But Abraham says to him, They have Moses and the prophets let them hear them.
A man in torment asks for a miracle: send someone back from the dead to warn his five brothers. Abraham refuses. He points to what the brothers already have. Is God's written word enough to turn a person, or do people need something more spectacular?
Abraham names two men, but he means their books.
There is one thing more that we learn from this solemn story — that our only resource is the Scriptures. The rich man begged that Lazarus be sent to his living brothers. Abraham answered, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." This means, of course, the sacred writings. These writings expose human guilt in all its sinfulness. They also declare the love of God, shown in the gift of His only-begotten Son. The gospel sets out forgiveness and justification, full and free, and offers them to everyone who will believe in the Son. … God's Word alone, obeyed in faith, can produce repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
Abraham sends them to writings that came long before the New Testament.
But the answer of Abraham brings out another grand truth from the Lord's mind — the all-importance of the Word of God, and this too even in its lower forms. The New Testament undoubtedly has fuller and perfect light; but the Old is no less inspired.
These are the Lord's own words about who wrote those books, and about their authority.
In chapter 16, the Lord again confirms, with full authority, that the writings of Moses and the prophets are genuine. He says, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them… If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." (verses 29-31.) Could the Lord speak like this about writings that God had not given?
The brothers had Scripture, and God held them to it. Readers today stand in the same place.
The five brothers were shut up to the Scriptures. "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." We are in the same position today. We have no light beyond God's revelation. Satan is determined to destroy the confidence that people around us have in it.
Notice one excuse the rich man never makes.
What does Abraham say to the rich man, in Luke 16? "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." Why does the rich man not reply, "They cannot understand them"? He dare not.
The rich man treats Scripture as too weak, and a wonder as more persuasive.
The answer to this is most solemn and decisive. No miracle, however great, will persuade one to repent if he has chosen to ignore the clear Word of God. The Old Testament bears abundant testimony to warn men of the folly of pursuing a self-centred, independent course. To ignore this is a bold insult to their Creator. If the moral power of the Word of God accomplishes no moral result in them, then physical miracles also will produce no moral result.
History then tested the claim, since a real resurrection followed.
Verse 31. "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets," and so on. Here this solemn truth comes out: even the resurrection of Christ will not convince them. If they refuse to hear God's word as they have it, they will not hear the testimony of God, even though one rose from the dead. And we know they did not.
Suppose the dead really could come back and speak — would it change anyone?
Some people will not hear the word of God. They will not believe its clear and solemn statements about themselves, about their present condition, about their future destiny. Nothing else will persuade them, not even a thousand departed souls coming back to tell them what they saw and heard and felt in heaven above or in hell beneath… The heart that will not bow to Scripture will not be convinced by anything; and as to the true believer, he has in Scripture all he can possibly want.
- Have. "Moses and the Prophets" means the Old Testament writings. They expose guilt and declare God's love in giving His Son.
- Hear. The brothers had only those Scriptures, and the rich man never dared say they were too hard to understand.
- Honour. The Lord's own words treat these books as God-given. The Old Testament is no less inspired than the New, though the New carries fuller light.
- Enough. No miracle persuades a person who has chosen to ignore God's clear word. Where the word does no moral work, wonders will not either.
- Proved. One did rise from the dead — and those who would not hear the Scriptures were still not persuaded.
But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead should go to them, they will repent.
Abraham has just told the rich man in torment that his five brothers already have Moses and the prophets — the Scriptures God gave them. The rich man refuses: a visitor from the dead, he argues, would make them repent where Scripture had not.
Notice what he asks for, and what he never asks for. His concern runs entirely toward other people:
Luke 16 pictures the rich man in hell wanting his brothers warned. He says, "If someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he never says anything like "I will repent." The lost in hell realise that their day for repentance is gone for ever.
Notice when he first began to care about eternal things:
The tale ends fittingly with the earnest pleading of a man who had never once in his life thought seriously about eternal things. Listen now to his anxiety for his brothers. There was no real love for souls, but a certain anxious desire for his brothers. At least we learn how real his anguish was.
His objection is not that the Scriptures are unreliable. He simply judges them too tame to work:
"But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'" Yes — hear them. Hear the very writings that unbelievers tell us are not inspired by God at all. They call them documents forced on us by frauds pretending to inspiration. The rich man certainly knew better; in fact the devil himself knows better. There is no thought here of questioning whether "Moses and the Prophets" are genuine.
What he wants instead is something spectacular — and that wish is turned down flat:
The rich man thought that something sensational would appeal to his brothers' consciences. Abraham rejected this.
Why would a visitor from the dead fail? Fear is not the same as conviction of sin:
Miraculous displays appeal to the senses, but they do not reach the conscience. They may terrify, as they did the jailer at Philippi. But by themselves they do not produce conviction of sin, and they do not lead the soul to God. Their effect is only surface-level and short-lived. "Neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" is certainly true. The greatest miracle cannot convince in that way. If it could, the blessed Lord would have been universally accepted.
The choice to ignore Scripture settles the outcome in advance:
No miracle, however great, will persuade someone to repent if he has chosen to ignore the clear Word of God. If the moral power of the Word of God produces no moral result in them, physical miracles will produce none either.
