my life like that. If you were to see my grandpa in his 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s you would probably conclude that he was spiritually dead. But he was raised from the dead. He changed. The gospel of Jesus Christ brought him back to life. So much so, that he even served a senior mission on temple square. I can think of a couple from my ward in Arizona that had not been to Church for decades. But through the conversion of their daughter, they were brought back to life. I met numerous people on my mission who were spiritually dead, but through the power of Christ were raised to life and light. And now they’re vibrant and alive in the gospel. So never lose hope, because Jesus has the power to loose people from the bands of spiritual death.

Situation #3-Jesus Wept

Now situation number three is probably my favorite but perhaps a little more difficult to see. If nobody pulled a message from this, you may want to take them to verse 35 yourself and ask, “Why is this verse a little surprising?” Of course, verse 35 is the shortest verse of all scripture. Jesus wept. But wow! Does it ever have pages and pages of meaning behind it. Be careful not to gloss over this tiny scripture. For one thing, apparently, real men do cry. But why is it surprising that he's weeping? Well, what does Jesus know that nobody else in that crowd knows? He knows what he’s going to do! He knows that he's just about to raise Lazarus from the dead. There are details earlier in the story that show us that before he has ever even arrived that it was his intention to raise Lazarus from the dead. Verse 11: “I go that I may awake him out of sleep.” So he knows that in just a couple of moments, all of that pain and sorrow and mourning that everyone is experiencing is going to be transformed into joy and celebration and relief. You'd think, that knowing that, he’d almost have a smile of anticipation on his face realizing the happiness he was just about to cause. Or at least an air of unconcern. But that’s not what happens. He weeps. Why do you think he’s weeping? I believe it's because he sees their pain and he feels it with them. His sense of empathy and love is so strong that he can’t hold the tears. Their pain, pains him. And I might add, our pain, pains him. It's a perfect illustration of what Isaiah said in back Isaiah 53:4.

“Surely he hath bourne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

This chapter really opens a window and allows us to peer into the soul of our Savior. He is not a detached, aloof, or indifferent God. You would think, that because of his eternal perspective, that that might make him a bit more unmoved by our temporal, shortsighted, human grievances and hurts. But that’s not him. He feels. He feels with us. He’s the perfect example of mourning with those that mourn. Just take a look at the following verses in chapter 11 and pick out the “emotion” words and phrases that demonstrate the heart of Jesus.

:3 he whom thou lovest is sick

:33 he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

:36 the people look at him and say, “Behold how he loved him!” Exclamation point. Something about the way Jesus was responding to this tragedy visibly could be seen. The magnitude of his love was visible to others.

:38 And then “groaning in himself”

How might this help us or someone that was going through a rough time and didn’t feel like anybody understood or cared? Jesus may have an eternal perspective and he sees our trials and problems in their true light. And yes, they are probably much smaller in his eyes than they are in ours. But even though Christ knows that, and that in the end he's going to heal all wounds and overcome death and wipe away all tears. Even still, he weeps with us. He feels our sorrows. He shows us perfect empathy and understanding. That’s comforting to me. Jesus wept. Small verse, huge message.

Now you’ll notice that I don’t have TRUTH or LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES slides this time. And that’s because the students are discovering those things for themselves as they study and hopefully, the Spirit is teaching them those things for themselves. Those truths and applications that they most need.

CONCLUSION

But I might conclude by testifying of the Spirit’s power to inspire and teach them these kinds of things in their own personal scripture study. This is a great illustration of the power of approaching scripture study with a particular question or situation in mind. When we come looking for something, the Sprit can work with that desire and that attitude of inquiry and provide insight and inspiration to us. The story of the raising of Lazarus is so full of hope. And that’s what Jesus Christ is all about. Hope for the dead. Hope for the lost. Hope for the mourning. Hope for the . Jesus was not only a gentle teacher of righteousness but the very conqueror of death.

THE REAL YOU

Can I offer you one additional brief thought here from John 11. Super short, but I think it’s significant. If I were to speak to your average member of the Church, or believer in Christ and ask them to tell me what came first to their minds when I mentioned the following Bible characters. How about Thomas? What do we know about him. 9 out of 10 times they’re going to say, “He was the apostle that doubted. We might even refer to him as doubting Thomas. But then I would ask if they were aware of any other stories about Thomas in the scriptures. Again, 9 out 10 times they won’t. But look at John 11:7-8, 16. Jesus announces to his apostles that he plans to go back into Judea. And the apostles are worried, and they say, “Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?” Are you crazy? They tried to kill you the last time you went there. But Jesus is adamant, he needs to go. And what does Thomas step up and say? :16 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Now why don’t we remember Thomas for that story? We remember Thomas at his worst. At his moment of doubt and questioning. Why not remember him at his best? Instead of calling him Doubting Thomas, how about loyal Thomas. Courageous Thomas. Self-sacrificing Thomas, faithful Thomas.

What if I asked what first came to mind when I said the name Martha? More than likely they are going to bring up the story we talked about two weeks ago. Martha, Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things. We’re probably going to remember as the careful, troubled, and cumbered Martha. But are there any other stories about Martha in the scriptures? Yes. Here in John 11. Here we see her incredible faith. Her faith in Christ and the resurrection. She stands in stark contrast to those disciples back in John 6 who decided to “walk no more with him” because he failed to perform the miracle they desired. Here, Jesus was gone at the very moment she needed him most, and yet, she maintains her faith. What does she say in verse 27: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” So instead of remembering her as troubled and cumbered Martha, perhaps we could remember her as believing Martha, faithful Martha, trusting Martha.

Sadly, I think we do this kind of thing far too often with the people in our own lives. We see and judge them at their worst. In fact, we might see somebody do something at a bad moment for them and say, “Ah, now I know the real you.” And what we mean, is that person at their worst. That’s the real them. But I think Christ would disagree. The real us, is us at our best. Honestly, me at my worst, is quite embarrassing and regretful. But me at my best, I feel good about myself and proud. We all have positive and negative qualities. Good times and bad times. Honorable and dishonorable actions. Perhaps we would do better to focus on the former in people over the latter. To look for the good, because the real them, the real you, is us at our very best.