Did the Crucified Thief Go to Paradise THAT DAY?

When the Messiah was crucified, two thieves were crucified simultaneously with him:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

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

Luke 23:39-43

Christ obviously discerned a repentant spirit in this thief, along with faith for salvation (Acts 20:21). As such, he was promising the former criminal paradise when he was resurrected at his Second Coming (Daniel 12:1-2 & Matthew 19:28-30). Some argue that Jesus told the man he’d be with him in paradise that very day, yet he said no such thing because Christ didn’t go to “paradise” the day he died since we know his dead soul laid in Sheol for three days until he was resurrected (Matthew 12:40). This obviously was not “paradise,” but rather the penalty of sin—death—which Jesus experienced in our place as our substitutionary death (1 Peter 2:24).

So what “paradise” was Christ referring to and when would he and this repentant thief experience it? The Greek word is only used three times in Scripture. Other than Jesus’ statement in Luke 23:43 (above), Paul referred to “paradise” as currently being in Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:4, which is substantiated by Revelation 2:7. Since the latter verse states that the tree of life is in this paradise, it’s likely a reference to the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24), which was evidently removed from this fallen earth after Adam’s banishment, to be replaced one day when God makes the Earth and Universe new—new in the sense of removing the stain of evil and death, as well as other changes, like making worthless desert landscapes blossom and bloom (Revelation 21:1-4). Again, we know Jesus didn’t go to paradise that day, but to Sheol. He was dead and resurrected three days later. Forty days after that Jesus ascended to Heaven where this paradise is located.

When Jesus was resurrected from the dead he triumphed over the powers of darkness (Colossians 2:15). Paul said of this, “he was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The apostle was referring to the justification of all those who believe according to the new covenant, of course, but also to the holy people of the Old Testament period who had already passed away. In our new covenant believers don’t go to Sheol when they die because they’ve been born-again of the imperishable seed of Christ (1 Peter 1:3 & 1:23); as such, they bypass Sheol and go straight to Heaven to await their forthcoming bodily resurrection (Philippians 1:21-24 & 2 Corinthians 5:8). Death—Sheol—has no power over believers who are reborn of the seed of Christ by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). For more glaring scriptural evidence go here.

Old Testament saints, on the other hand, had to go to Sheol when they physically died because Yeshua hadn’t yet died for their sins or been raised to life for their justification. This includes the repentant thief whom Jesus informed would be with him in paradise, which—as we’ve seen—is located in Heaven, not Sheol. Enoch, Elijah and Moses were the only exceptions in the Old Testament period because they were types and shadows of the resurrection of the redeemed (which you can read about here). After Christ was resurrected, righteous souls no longer had to go to Sheol because justification was made available.

All this renders Luke 23:43 nonsensical because Jesus said to the ex-thief, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The idea that Jesus went straight to paradise when he died—whether in Heaven or anywhere else—simply isn’t supported by the rest of Scripture. This violates the hermeneutical law “Scripture interprets Scripture.” The contradiction is easily solved, however, by simply placing a comma in the appropriate spot in the text. Keep in mind that there was no punctuation in the original Greek text; consequently, translators have to determine where punctuation marks go, like commas and so on. Also bear in mind that the Greek word for “today,” sémeron, literally means ‘this day’ or ‘now.’ With these facts in mind, the passage makes perfect sense simply by changing the placement of one comma in the English text like so: “Assuredly, I tell you this day, you will be with me in paradise.”

So Christ wasn’t telling the ex-thief that he’d be with him in paradise that very day; no, he was telling him that day he’d be with him in paradise, meaning the ex-thief would be with Jesus in paradise in Heaven when his soul was resurrected from Sheol, whether that occurred 43 days later when Jesus ascended (Ephesians 4:8) or — more likely — at Christ’s Second Coming (Matthew 19:28) is regardless. Keep in mind that time is of no significance when you’re dead in Sheol.

Those who disagree have to find scriptural support that the Messiah went straight to some paradise upon physical death, which they can’t do; so this is the appropriate way to read the verse. Of course, some cite Christ’s parable of the rich man and beggar, suggesting that “Abraham’s bosom” was a paradise, but the overwhelming evidence of Scripture disproves that theory.

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