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Audible TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible...
Key Takeaways
- In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16, Jesus highlights the contrast between the unnamed wealthy man and the named poor man, teaching us about true identity and spiritual blindness.
- The rich man's wealth and status created an illusion of self-sufficiency, blinding him to his own spiritual poverty and to the needs of Lazarus lying right outside his gate.
- Lazarus's name means 'God has helped,' symbolizing that even when overlooked by the world, the poor and forgotten are fully known and embraced by God.
- True life and identity are not found in possessions, achievements, or societal labels, but as a gift from the God who calls each person by name.
- Jesus serves as the truly Named One who entered our poverty and was raised from the dead, pointing the way to resurrection life and the reality of God's kingdom.
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One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus’ kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY’S EPISODE
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is October 3rd, and our readings are Ezra 5–6, Psalm 138, and Luke 16.
Ezra brings us back to the rebuilding of the temple.
The work that had stalled begins again. Haggai and Zechariah encourage the people, opposition comes, questions are raised, old records are searched, and eventually King Darius confirms the decree of Cyrus.
The temple is completed.
And God's people celebrate.
Psalm 138 gives us David's song of gratitude:
“I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.”
And then we come to Luke 16, where Jesus speaks about money, faithfulness, and the things that can take possession of our hearts.
“You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
Then Jesus tells a story about two men.
One is extraordinarily rich.
The other is desperately poor.
But something strange happens in the telling.
The poor man has a name.
Lazarus.
The rich man doesn't.
One has almost nothing the world values, yet he is known.
The other seems to have everything the world values, yet somehow he has lost sight of who he is.
Maybe that's the question before us today.
What tells you who you are?
Your possessions?
Your accomplishments?
Your reputation?
Your failures?
Or the God who knows you and calls you by name?
TODAY’S DEVOTION
The Named and the Nameless
He's a rich man with no name.
I've always found that interesting.
Jesus tells us about a man who lives in luxury.
He dresses in expensive purple and fine linen.
Every day is a feast.
He has wealth.
Status.
Comfort.
Influence.
But Jesus never tells us his name.
Then outside his gate lies another man.
Poor.
Hungry.
Covered with sores.
Longing for scraps from the rich man's table.
And Jesus tells us his name.
Lazarus.
The man whom the world hardly notices is named.
The man everyone probably knows is nameless.
I think Jesus wants us to notice that.
Because the rich man has constructed an identity out of all the things the world tells us matter.
Money.
Possessions.
Status.
Comfort.
Maybe reputation.
But somehow all of it has blinded him.
Lazarus has been lying outside his gate.
Close enough to see.
Close enough to help.
But the rich man doesn't really see him.
And perhaps even more tragically, he doesn't see himself.
He doesn't recognize his own poverty.
His own need.
His own dependence upon grace.
That's one of the dangers of wealth, power, success, and even religion.
They can create the illusion that we are self-sufficient.
That we don't need anything.
That we don't need anyone.
That we can build a life substantial enough to give ourselves an identity.
But Jesus says:
Be careful.
You might gain everything and lose sight of who you actually are.
And even after death, the rich man's blindness seems to continue.
He sees Lazarus beside Abraham, and yet he still seems to imagine Lazarus as someone who should serve him.
Send Lazarus to bring me water.
Send Lazarus to warn my brothers.
He sees Lazarus.
But he still doesn't really see him.
That's what blindness does.
It reduces people to their usefulness to us.
But Jesus gives Lazarus a name.
Lazarus.
It means something like, “God has helped.”
And that's exactly what happens.
The one who had nothing is gathered into the embrace of Abraham.
The one who was ignored is seen.
The one who was hungry is brought to the table.
The one who appeared forgotten is known by name.
And maybe that's the good news for us.
God knows your name.
Before your accomplishments.
Before your possessions.
Before your reputation.
Before your failures.
Before all the labels other people have placed upon you.
You are known.
And your life doesn't come from what you possess.
Your life comes from God.
Psalm 138 says:
“Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble.”
That's Lazarus.
The world may overlook him.
God does not.
And then Jesus says something at the end of this story that points us toward resurrection.
The rich man wants someone to rise from the dead and warn his brothers.
Abraham tells him that if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.
And, of course, we know where Luke's Gospel is going.
Someone will rise from the dead.
Jesus.
The truly Named One.
The One who enters our poverty.
The One who identifies himself with the hungry, the poor, the excluded, and the forgotten.
The One who dies.
And the One whom God raises up.
Resurrection tells us where true life is found.
Not in riches.
Not in status.
Not in our ability to secure ourselves.
Life is found in God.
And that life is gift.
So maybe the invitation today is simply to let God call you by name.
Set aside the identities you've been trying to construct.
The successful one.
The failure.
The wealthy one.
The poor one.
The important one.
The forgotten one.
The good Christian.
The disappointment.
Whatever name the world has given you, let Jesus speak something deeper.
You are known.
You are seen.
You are loved.
And then, knowing that we are seen, perhaps we can begin to see the Lazarus lying outside our own gates.
The person we've overlooked.
The person our comfort has allowed us not to notice.
The person who has a name.
Because everyone does.
That's the kingdom Jesus is revealing.
A kingdom where the nameless are named.
Where the unseen are seen.
Where the hungry are brought to the table.
Where the dead are raised.
And where our deepest identity is received from the God who knows us completely and loves us still.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May we know who we are in Christ.
May our eyes be opened to those lying outside our gates.
And may we trust the God who raises the dead and calls each of us by name.
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
And now Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. And where there is sadness, Joy. Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life. Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ. Amen.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Bible passages are covered in the October 3rd episode of Encounter Christ in Scripture?
This episode covers Ezra 5 through 6, Psalm 138, and Luke 16, reflecting on the rebuilding of the temple, David's song of gratitude, and Jesus's teachings on money and the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
Why is the rich man nameless in Jesus's parable in Luke 16?
The rich man remains nameless to symbolize how building an identity on worldly wealth, status, and comfort ultimately causes someone to lose sight of who they truly are and become blind to the needs of others.
What does the name Lazarus mean?
The name Lazarus means 'God has helped,' signifying that the man whom the world ignored is deeply seen, known, and cared for by God.