His theory faced two tests and failed both. Not long afterwards another man named Lazarus came back from the grave:
Not long afterwards a Lazarus did come from the dead at the call of Jesus. Many of the rich man's brothers came to see him after Jesus raised him. But far from repenting, the leaders at least — yes, the chief priests — plotted together to put Lazarus to death as well. They plotted against the One too, whose resurrection power only stirred up their deadly hatred instead of persuading them to hear Moses and the prophets.
Abraham's answer treats Scripture as enough. Then came the test that settles the argument:
The written word — the law and the prophets — was enough. The revelation for the day is all that is needed, and no more will be given. But could one really rise from the dead? People might once have asked that. No one can ask it now. One did rise from the dead. They heard about Him from trustworthy messengers who had seen Him, yet they did not repent.
This closes the door on every hunt for messages from the dead:
Suppose people will not hear the word of God. Suppose they will not believe its clear and solemn statements about themselves, their present condition and their future destiny. Then nothing would persuade them — not even a thousand departed souls coming back to tell them what they saw and heard and felt in heaven above or in hell beneath. It would produce no saving or lasting effect on them. It might cause great excitement and a great stir. It might give plenty of material for talk and fill the newspapers far and wide. But that is where it would end. The heart that will not bow to Scripture will not be convinced by anything.
- Hearing is the issue. The brothers do not lack evidence. They lack the will to hear what God has already said.
- Hearing too late. The man pleads for his brothers' repentance and never once asks for his own — the lost know that time has closed.
- Hearing refused. He never denies that the Scriptures are genuine. He just wants a miracle instead — and Abraham refuses.
- Hearing versus seeing. Miracles strike the senses and can terrify, but they do not reach the conscience, so their effect is brief.
- Hearing tested. Jesus raised another Lazarus, and He Himself rose. The leaders hardened instead of repenting, and the verse's answer proved true.
And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among [the] dead will they be persuaded.
In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, a man in torment begs for a dead man to be sent back to warn his five brothers. The Lord's closing answer raises a question people still ask: would a visitor from the grave finally break unbelief?
The answer turns on what a sign can and cannot do:
Miraculous demonstrations appeal to the senses, but do not reach the conscience. They may terrify, as with the jailer at Philippi. But by themselves they do not produce conviction of sin. They do not lead the soul to God. Their effect is only surface-level and short-lived. "Neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" is certainly true. The greatest miracle cannot persuade in that way. If it could, everyone would have accepted the blessed Lord.
(Older translations read "persuaded"; the ESV has "convinced".) Another writer weighs the two kinds of power side by side:
No miracle, however great, will persuade someone to repent if he has chosen to ignore the clear Word of God... If the moral power of the Word of God produces no moral result in them, physical miracles will produce none either.
The refusal is not a shortage of information. One writer pushes the Lord's words to their limit:
Some will not hear the word of God. They will not believe its clear and solemn statements about themselves, their present condition and their future destiny. Then neither will they be persuaded if a thousand departed souls came back and told them what they saw and heard and felt in heaven above or in hell beneath. It would have no saving or lasting effect on them. It might cause great excitement and a great stir. It might fill the newspapers far and wide and give people plenty to talk about. But there it would end. The heart that will not bow to Scripture will not be convinced by anything.
"Moses and the Prophets" is the Old Testament — the writings the five brothers already had. Commentators read the Lord's answer as His own endorsement of them:
Nothing could be clearer or higher. Nothing confirms more fully the supreme authority and divine integrity of "Moses and the Prophets." Here the blessed Lord Himself sets His seal to the two great divisions of Old Testament Scripture. So we may commit our souls with full confidence to the authority of these holy writings.
So what did those five brothers have?
The five brothers had nothing but the Scriptures. "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." We are in the same position today. We have no light beyond the revelation of God. Satan is determined to destroy people's confidence in it. The rich man thought something sensational would reach his brothers' consciences. Abraham rejected that.
The Lord's words were not a theory. Two events tested them, and both confirmed Him.
The testimony of God in His word, Old Testament or New, is the ground of faith. Some do not listen in faith to Moses and the prophets. Even a Lazarus sent back from the grave would not convince them. In fact the Lord Jesus raised another Lazarus not long after. But this did not convince the Jews. It only stirred up the murderous nature of the chief priests and the Pharisees (John 11:47-53).
Then came the greater case, His own rising:
"If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (16:31). Is that possible? People might once have asked that question. They cannot ask it any longer. One did rise from the dead. They heard of Him from trustworthy messengers who had seen Him, yet they did not repent.
One writer sums up the rich man's condition in four facts:
He was conscious, he had no hope of salvation, he could not communicate with his brothers himself, and heaven refused to allow one of the blessed to do it.
The same writer names the root of unbelief, and then the only way anyone is saved:
The natural mind is hostile to God, and it rises up most proudly of all against His grace in Christ. Yet only by grace is anyone saved, through faith. So faith comes by hearing the word of truth — now in its fullest form, what the apostle calls the gospel of our salvation.
- Hearing — the whole verse hangs on whether people will hear. Refusing what God has already said is the sin; lack of evidence is not the problem.
- Enough — the five brothers already had all they needed. So do we; commentators see the Lord Himself stamping His approval on those Scriptures.
- Persuasion — miracles touch the senses and fade. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, which reaches the conscience and leads to repentance.
- Proof — the Lord raised a Lazarus, and Christ Himself rose. Neither converted the unwilling; one only hardened them into plotting murder.
- Now — the Lord tells this story for the living, not the dead. Heaven sends no messenger back, so today is the day to hear what God has already said.