Thief On A Cross

Lyric Video -
Interim Worship BandShow more

Lyrics and vocals by Jim O'Brien
Music composition and guitar by Dennis Beck
Joe Barsuglia - Bass, edrums, production

Graphic: www.lambsongs.co.nz
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Black sheep down the wrong road to skid row
The smell of restaurant trash mixed with despair
His past caught up to now, he questions direction
Much too bad to go back home

Find his way back home to paradise
Hell could not steal
A thief on a cross
A thief on a cross

Didn’t fit in, couldn’t play the game
Didn’t understand we are all the same
Gets that he’s unworthy, so many wrongs
Can’t see there is a way back home

We're trying to find our way back home to paradise
Hell could not steal
A thief on a cross
A thief on a cross

He gave his final heartfelt plea
Must have looked into those eyes
He heard those words of forgiveness
Today he is in paradise (**)

Find our way back home to paradise, road paved with grace
Hell could not steal
A thief on a cross,
A thief on a cross
A thief on a cross,
On a cross

(**) Luke 23:43 - The Thief On The Cross Contradiction
http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/thief-on-cross

In Luke 23:43 we read of Jesus saying, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” But in John 20:1-17 we read that Jesus meets Mary in the garden on the first day of the week and says, ‘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.’” (John 20:17) Additionally, John 19:31-33 states that the religious leaders asked for the thieves legs' to be broken and taken down from their crosses. They didn't want the thieves to hang on the crosses over the Sabbath.

We can see that Jesus could not have been with the thief in heavenly paradise that Friday if He had still not ascended to the Father on Sunday. Is this a contradiction? It would seem to be so on the surface.

But what if the comma was after the word today instead of before it? The meaning would change completely. Let's read the passage again, what if Jesus was saying,

“Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

If the comma is placed after the word today, it shows Jesus being emphatic on that day of his crucifixion, saying, today when I am dying on the cross with no apparent hope, I am promising that you will be with me in paradise eventually. However, if the comma is inserted before the word today, Jesus would then be promising that the thief would be with Him that very day in paradise; thus making Jesus a liar and also contradicting John 20:17.

The Thief On the Cross & the Comma

It makes a big difference where the comma is placed. There is a story of a wealthy man whose wife sent him a telegram asking if she could buy a very expensive item. He sent the reply, "No, price too high." Unfortunately the telegraph operator left the comma out of the message. When the wife received the message, "No price too high," she happily went and bought the expensive item. This story illustrates the importance of correct punctuation. If the punctuation is off by even one word it can mean something entirely different.