42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a](A)

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”(B)

The Death of Jesus(C)

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,(D) 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple(E) was torn in two.(F) 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice,(G) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[b](H) When he had said this, he breathed his last.(I)

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Notas al pie

  1. Luke 23:42 Some manuscripts come with your kingly power
  2. Luke 23:46 Psalm 31:5

42 Then[a] he said, “Jesus, remember me[b] when you come in[c] your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus[d] said to him, “I tell you the truth,[e] today[f] you will be with me in paradise.”[g]

44 It was now[h] about noon,[i] and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,[j] 45 because the sun’s light failed.[k] The temple curtain[l] was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit![m] And after he said this he breathed his last.

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Notas al pie

  1. Luke 23:42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  2. Luke 23:42 sn Jesus, remember me is a statement of faith from the cross, as Jesus saves another even while he himself is dying. This man’s faith had shown itself when he rebuked the other thief. He hoped to be with Jesus sometime in the future in the kingdom.
  3. Luke 23:42 tc ‡ The alternate readings of some mss make the reference to Jesus’ coming clearer. “Into your kingdom”—with εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν (eis tēn basileian), read by P75 B L—is a reference to his entering into God’s presence at the right hand. “In your kingdom”—with ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ (en tē basileia), read by א A C*,2 W Θ Ψ 070 ƒ1,13 33 M lat sy—looks at his return. It could be argued that the reading with εἰς is more in keeping with Luke’s theology elsewhere, but the contrast with Jesus’ reply, “Today,” slightly favors the reading “in your kingdom.” Codex Bezae (D), in place of this short interchange between the criminal and Jesus, reads “Then he turned to the Lord and said to him, ‘Remember me in the day of your coming.’ Then the Lord said in reply to [him], ‘Take courage; today you will be with me in paradise.’” This reading emphasizes the future aspect of the coming of Christ; it has virtually no support in any other mss.
  4. Luke 23:43 tn Grk “he.”
  5. Luke 23:43 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  6. Luke 23:43 sn Jesus gives more than the criminal asked for, because the blessing will come today, not in the future. He will be among the righteous. See the note on today in 2:11.
  7. Luke 23:43 sn In the NT, paradise is mentioned three times. Here it refers to the abode of the righteous dead. In Rev 2:7 it refers to the restoration of Edenic paradise predicted in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35. In 2 Cor 12:4 it probably refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) as the place where God dwells.
  8. Luke 23:44 tn Grk “And it was.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
  9. Luke 23:44 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”
  10. Luke 23:44 tn Grk “until the ninth hour.”
  11. Luke 23:45 tc The wording “the sun’s light failed” is a translation of τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος/ ἐκλείποντος (tou hēliou eklipontos/ ekleipontos), a reading found in the earliest and best witnesses (among them P75 א B C*vid L 070 579 2542) as well as several ancient versions. The majority of mss (A C3 [D] W Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 M lat sy) have the flatter, less dramatic term, “the sun was darkened” (ἐσκοτίσθη, eskotisthe), a reading that avoids the problem of implying an eclipse (see sn below). This alternative thus looks secondary because it is a more common word and less likely to be misunderstood as referring to a solar eclipse. That it appears in later witnesses rather than the earliest ones adds confirmatory testimony to its inauthentic character.sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15. Some students of the NT see in Luke’s statement the sun’s light failed (eklipontos) an obvious blunder in his otherwise meticulous historical accuracy. The reason for claiming such an error on the author’s part is due to an understanding of the verb as indicating a solar eclipse when such would be an astronomical impossibility during a full moon. There are generally two ways to resolve this difficulty: (a) adopt a different reading (“the sun was darkened”) that smoothes over the problem (discussed in the tc problem above), or (b) understand the verb eklipontos in a general way (such as “the sun’s light failed”) rather than as a technical term, “the sun was eclipsed.” The problem with the first solution is that it is too convenient, for the Christian scribes who, over the centuries, copied Luke’s Gospel would have thought the same thing. That is, they too would have sensed a problem in the wording and felt that some earlier scribe had incorrectly written down what Luke penned. The fact that the reading “was darkened” shows up in the later and generally inferior witnesses does not bolster one’s confidence that this is the right solution. But second solution, if taken to its logical conclusion, proves too much for it would nullify the argument against the first solution: If the term did not refer to an eclipse, then why would scribes feel compelled to change it to a more general term? The solution to the problem is that ekleipo did in fact sometimes refer to an eclipse, but it did not always do so. (BDAG 306 s.v. ἐκλείπω notes that the verb is used in Hellenistic Greek “Of the sun cease to shine.” In MM it is argued that “it seems more than doubtful that in Lk 2345 any reference is intended to an eclipse. To find such a reference is to involve the Evangelist in a needless blunder, as an eclipse is impossible at full moon, and to run counter to his general usage of the verb = ‘fail’…” [p. 195]. They enlist Luke 16:9; 22:32; and Heb 1:12 for the general meaning “fail,” and further cite several contemporaneous examples from papyri of this meaning [195-96]) Thus, the very fact that the verb can refer to an eclipse would be a sufficient basis for later scribes altering the text out of pious motives; conversely, the very fact that the verb does not always refer to an eclipse and, in fact, does not normally do so, is enough of a basis to exonerate Luke of wholly uncharacteristic carelessness.
  12. Luke 23:45 tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.
  13. Luke 23:46 sn A quotation from Ps 31:5. It is a psalm of trust. The righteous, innocent sufferer trusts in God. Luke does not have the cry of pain from Ps 22:1 (cf. Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34), but notes Jesus’ trust instead.