R.C. Sproul from his book Essential Truths of the Christian Faith on the doctrine of soul sleep:
Soul sleep advocates argue that most English editions of the Bible have misplaced the comma [in]…”I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.
With this change in punctuation the “today” then refers to the time Jesus is speaking rather than the time Jesus will meet the thief in Paradise. This punctuation is unlikely, however. It was perfectly obvious to the thief on what day Jesus was conversing with him. It was hardly necessary for Jesus to say he was speaking “today.” This waste of words for a man gasping for breath in the throes of crucifixion is highly unlikely. Rather, consistent with the rest of the biblical evidence to the intermediate state (see especially Philippians 1:19-26 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10), the promise to the thief is that he would be reunited with Christ in Paradise that very day.
After using the punctuation of Luke 23:43 to solely prove his case for the intermediate state, he turns his attention to soul sleep advocates who say that the punctuation is most likely incorrectly placed (which is a valid case because the punctuation is relative to the English translation, therefore doctrine cannot be drawn from it. See: Hammer’s post on this verse). His argument against their case is that, if they are correct, then Jesus was wasting his words. We should avoid such arguments at all costs, for if Mr. Sproul is wrong, then he has accused Christ of wasting words all for the sake of proving conditionalists wrong. Of course, if he is correct, then the same is true each time Jesus says “Truly I say to you.”
Sproul says some blasphemous things in that section of his book. Specifically, in the quote you gave, he called Jesus “a man gasping for breath” as if Jesus were ONLY a normal man. The basic rule that Sproul is basing his argument on is that no person would waste a single breath while on the cross. Yet, Jesus talked! Amazing! He gave comfort to the thief, and asked God to forgive those who crucified him. Unless you’re in the Monty Python movie “The Life of Brian” singing “Keep on the Bright Side of Life,” then chances are you’re going to be quiet while dying. That is, unless you’re the Savior.
Now, as for Sproul’s interpretation errors.
RULE 1: Do not base doctrine on language-specific punctuation.
RULE 2: The Bible does not contradict itself.
Sproul violates rule 1 by relying on the English punctuation to obtain his position and THEN he quotes other scripture for further support. In reality, he should obtain a proper interpretation of this passage from the original language. Or, at the very least, try to interpret this passage in light of other scripture. Which brings us to…
Rule 2 is broken by Sproul when he ignores the fact that Jesus did not go to Paradise immediately upon death. It is inconsistent with scripture to say that when someone dies, they are judged immediately. Sure, an exception could have been made for our Savior, but there is no indication of that in scripture.
Overall, I see nothing in Sproul’s argument except a HUGE presupposition and forcing an erroneous interpretation into scripture.
Would Sproul tell Jesus to his face to not waste words? As you said, Jesus often stated the obvious when he would say things such as “I say to you.” Would Sproul tell Jesus, “Wo, Jesus, what are you doing? I KNOW you’re talking to me. You don’t have to tell me this.”
Hagakure, the book of the samurai says, when someone of more experience than you speaks, you should always listen attentively even if you’ve heard what they are saying 10 or 20 times before. By doing so, a deep truth may be revealed to you that you didn’t realize before.
We all should have this mindset, especially when it’s Jesus who is speaking. He can tell me that he is speaking to me, and even the day on which he is speaking to me, repeat the same words over and over, or whatever…but I should always be humble and listen to every word. Apparently, from what Sproul has said here, he would prefer not to hear something that he supposedly has mastered, even if it be from his Lord.
The difference here is that, as you have mentioned, Jesus was speaking to a freshly converted man who was about to die. This man was in the most humble position possible (on a cross), so I’m sure he was fully appreciative of every word Jesus said, even if they were “obvious.” Yet, somehow I’m convinced that the words “Truly I say to you today” were not rhetorical in the least, but act as powerful words of authority. Either way, the theif did not scoff at Jesus as wasting his breath.
Exactly! They were words of authority! While Sproul might consider them wasteful, they were very important. He should learn more about hagakure and listening to his Master.