The Penitent Thief on the Cross

The story of the thief on the cross is found in the following Bible verses: Matthew 27:38, Luke 23:32-43 and Mark 15:27. This story is in many ways one of the most touching stories in the Bible. A dying, penitent thief accepts Christ as Lord and Master and is assured by Jesus of a place in paradise. We don’t know his name, but the story of this thief gives us a beautiful picture of God's love and mercy freely given to all mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Questions About the Story

However, this story has provoked some questions among Christians:

(1) Did the penitent thief go to heaven with Jesus that same day?
(2) Is there a contradiction between what Jesus told the thief and what He told Mary on Sunday?
(3) Does the word paradise mean something other than heaven?

Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise

Let's take a look at several verses in Luke 23 to find the meaning of the phrase above. “Then one of the criminals who was hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.' But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise’” (Luke 23:39-43).

One of the thieves, after joining with the other thief in mocking the Lord (Mark 15:32), recognized that Jesus was the Son of God and decided to ask for mercy and pardon. He offered up the simple prayer, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus accepted His repentance and gave him the promise that the he would be with Him in paradise. Is Jesus promising that the repentant criminal would be with Him that very day in paradise? It would appear so on the surface, but let's take a deeper look.

The Thief On The Cross Contradiction

In Luke 23:43, we read of Jesus saying, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” But in John 20:1-17, we read that Jesus meets Mary in the garden on the first day of the week and says, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’” (John 20:17).

We can see that Jesus could not have been with the thief in heavenly paradise that Friday if He had still not ascended to the Father on Sunday. Is this a contradiction? It would seem to be so on the surface. But what if the comma was after the word today instead of before it? The meaning would change completely. Let's read the passage again. What if Jesus was saying, “And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise'” (Luke 23:43). If the comma is placed after the word today, it shows Jesus being emphatic on the day of his crucifixion, saying, today when I am dying on the cross with no apparent hope, I am promising that you will be with me in paradise eventually. However, if the comma is inserted before the word today, Jesus would then be promising that the thief would be with Him that very day in paradise, thus making Jesus a liar and also contradicting John 20:17.

The Thief on the Cross & the Comma

It makes a big difference where the comma is placed. There is a story of a wealthy man whose wife sent him a telegram asking if she could buy a very expensive item. He sent the reply, "No, price too high." Unfortunately, the telegraph operator left the comma out of the message. When the wife received the message, "No price too high," she happily went and bought the expensive item. This story illustrates the importance of correct punctuation. If the punctuation is off, it can mean something entirely different.

As we compare Scripture, we will find apparent contradictions, but if we compare texts and examine the overwhelming evidence in the Scriptures on a certain subject, we will find the truth (see Isaiah 28:10). Often, it's our preconceived ideas that lead us to think a certain verse means a specific thing. We must be careful never to take a verse out of context. The question now is, how can we harmonize this verse from Luke with the rest of the Bible?

Is the Comma Inspired?

Is the punctuation in the Bible inspired? In the original Greek text of the New Testament there was no punctuation, in fact, there was no spacing between words. Here is a quote from the Greek language expert Michael W. Palmer. "The ancient Greeks did not have any equivalent to our modern device of punctuation. Sentence punctuation was invented several centuries after the time of Christ. The oldest copies of both the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament are written with no punctuation".

When the translators of the English Bible translated this verse and others they had to decide where the punctuation should be. The translators themselves were not inspired. God definitely helped them translate the Bible, but the placing of punctuation is not inspired since there was no punctuation in the original manuscripts. Translators made the simple mistake of placing the comma in the wrong position, perhaps because of their traditional beliefs about what happens when you die.

To What Paradise Does Jesus Refer?

This may seem like a surprising question to include, but there is a theory that paradise is not heaven but another place altogether. People generally come up with this theory to clear up the apparent contradiction between what Christ said to the thief on the cross and what He said to Mary two days later.

Where Is Paradise According to the Bible?

Christ promises to the faithful in the church of Ephesus: "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).

So where is the tree of life? The answer to this question will help us know the location of paradise. In Revelation 22:1-4, we learn that the tree of life is in the New Jerusalem. So we can know for certain that paradise is in the New Jerusalem where God reigns. It is not some place in the underworld or in the subterranean regions. Paradise is the garden of God, which is in the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven to earth after the millennium.

Conclusion

The Scriptures are clear that Christ had not ascended to the Father on Sunday morning. Therefore, He could not have been with the thief in paradise on Friday. This means that the Bible translators incorrectly placed the comma before the word today instead of after it. However, the promise of Jesus is no less sure. He promised the thief that someday he would be with Jesus in paradise in heaven. And His promise to us is no less sure. Jesus is preparing a place for us in paradise as well. He’s inviting us to be with Him. Will you accept His invitation?