The Rich Man and Lazarus
-the intermediate state-
 

CHRIST'S WORDS TO THE DYING MALEFACTOR - Luke 23:43

�To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.� This can mean only �Verily I say unto thee this day, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.�

In the first place we must remember that the punctuation is not inspired. It is only of human authority. There is none whatever in the Greek manuscripts. We have, therefore, perfect liberty to criticize and alter man's use of it, and to substitute our own.

The verb �say� when used with �to-day,� is sometimes separated from it by the word oti hoti (that); and sometimes it is joined with it by the absence of hoti. The Holy Spirit uses these words with perfect exactness, and it behooves us to learn what He would thus teach us.

When He puts the word hoti (that) between �say� and �to-day,� it throws �to-day� into what is said, and cuts it off from the verb �say,� e.g. Luke 19:9, �Jesus said...that (Gr. hoti) this day is salvation come to this house.� Here �to-day� is joined with the verb �come,� and separated from the verb �I say.� So also in Luke 4:21 �And he began to say unto them that (hoti) this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.� Here again the presence of hoti cuts off �to-day� from �say� and joins it with �fulfilled.�

But this is not the case in Luke 23:43. Here the Holy Spirit has carefully excluded the word hoti (that). How then dare anyone to read the verse as though He had not excluded it, and read it as though it said �I say unto thee, that this day,� etc. It is surely adding to the Word of God to insert, or imply the insertion of the word �that� when the Holy Spirit has not used it; as He has in two other places in this same Gospel (Luke 4:21; 19:9).

We are now prepared to see that we must translate Luke 23:43 in this manner, �Verily I say to thee this day, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.� The prayer was answered. It referred to the future, and so did the promise; for, when the Lord shall have come in His Kingdom, the only Paradise the Scripture knows of will be restored.

Further we must note that the formula �I say unto thee this day,� was a well known Hebrew idiom used to emphasized the solemnity of the occasion and the importance of the words. See Deuteronomy 4:26, 29, 40; 5:6; 6:6; 7:11; 8:1, 11, 19; 9:3; 10:13; 11:2, 8, 13, 18, 27, 28, 32; 13:18; 15:5; 19:9; 26:3, 17, 18; 27:1, 4, 10; 28:1, 13, 14, 15; 24:12; 30:2, 8, 11, 15, 16, 18, 18; 32:46. The expression, therefore, �I say unto thee this day,� marks the wonderful character of the man's faith; which, under such circumstances, could still believe in, and look forward to the coming kingdom; and acknowledge that Christ was the King, though on that very day He was hanging on the Cross.


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