Luke Chapter 23 Verse 43
From EJ Hill & Friends
HILL'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
on
LUKE CHAPTER 23 VERSE 43
by EJ Hill (1977-)
Contents |
Significance
THERE EXISTS TWO VIEWS SURROUNDING LUKE CHAPTER 23 VERSE 43: THE UNIVERSALIST- AND THE CONDITIONALIST VIEW.
The Universalist View
Those that hold to Universal Immortality and/or Particular Judgment, on the one hand, tend to place a comma BEFORE the reference to "today"; reading or translating Lk. 23v43 as "Verily I say unto you, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE" -- in so doing (if and when so rendered), the passage seem to indicate that both, Jesus and the thief, THAT VERY DAY, would enter Paradise: "... implying, evidently, that it would be immediately at death." [4]
The Conditionalist View
Those that hold to Psychopannychism, on the other hand, tend to place a comma AFTER the reference to "today"; reading or translating Lk. 23v43 as "Verily I say unto you today, YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE" -- in so doing, when so rendered, the passage seem to indicate that the thief would, EVENTUALLY, be with Christ in Paradise.
So which is correct?
Transliteration
The 1530 Tyndale Bible
"And Iesus sayde vnto him: VERELY I SAYE VNTO THE TO DAYE SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADYSE." (Lk. 23v43, TB)
The 1864 Emphatic Diaglott
"And said to him the Jesus: INDEED I SAY TO THEE TO-DAY, WITH ME THOU SHALT BE IN THE PARADISE." (Lk. 23v43, TED)
The 1902 Rotherham Emphasized Bible
"And he said unto him—Verily, I SAY UNTO THEE THIS DAY: WITH ME, SHALT THOU BE IN PARADISE." (Lk. 23v43, EBR)
Die 1933 Afrikaanse Vertaling van die Bybel
"En Jesus antwoord him: Voorwaar EK SE VIR JOU, VANDAG SAL JY SAAM MET MY IN DIE PARADYS WEES." (Lk. 23v43, 1933AV, p.104)
The 1976 Contemporary English Version of the Bible
"Jesus replied, 'I promise that TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE." (Lk. 23v43, CEV, p.1274)
The Authorized King James Version of the Bible
"And Jesus said unto him, VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TO DAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE." (Lk. 23v43, AKJV, p.466)
The Scriptures
"And YHVH said to him, 'Truly, I SAY TO YOU TODAY,X YOU SHALL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE." (Lk. 23v43, TS, p.1014)
Commentary
Adam Clarke (1760/62-1832)
Verse 43. To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.] Marcion and the Manichees are reported to have left this verse out of their copies of this evangelist. This saying of our Lord is JUSTLY CONSIDERED AS A STRONG PROOF OF THE IMMATERIALITY OF THE SOUL; and IT IS NO WONDER THAT THOSE WHO HAVE EMBRACED THE CONTRARY OPINION SHOULD ENDEAVOR TO EXPLAIN AWAY THIS MEANING. IN ORDER TO DO THIS, A COMMA IS PLACED AFTER σημερον, TO-DAY, and then our Lord is supposed to have meant, 'Thou shalt be with me after the resurrection I tell thee this, TO-DAY.' I am sorry to find men-of great learning and abilities attempting to support THIS MOST FEEBLE AND WORTHLESS CRITICISM. Such support a good cause cannot need; and, in my opinion, even a bad cause must be discredited by it.
In paradise. The garden of Eden, mentioned Ge 2:8 , is also called, from the Septuagint, the garden of Paradise. The word Eden, signifies pleasure and delight. Several places were thus called; see Ge 4:16 ; 2Ki 19:12 ; Isa 37:12 ; Eze 27:23 ; and Am 1:5 ; and such places probably had this name from their fertility, pleasant situation, Septuagint have viewed Ge 2:8 . as they render the passage thus: εφυτευσενοθεοςπαραδεισονενεδεμ, God planted a paradise in Eden. Hence the word has been transplanted into the New Testament; and is used to signify a place of exquisite pleasure and delight. From this the ancient heathens borrowed their ideas of the gardens of the Hesperides, where the trees bore golden fruit; and the gardens of Adonis, a word which is evidently derived from the Hebrew Eden: and hence the origin of sacred groves, gardens, and other enclosures dedicated to purposes of devotion, some comparatively innocent, others impure. The word paradise is not Greek, but is of Asiatic origin. In Arabic and Persian it signifies a garden, a vineyard, and also the place of the blessed. In the Kushuf ul Loghat, a very celebrated Persian dictionary, the [Arabic] Jenet al Ferdoos, Garden of Paradise, is said to have been 'created by God out of light, and that the prophets and wise men ascend thither.'
Paradise was, in the beginning, the habitation of man in his state of innocence, in which he enjoyed that presence of his Maker which constituted his supreme happiness. Our Lord's words intimate that this penitent should be immediately taken to the abode of the spirits of the just, where he should enjoy the presence and approbation of the Most High. In the Institutes of Menu, chap.O Economics, Inst. 243, are the following words: 'A man habitually pious, whose offences have been expiated, is instantly conveyed, after death, to the higher world, with a radiant form, and a body of ethereal substance.' The state of the blessed is certainly what our Lord here means: in what the locality of that state consists we know not. The Jews share a multitude of fables on the subject.
