Luke 16:31 - God's Word More Convincing Than Miracles.

Luke 16:31; God's Word More Convincing Than Miracles.

Luke 16:31 (NIV)  "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to 
Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone 
rises from the dead.'" 

Luke 16:31 (AMP)  He said to him, If they do not hear and listen 
to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and 
convinced and believe [even] if someone should rise from the dead. 

Luke 16:31 (CWR)  Then your story ends by Abraham saying, 'If 
your brothers are not willing to listen to Moses and the prophets, 
they won't listen to anyone, even if he rose from the dead.'  So you 
see, you yourselves teach people that they should listen to the 
Scriptures and that what they do in this life will affect them in the next 
one." 

CONTEXT

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus  (16:19-31)

CROSS REFERENCES

Luke 16:30 (KJV)  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one 
went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  

Acts 20:32 (KJV)  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and 
to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to 
give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. 

Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by 
the word of God.  

1 Pet 1:23 (KJV)  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but 
of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for 
ever. 

John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

2 Cor 3:18 (KJV)  But we all, with open face beholding as in a 
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from 
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

2 Pet 1:4 (KJV)  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and 
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine 
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through 
lust. 

Heb 4:2 (KJV)  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as 
unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed 
with faith in them that heard it. 

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION

Persuaded. That is, to repent (see v. 30). [SDA Commentary]

Those who are not impressed by the plain statement of eternal 
truth to be found in Scripture would not be more favorably impressed 
by the greatest of miracles. A few weeks after narrating this 
parable Jesus raised from the dead a man named Lazarus, as if in 
response to the challenge of the Jewish leaders for greater evidence than 
they had heretofore. But that very miracle led the leaders of the 
nation to intensify their plot against Jesus' life. Not only so; they 
felt it necessary to do away with Lazarus in order to safeguard their 
own untenable position. The Jews thus gave a literal demonstration 
of the truth of Jesus' statement here, that those who reject the OT 
would reject "greater" light, even the testimony of one who "rose from 
the dead." [SDA Commentary] 

The rich man thought that his five brothers would surely believe 
a messenger who had been raised from the dead. But Jesus said that 
if they did not believe Moses and the prophets, who spoke 
constantly of the duty to care for the poor, not even a resurrection would 
convince them. Notice the irony in Jesus' statement; on his way to 
Jerusalem to die, he was fully aware that even when he had risen from the 
dead, most of the religious leaders would not accept him. They were 
set in their ways, and neither Scripture nor God's Son himself would 
shake them loose. [Life Application SB] 

The Pharisees considered wealth to be a proof of a person's 
righteousness. Jesus startled them with this story where a diseased beggar is 
rewarded and a rich man is punished. The rich man did not go to hell 
because of his wealth but because he was selfish, refusing to feed 
Lazarus, take him in, or care for him. The rich man was hardhearted in 
spite of his great blessings. The amount of money we have is not as 
important as the way we use it. What is your attitude toward your money 
and possessions? Do you hoard them selfishly, or do you use them to 
help others? [Life Application SB] 

This pointed story underlines the failure of the Pharisees to 
truly believe the Scriptures in which they boasted. If they had 
believed, they would not have loved money, but the poor. They would not 
have built personal estates, but rather would have fed the hungry. 
Instead, like the rich man in the story, Jesus' money-loving critics 
"dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day" while 
beggars lay outside their gates. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

The teachers of the Law and Pharisees frequently demanded Jesus 
provide a "sign from heaven" to prove His messiahship (11:16; cf. Matt. 
12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:11). Why didn't He provide it? Part of the answer 
lies in Scripture's emphasis on faith. We are to trust God and His 
Word to us. Yet part of the answer lies in unbelief. Whatever sign 
Jesus provided would not convince those determined not to believe. 
Even when Jesus did rise from the dead, His opponents refused to 
believe. If a person will not hear and respond to the Word of God, "to 
Moses and the Prophets," they simply "will not be convinced." 
It's good for us to remember this when we share the Gospel with 
others. The Word of God is living and vital. It reaches human hearts, 
and those who are open to God respond. Those who do not believe will 
not believe, and would not even if we could perform miracles before 
them in our own day. 
So we witness without hesitation, confident that where the seed 
of the Word finds fertile soil, new life will sprout. [The 365-Day 
Devotional Commentary] 

The Bible, God's word, not miracles, is the power that can 
change the heart and soul of man. [Pastor Arthur Gibbs]