(Friday, June 10, 2011, 11:15 AM)
Titian (c. 1490-1576), Jesus Christ and the Good Thief, c. 1563
Jesus' Resurrection is something serious, NOT the charade that make of it those who affirm that he was already in "paradise", in the company of the "good thief", the very day that he was dead, without either of them having to wait for the resurrection to be alive again.
The promise of Jesus to the "good thief" (“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” - Luke 23:43) is NOT the promise that they will meet as blessed "disembodied souls" in "paradise" on that very day, immediately after death, but the promise that "even on that very day, he would be counted among the righteous in Paradise [that is in the "book" where the names of the righteous are written], awaiting the resurrection with them" (see The Comma of Luke 23:43, @ gci.org), awaiting for the day when Jesus will return in his glory, "in his kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Very much in the same sense as, in another famous Lucan passage, it is written:
Once again, before he was raised from the dead, Jesus was truly ... dead, so, the first occasion he had of meeting anybody before his ascension, was, in any case, after his resurrection.
Titian (c. 1490-1576), Jesus Christ and the Good Thief, c. 1563
Jesus' Resurrection is something serious, NOT the charade that make of it those who affirm that he was already in "paradise", in the company of the "good thief", the very day that he was dead, without either of them having to wait for the resurrection to be alive again.
The promise of Jesus to the "good thief" (“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” - Luke 23:43) is NOT the promise that they will meet as blessed "disembodied souls" in "paradise" on that very day, immediately after death, but the promise that "even on that very day, he would be counted among the righteous in Paradise [that is in the "book" where the names of the righteous are written], awaiting the resurrection with them" (see The Comma of Luke 23:43, @ gci.org), awaiting for the day when Jesus will return in his glory, "in his kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Very much in the same sense as, in another famous Lucan passage, it is written:
18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19
Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and
on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.” (Luke 10:18-20 - emphasis MdS)
Once again, before he was raised from the dead, Jesus was truly ... dead, so, the first occasion he had of meeting anybody before his ascension, was, in any case, after his resurrection.
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