Damn The Comma

by Larry Fyffe

A modern playwrite has a a character bring up the Four Gospels, specifically Luke 23: 43, on the subject of salvation through repentance:

“But all were there. And only one speaks of a thief being saved”

(Samuel Beckett: Waiting For Godot)

The words Jesus speaks, when wrìtten down, seems to indicate that the souls (supposedly) of a sincerely repentant thief and that of Jesus will get to “paradise” very quickly when their material bodies succumb to hanging on wooden crosses:

Verily I say unto thee, today
Shalt thou be with me in paradise

Had these words been written down without the insertion of the comma, there’d not be much of a contradiction in the continuing narrative that states Jesus (the thief now nowhere to be seen) gets to hang out with His buddies, the disciples, for a time after escaping from His tomb ~ apparently, He does the magic trick in bodily form.

Jesus not exactly sure when He’ll next see the repentant thief in paradise:

Verily I say unto you today
Shalt thou be with me in paradise

Sometime before Christ is crucified, He eats the Last Supper with His disciples.

Apostle John says  to them that Jesus says in order to make it to paradise, mortals must not only die first, but they must have sincerely repented of their sins before doing so.

The disciples eat bread and drink wine with Jesus to symbolize the consumption of a sacrificed lamb as the Hebrews do at Passover:

Who eateth my flesh
And drinketh my blood
Hath eternal life
And I will rise him up at the last day
(John: 6:54)

The Christian apostle attempts to figuratively shove the “Son of God” down the throats of Jews who do not consider Jesus to be the Messiah.

Jews abhor even the thought of drinking blood.

Seems the Last Supper is not to be considered the Passover meal as that calendar date is yet to come.

John calls Jesus the “Lamb God”, crucified, sacrificed on the day of the special Jewish celebration.

Quite confusing enough it all is to open up the mouth of sarcasm – in the following song lyrics:

Never could learn to drink that blood
And call it wine
Never could learn to hold you love
And call you mine
(Bob Dylan: Tight Connection To My Heart)

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