Dr. Albert Barnes (1798-1870)
"Verse 43. TODAY, future period when the Messiah would rise or would return; but JESUS TOLD HIM THAT HIS PRAYER WOULD BE ANSWERED THAT VERY DAY, IMPLYING, EVIDENTLY, THAT IT WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY AT DEATH. This is the more remarkable, as those who were crucified commonly lingered for several days on the cross before they died; but JESUS FORESAW THAT MEASURES WOULD BE TAKEN TO HASTEN THEIR DEATH, AND ASSURED HIM THAT THAT DAY HE SHOULD RECEIVE AN ANSWER TO HIS PRAYER AND BE WITH HIM IN HIS KINGDOM.
Paradise. This is a word of Persian origin, and means a garden, particularly a garden of pleasure, filled with trees, and shrubs, and fountains, and flowers. In hot climates such gardens were peculiarly pleasant, and hence they were attached to the mansions of the rich and to the palaces of princes. The word came thus to denote any place of happiness, and was used particularly to denotes the abodes of the blessed in another world. The Romans spoke of their Elysium, and the Greeks of the gardens of Hesperides, where the trees bore golden fruit. The garden of Eden means, also, the garden of pleasure, and in Gen 2:8 the Septuagint renders the word Eden by Paradise. Hence this name in the Scriptures comes to denote the abodes of the blessed in the other world. 2Cor 12:4 . The Jews supposed that the souls of the righteous would be received into such a place, and those of the wicked cast down to Gehenna until the time of the judgment. They had many fables about this state which it is unnecessary to repeat. THE PLAIN MEANING OF THE PASSAGE IS,
"TO-DAY THOU SHALT BE MADE HAPPY, OR BE RECEIVED TO A STATE OF BLESSEDNESS WITH ME AFTER DEATH."
It is to be remarked that Christ says nothing about the p1ace where it should be, nor of the condition of those there, excepting that it is a place of blessedness, AND THAT ITS HAPPINESS IS TO COMMENCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH (see also Php 1:23 ); but from the narrative we may learn--
1st. That THE SOUL WILL EXIST SEPARATELY FROM THE BODY; FOR, WHILE THE THIEF AND THE SAVIOUR WOULD BE IN PARADISE, THEIR BODIES WOULD BE ON THE CROSS OR IN THE GRAVE.
2nd. That IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH -- THE SAME DAY -- THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE MADE HAPPY. They will feel that they are secure; they will be received among the just; and they will have the assurance of a glorious immortality.
3rd. That state will differ from the condition of the wicked. The promise was made to but one on the cross, and there is no evidence whatever that the other entered there. See also the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Lk 16:19-31.
4th. It is the chief glory of this state and of heaven to be permitted to see Jesus Christ and to be with him: 'Thou shalt be with me.' 'I desire to depart and to be with Christ,' Php 1:23, Rev 21:23, 5:9-14." [4]
Keith Walker
"The Watchtower (WT) teaches that the soul is not immortal so that when a person dies, their soul is extinguished like the flame of a snuffed candle. Thus, when Jesus and the two thieves died, they ceased to exist. IF JESUS WAS TELLING THE THIEF THAT HE WOULD BE WITH HIM "TODAY", THEN THAT WOULD PROVE THAT SOULS ARE INDEED IMMORTAL. ONE LITTLE PUNCTUATION MARK PREVENTS JW’S FROM ACCEPTING THIS BIBLICAL TRUTH." [3]
Consummation
Derivatives
Firstly, we should take into consideration that LUKE CHAPTER 23 VERSE 43 WERE ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN GREEK, NOT ENGLISH - CONTAINING NO PUNCTUATION MARKS.
Punctuation
Secondly, we should realize that THERE WERE NO FORM OF GREEK PUNCTUATION UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED AMONG THE ANCIENT GREEKS. WHERE GREEK TEXTS WERE TO BE PUNCTUATED was a subject of debate in ancient Greek schools, where such scholars as Clement of Alexandria and Origen received their literary training. This was part of the course of instruction known as TO MEQODIKON (as distinguished from TO HISTORIKON, the assemblage of explanatory comments in order to illuminate the content and reference of the text under scrutiny).
Keeping the above in mind, the text could be read as, EITHER "I SAY UNTO YOU, TODAY YOU SHALL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE" OR "I SAY UNTO YOU TODAY, YOU SHALL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE".
Therefore, FROM PUNCTUATION ALONE, WE'D BE HARD-PRESSED IN ESTABLISHING EITHER VIEW.
Translation
Thirdly, bearing in mind that historically there existed no form of Greek punctuation universally recognized among the Greeks - one would have to conclude, that WHERE THE COMMA WERE PLACED IN A PARTICULAR TRANSLATION, WERE BY-AND-LARGE INFLUENCED BY THE THEOLOGICAL LEANINGS OF THOSE INVOLVED IN ITS TRANSLATION.
