Jesus' story about a rich man and a poor man
19 Jesus then said, ‘At one time, there was a rich man who wore very expensive clothes. He ate big meals every day. 20 There was also a poor man called Lazarus. He had sores all over his body. He lay on the ground outside the gate of the rich man. 21 He was very hungry. He wanted to eat the bits of food that the rich man threw away. Even the dogs came and they tasted the sores on his body.
22 Then Lazarus died and God's angels carried him away. They put him at the side of Abraham in heaven. The rich man then also died and his family buried him in the ground. 23 He went down into the deep hole of death. He was in a lot of pain there. He looked up and he saw Abraham far away in heaven. He also saw Lazarus at Abraham's side. 24 So he shouted out, “Father Abraham, please be kind to me. Please send Lazarus here to help me. I am in great pain because I am in a fire that burns me. Let him put his finger into some water. Then he can use the water to make my mouth cool.”
25 Abraham replied, “My child, remember the time when you were alive on earth. Remember what happened then. You had many good things, and Lazarus had many bad things. Now I am taking care of Lazarus and you are in pain. 26 But that is not everything. Between you and us, there is a big hole. It is wide and long and deep. There is a reason why that hole is there. Nobody can go across from here to where you are. And nobody can come across here from where you are.”
27 The rich man said, “If that is true, father Abraham, please send Lazarus to my family. 28 I have five brothers that are still alive. He can tell them not to do the same things as I did. Then they will not also come here when they die. They will not be in great pain, as I am.”
29 Abraham replied, “They have the books that Moses and God's prophets wrote. Your family should read them and do what they say.”
30 The rich man said, “That is not enough, father Abraham. But if someone goes to them from among the dead people, they will listen. Then they will turn away from the wrong things that they do.”
31 But Abraham said to him, “They do not listen to what Moses and God's prophets have said. So they will not believe God's message even if someone comes back from among the dead people.” ’
Luke 17
Jesus teaches his disciples
1 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Some things in this world will cause people to do wrong things. You can be sure about that. But God will punish anyone who makes these bad things happen. 2 It would be better for that person if someone tied a big stone around his neck and then threw him into the sea. Nobody should ever cause anyone who believes in me to do wrong things, even if they do not seem to be important people.
3 Be careful how you live. If another believer does something wrong, warn him about it. He may say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he says that, you must forgive him. 4 Your brother may do a bad thing against you seven times in one day. He may come to you each time and say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he does that, you must forgive him every time.’
5 The apostles said to the Lord Jesus, ‘Help us to trust God more than we do.’
6 The Lord replied, ‘You may believe in God only a little bit, like a very small seed. Even then, you could say to this tree, “Pull yourself out of the ground and plant yourself in the sea.” Then the tree would obey you.
7 Think about this. You may have a servant that is ploughing your land. Or you may have a servant that is taking care of your sheep. When he comes in from his work in the evening, you would not say to him, “Sit down and eat.” 8 Instead, you would say to your servant, “Prepare my meal for me. Dress yourself properly and bring the food to me. I will eat and drink first. You can eat when I have finished.”
9 Servants should do what their masters tell them to do. That is what they should do and their masters do not need to thank them for it. 10 It is the same with you. The Master tells you what you must do. So when you have done all of it, you should say, “We are not special servants who deserve honour. We have only done what we should do.” ’
