A Matter of a Comma and the Promise of Paradise
Luke 23:43 is often quoted as evidence that Jesus promised the repentant thief immediate entrance into paradise: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
However, this interpretation hinges on punctuation—specifically, the placement of a comma. Ancient Greek manuscripts had no punctuation, NO COMMAS so translators make interpretive decisions.
An alternative rendering is: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.” This shifts the emphasis to the timing of the statement, not the fulfilment of the promise. Jesus is saying, *“I tell you today”—*that is, despite the shame of the cross and apparent defeat, Jesus is making a solemn promise that day of future hope.
This interpretation harmonizes with the broader biblical teaching about death and resurrection. Ecclesiastes 9:5 declares that “the dead know nothing.” Lazarus, after four days in the tomb (John 11), gave no report of paradise. Jesus himself was dead and in the tomb for three days, not in paradise, as Peter affirms in Acts 2:31, saying that Christ’s soul was not left in “Hades” (the grave). Additionally, 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 clearly states that the faithful are raised at Christ’s return, not before.
If Jesus and the thief both went to paradise that very day, it would contradict Jesus' own words to Mary after his resurrection: “I have not yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17). Thus, a small punctuation mark significantly impacts doctrine.
Reading Luke 23:43 as “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise” fits more naturally with the consistent biblical message: the dead sleep in the grave until the resurrection at Christ’s return, when the faithful will finally be with him in paradise.
