A Comma, a Cross, and a Kingdom: Rethinking the Thief Beside Christ

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Those words–spoken by Jesus to a dying man–have comforted many and confused just as many. For centuries, this single verse has launched sermons, sparked debates, and shaped doctrines that affect how people view salvation itself.

But what if this powerful statement has been misunderstood–not because of what Jesus said, but because of where a translator decided to place a single comma?

A Verse That Shaped Eternity

Luke 23:43 is among the most frequently cited scriptures when it comes to proving that believers go directly to heaven when they die. The passage is often used to:

• Justify the belief that salvation can be granted in a last-minute deathbed confession.
  
• Argue that baptism, faithfulness, or works aren’t necessary for salvation.
  
• Support the idea of immediate entry into heaven after death.
  

From this single statement, entire doctrines have been built. For many, it’s become the go-to response to complex questions about salvation, judgment, and the afterlife.

But there’s a problem: the English punctuation.

The Problem with the Comma

Ancient Greek manuscripts didn’t have punctuation marks like modern English. There were no commas to separate clauses, no quotation marks to delineate speech, and often no spaces between words. Translators, interpreting the text through their own theological lens, had to make choices.

In the Greek, Luke 23:43 reads: Amen soi legō sēmeron met’ emou esē en tō paradeisō.
Word for word: “Truly I say to you today with me you will be in paradise.”

Depending on where you place the comma, the meaning changes:

• “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
  
• “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.”
  

One version suggests immediate reward. The other promises future fulfillment. One version conflicts with Scripture. The other conflicts with traditional beliefs.

The Hebrew Idiom of “Today”

How does one resolve this translation issue? There’s a Hebrew way of speaking that sheds light on Jesus’ words. In Hebrew speech, the word “today” was often used to add solemn weight to a declaration. It wasn’t about when something would happen, but about the certainty of the statement being made that very day.

Scripture gives us several examples:

• “I declare to you today that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 30:18).
  
• “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today” (Deuteronomy 5:1).
  
• “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men” (Acts 20:26).
  

In each case, “today” underscores the solemnity of the declaration, not the timing of its fulfillment.

In the same way, when Jesus said, “Truly I say to you today…” He was not fixing the thief’s hope on that very afternoon. Instead, He was assuring him–on that day of suffering–that he would indeed share in the joy of Paradise when God’s Kingdom comes.

But Was Jesus Even in Paradise That Day?

According to Scripture, Jesus Himself did not ascend to the Father until days after His death. In John 20:17, speaking to Mary after His resurrection, Jesus says, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”

Furthermore, Jesus was in the grave for “three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40). If Jesus wasn’t in paradise that day, how could the thief be?

And biblically, “paradise” doesn’t necessarily refer to heaven as most assume. It typically points to the future restored Eden–a metaphor for the Kingdom of God (Revelation 2:7, 2 Corinthians 12:4). In that context, Jesus was promising the thief resurrection into His future Kingdom, not an immediate escape to heaven.

A Pattern of Assumptions

Luke 23:43 isn’t the only place where translation choices have shaped theology:

• Gehenna (a literal valley outside Jerusalem) was translated as “hell,” leading to the doctrine of eternal torment.
  
• Nephesh in Hebrew means “living being,” but is often translated as “soul” with the assumption of an immortal, conscious entity.
  
• Words like aionios can mean “age-lasting,” yet are rendered “eternal” or “forever” to support the idea of unending torment.
  
• Ekklesia, meaning “called-out assembly,” was translated as “church,” contributing to institutional religion rather than a called-out body of believers.
  

Each of these choices, like the comma in Luke 23:43, stems from interpretation rather than linguistic necessity.

The Real Beauty of the Moment

What truly matters in the thief’s moment with Christ isn’t where he went, but what he believed:

• He acknowledged his guilt.
  
• He recognized Jesus as King.
  
• He asked to be remembered in the Kingdom.
  

That last part is often overlooked. The thief didn’t ask to go to heaven–he asked to be remembered when Jesus would come into His Kingdom. He had a future-focused hope. And Jesus affirmed it.

Faith in the Right Kingdom

The thief’s moment of clarity wasn’t about stumbling into a loophole to heaven. It was a glimpse into a much greater promise–a coming Kingdom, a restored world, a place where mercy and justice meet.

Perhaps the real tragedy isn’t the mistranslated comma, but the theology that sprang from it–a theology where salvation is reduced to timing, and belief is reduced to a magic phrase.

If we read carefully, we see something better: the thief was given hope not because of timing, ritual, or punctuation, but because he believed in the King who would return.

And in that promise lies hope–not just for a thief on a cross, but for all who believe in the coming King.