A Promise Extraordinary
And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43, NKJV.
Here we have a controversial verse, especially since many teach that it offers proof positive that believers go to heaven the very moment they die. But before we get into that idea we need to examine what the verse says about Jesus and the thief.
When one looks at Jesus when He made this pledge, one wonders how He could in good conscience promise anybody anything. After all, He is in the process of dying the death of a condemned criminal. He is fastened to a cross with nails, is covered with blood and flies, and will soon end up in a hole in the ground. And then there were the taunting people surrounding the cross shouting out that if He was "the Christ of God, his Chosen One" He should prove it by saving Himself (Luke 23:35, 37, RSV).
We know now that by not saving Himself it became possible to save others, since it is through His death in our place that we have hope. But that wasn't evident as He hung upon the cross. He looked hopeless indeed.
Yet it is from His cross of death that He makes the remarkable promise to the thief that he will be with Him in Paradise or heaven. That promise indicates that He could at this point in His ordeal see beyond the tomb. By faith He realized that death was not the end for Him and that His life and death would make it possible for Him to save others.
Just as remarkable as the faith of Jesus is that of the thief, who even asks for such a promise as they both suffer on their crosses. Here is a man who believed in spite of all outward appearances.
We find another lesson here. Namely, that it is never too late to come to Jesus. As long as life remains there is hope.
Now, we need to ask, what exactly did Jesus promise? Most read the verse as if the thief would be with Jesus in heaven that very day. But, since there are no commas in a Greek sentence, it can also be translated as "I say to you today, that you will be with Me in Paradise," meaning that Jesus was making the promise that very day.
Which is the correct placement of that controversial comma? Let's let Jesus answer. For one thing, He didn't go to heaven that day. Three days later He informed Mary that "I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17). And in other places He plainly told His disciples that He would reward His followers at His second coming, when He would return in triumph "in the glory of his Father with his angels" (Matt. 16:27).
And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43, NKJV.
Here we have a controversial verse, especially since many teach that it offers proof positive that believers go to heaven the very moment they die. But before we get into that idea we need to examine what the verse says about Jesus and the thief.
When one looks at Jesus when He made this pledge, one wonders how He could in good conscience promise anybody anything. After all, He is in the process of dying the death of a condemned criminal. He is fastened to a cross with nails, is covered with blood and flies, and will soon end up in a hole in the ground. And then there were the taunting people surrounding the cross shouting out that if He was "the Christ of God, his Chosen One" He should prove it by saving Himself (Luke 23:35, 37, RSV).
We know now that by not saving Himself it became possible to save others, since it is through His death in our place that we have hope. But that wasn't evident as He hung upon the cross. He looked hopeless indeed.
Yet it is from His cross of death that He makes the remarkable promise to the thief that he will be with Him in Paradise or heaven. That promise indicates that He could at this point in His ordeal see beyond the tomb. By faith He realized that death was not the end for Him and that His life and death would make it possible for Him to save others.
Just as remarkable as the faith of Jesus is that of the thief, who even asks for such a promise as they both suffer on their crosses. Here is a man who believed in spite of all outward appearances.
We find another lesson here. Namely, that it is never too late to come to Jesus. As long as life remains there is hope.
Now, we need to ask, what exactly did Jesus promise? Most read the verse as if the thief would be with Jesus in heaven that very day. But, since there are no commas in a Greek sentence, it can also be translated as "I say to you today, that you will be with Me in Paradise," meaning that Jesus was making the promise that very day.
Which is the correct placement of that controversial comma? Let's let Jesus answer. For one thing, He didn't go to heaven that day. Three days later He informed Mary that "I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17). And in other places He plainly told His disciples that He would reward His followers at His second coming, when He would return in triumph "in the glory of his Father with his angels" (Matt. 16:27).
RSS Feed
