JoJo said:
I'd like to get your thoughts on this question: Where was Jesus between the time of his death on the cross until the time of his resurrection? I know his body was in the tomb, but where was His Spirit?
When Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross, He said, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) So Jesus was in paradise until His resurrection, right?
MY COMMENTS: Hi "JoJo". I can understand your questions, based upon the popular orthodox theology.
First of all, Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights, as he told the Pharisees (Matt.12:39).
Thus, he couldn't be with the believing thief "in paradise" the day he was crucified.
When he expired, he committed his spirit (his life force) to his Father (Matt. 25:50; Luke 24:46).
A study will show that man's spirit, his life force, is related to breath; it is being formed in us by God (Zech. 12:1); and upon anyone's death, it returns to God who gave it (Eccl.12:7).
Next, we must examine closely the passage in Luke 23:42 as well as 23:43.
The believing thief says, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." NIV.
Another version is the NASB:
Luke 23:42, " And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" NASB
The thief was asking to be remembered when Jesus would come into (or in) his kingdom. And this will be when Jesus as Messiah comes again to defeat his enemies on the earth, to rescue his people, Israel, and to establish the Millennial Kingdom.
The earth, which had been ravaged by the plagues and judgments during the last half of the tribulation, will be restored, rejuvinated, especially Jerusalem and the land of Israel. It will become like the garden (paradise) of Eden. "Paradise" in the Greek means a "park or garden." Ref:
Isa. 51:3 "The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord." NIV.
Ezek. 36:35 "They will say, 'This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; ..." NIV.
To clarify verse 43 of Luke 23, we must understand that the Greek manuscripts were all capitals with no punctuation. Punctuation has been added by the translators according to their interpretation and theology.
Next, the use of "today" or "this day" in many sentences was a Hebraism, a solemn idiom used for great emphasis, as can be seen mainly in the OT. For example:
Deut.4:26, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from this land..." KJV. In Deut. there are some 40 places where this idiom is used.
Therefore, I submit Luke 23:43 should more literally read, "Verily, I say unto thee today, with me thou shalt be in the paradise." Note: the article "the" is in the Greek.
Thus, Jesus promises the believing thief that he will be with Him in the paradise in the coming kingdom on earth.