It is also interesting to note, that, while MOST OF THE MODERN TRANSLATIONS (1933AV, AKJV and CEV) PLACED THE COMMA BEFORE THE WORD "TODAY", WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE MESSIANIC JEWISH (TS) AND EMPHATIC (EBR and TED) VERSIONS, WHICH RENDERS THE COMMA AFTER "TODAY"; OLDER TRANSLATIONS (TB) PROVIDE NO COMMA AT ALL.
Language
As always, Scripture Illuminates Scripture - the Bible explains itself. Unlike the Universalists, WE DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING.
As the Messianic Jewish Institute for Scripture Research explains, Lk. 23v43 MAKES USE OF "A HEBREW IDIOM, A SOLEMN IDIOM, USED FOR GREATER EMPHASIS, USED NO LESS THAN 42 TIMES IN THE BOOK OF DEBARIM!" [1] (a.k.a Deuteronomy).
Distortion
In defiance of the above: Albert Barnes (1798-1870) still habituate "THE PLAIN MEANING OF THE PASSAGE" as being "TO-DAY THOU SHALT BE MADE HAPPY, OR BE RECEIVED TO A STATE OF BLESSEDNESS WITH ME AFTER DEATH"; claiming that "JESUS FORESAW THAT MEASURES WOULD BE TAKEN TO HASTEN THEIR DEATH, AND ASSURED HIM THAT THAT DAY HE SHOULD RECEIVE AN ANSWER TO HIS PRAYER AND BE WITH HIM IN HIS KINGDOM" Likewise, Keith Walker also conclude that "JESUS WAS TELLING THE THIEF THAT HE WOULD BE WITH HIM TODAY" [3]
Timeframe
The Universalist View has a number of exegetical problems: If, as they contend, Jesus ascended into Heaven the same day He died - HOW COULD HE HAVE BEEN "IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH" FOR "THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS"? (Mt. 12v40, 27v63; Mk. 8v31) Furthermore... WHY, AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, DID HE SAY HE HASN'T "YET ASCENDED TO" HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN? (Jn. 20v17)
Immortality
Lk. 23v43 are often quoted in defense of Universal Immortality:
Amongst these, Adam Clarke (1760/62-1832) sought to establish from Lk. 23v43 "A STRONG PROOF OF THE IMMATERIALITY OF THE SOUL". Likewise, Keith Walker also claim Lk. 23v43 as proof "THAT SOULS ARE INDEED IMMORTAL" [3].
Clarke even goes as far as to claim that, "IT IS NO WONDER THAT THOSE WHO HAVE EMBRACED THE CONTRARY OPINION SHOULD ENDEAVOR TO EXPLAIN AWAY THIS MEANING" by placing a comma "AFTER σημερον, TO-DAY".
It seems, however, that it is Clarke himself, that fails miserably in establishing any "STRONG PROOF OF THE IMMATERIALITY OF THE SOUL" in placing a comma BEFORE ,σημερον TO-DAY.
Scripture References
"{13} O THAT THOU WOULDEST HIDE ME IN THE GRAVE, that Thou keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and REMEMBER ME! {14} IF A MAN DIE, SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN? ALL THE DAYS OF MY APPOINTED TIME WILL I WAIT, TILL MY CHANGE COME." (Job 14v13-14, AKJV, p.248)
"{39} But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: {40} For AS JONAS WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE WHALE'S BELLY; SO SHALL THE SON OF MAN BE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH." (Mt. 12v39-40, AKJV, p.427)
"And NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, even the Son of man which is in heaven." (Jn. 3v13, AKJV, p.468)
"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God." (Jn. 20v17, AKJV, p.479) ref. Jn. 20v17
"For DAVID IS NOT ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, ..." (Acts 2v34, AKJV, p.481)
Footnotes
X "This is a Hebrew idiom, a solemn idiom, used for greater emphasis, used no less than 42 times in the book of Debarim!" [1] See, Deut. 4v4, v8, v39-40, 5v1, 6v6, 7v11, 8v1, v11, v18-19, 10v13, v15, 11v2, v8, v13, v26-28, v32, 12v8, 13v18, 15v5, v15, 19v9, 26v3, v18, 27v4, v10, 28v1, v13-15, 29v12-13, v18, 30v2, v8, v11, v15-16, v18-19, 32v46
Bibliography
1 Footnote concerning Lk. 23v43: The Scriptures (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 1830, 2162, South Africa, 1993 [1998, 2000]), p.1014. http://www.messianic.co.za/ ISBN 0-620-22490-8
2 The Comma of Luke 23:43. (19/06/2008) http://www.wcg.org/lit/prophecy/comma.htm
3 Keith Walker; Paradise and Punctuation (Evidence Ministries). (15/05/2008) [http://www.happyxwitness.com/jehovahswitnesses.php?viewarticle=32 http://www.happyxwitness.com/jehovahswitnesses.php?viewarticle=32]
4 Dr. Albert Barnes; "Luke 23:43": Notes on the Bible (GnomeSword).
