TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE
Luke 23:39-43
In recent weeks I have been asked again about the “Thief on the Cross” and the fact that Jesus told him, “today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
- From what Jesus says there are two doctrinal issues that I want to address; both are very important.
- One deals with “What Happens When You Die” and the other deals with salvation.
- Let’s look at the issue of “What Happens When You Die” first.
Again, I really encourage you to do your own study on this. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thess. 5:21 to “examine everything and hold fast to that which is good” and I hope you will do just that in reference to what I am about to present to you.
This passage is often used to teach that when you die you immediately go to “Paradise.”
- As a result, several other ideas of “what happens when you die” have evolved.
- For instance, some say that “Paradise is different than heaven” and this thief will linger in “Paradise” until the great final judgment and then at that time he will go to heaven.
But now, if there is a place for the “righteous” to linger, there must also be a place for the unrighteous to linger, so consequently there has to be a place of torment; and from this the idea of a Purgatory has evolved; where the wicked will languish until the final judgment; and out of the idea of a Purgatory comes the idea of praying for the dead; and communicating with the dead; and paying penance for the dead.
- And, Hades and Sheol have become a reference to “the abode of the dead” instead of just simply the Greek and Hebrew words for the grave.
- So you can see that several concerning ideas have evolved from this passage.
And when you take into account other passages of scripture like John 5:25-29 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18 which indicate that no one goes to heaven until the Lord comes again; and compare those passages to this one it causes a lot of confusion; and also causes some to criticize the scriptures as being contradictory and therefore unreliable.
So, did Jesus really tell this thief that when he died that day that He would go straight to “Paradise?”
Well, understand this; the original Greek manuscripts did not have any punctuation. If you go back to the Tyndale Bible which was published 1536 you will see this. And it was long after the King James Bible was written in 1611 that punctuation was added.
- And in verse 43, when punctuation was added, the coma was placed before the word “today” making it read, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” indicating that the thief would be with Jesus in paradise that day after he died.
However, Jesus did not go to Paradise that day. Jesus went to the tomb to be raised on the 3rd day.
- And a careful study of John 19:31-33 will show that Jesus evidently died the day before the thief did and that is why they didn’t break Jesus’ legs.
- Therefore, the thief could not “be with Jesus in paradise that day.”
And in John 20:14 and following, three days after the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to Mary and He told her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”
- And yet, most people believe that Jesus told the thief, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
- Did Jesus lie?
I do not believe that Jesus lied and I also believe the answer is rather simple.
If the coma is placed in what I believe is the proper place; if it is placed after the word “today” the verse will say, “Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
- What Jesus is saying to the thief is, “You will be raised to Paradise because of your confession of faith; that will take place; but that will not take place today.”
- When will it take place? Well, let’s let the scriptures tell us.
John 5:25-29 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
1 Cor 15:20-24 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
1 Thess 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
- Like everyone else who has died and gone to the grave, the thief will be raised to Paradise when the Lord comes again on the Day of Judgment.
- By putting that coma in its rightful place, those who say that the Bible contradicts itself are proven wrong and the integrity of the Bible is maintained.
There is no Purgatory; praying for the dead or praying to the dead, or paying penance for the dead avails nothing; but a great, final judgment will come, and we each must be ready when it does.
- And the truth be known, what you do after you die is not what is important. What is important is what you do before you die; more specifically what you do with Christ before you die, is what is important.
Now, let’s look at the second issue: The issue of salvation that comes out of this passage. I am sure you have heard it.
- People refer to the “thief on the cross” and they say that “all you need to do in order to be saved is call on the name of the Lord. You do not need to be baptized, after all, the thief was saved without baptism.”
- Is that true? Can you be saved by just believing in Jesus and calling on His name?”
Look with me at Matthew 9:2-6: And behold, they were bringing to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, and walk’? 6 “But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– then He said to the paralytic– “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.”
- Now, it is obvious from this passage that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and while He was here on this earth He exercised that authority as He saw fit.
- And that is what He did in Luke 23 with the thief on the cross when He said, “You will be with me in paradise.”
But, what happened after Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross?
- Well, a lot happened! Christ died; He was placed in the tomb; 3 days later He was raised from the tomb; and according to Acts 1:3 He appeared to His disciples for a period of 40 days before he ascended into heaven.
And just before He ascended into heaven what did He do? Look at Acts 1:1-2. “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.”
- He gave “orders”; commands; instructions to be obeyed.
- And what were they?
Here they are:
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Matt 28:18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. ”
And that is exactly what his disciples did.
- In Acts 2:38, Peter preached baptism…in Acts 8, Philip preached baptism…in Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas preached baptism…in Acts 22:16…and Romans 6:3-4 and Galatians 3:26-27, Paul preached baptism…and in 1 Peter 3:21 Peter preached baptism.
- And in each of these references the people who heard baptism preached, obeyed.
When Christ was here on this earth He exercised his authority to forgive sins as He saw fit.
- But He did not give that authority to forgive sins to His disciples.
- Instead, He gave them “orders” on what they were to teach in reference to having sins forgiven…and when He left, they obeyed His orders.
- By His authority they taught that one must have faith in Christ, confess Him as Lord, repent of sins, be baptized for the remission of your sins…and walk in the light as He Himself is in the light.
- And that is what is to be done until He comes back again.
Yes, the indication is that Christ saved the thief on the cross without the thief being baptized.
- But Christ did that while He was here on the earth.
- In His absence, He left us different “orders” to follow.
Look at this again. Look at Acts 1 again. In verse 2 it says that Jesus gave His apostles His “orders”…now look at verse 3.
3 To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
- He gave His “orders” in Mark 16:16 just before He ascended into heaven…that means it had been 40 days since the crucifixion.
- When Christ gave His orders in Mark 16:16 and Matthew 28:18-20 the thief had been dead for 40 days.
- One of the reasons the thief was not baptized into Christ…is because He was never commanded to be!
- He never heard the command…He was already dead when the Lord commanded it!
The thief never came under the command of the great commission.
- But we do!
To look at the thief on the cross and say that baptism is not essential for salvation is to look back to a time prior to our Lord’s ascension…and the orders that He gave for us to follow.
Now, one last point.
- Those who point to the thief and say that he proves that you can be saved without being baptized…cannot prove that; they cannot prove that he wasn’t baptized.
- Look with me at Matthew 3 starting in vs. 4:
Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
It is entirely possible that the thief on the cross had heard John preach…and that he was baptized for the remission of his sins (Mark 1:4)…and on that cross his statement of repentance may have prompted Christ to forgive him of his sins and save him.
- The truth of the matter is…we do not know if the thief had ever been baptized or not.
- And to say that he wasn’t is to say more than the Bible says.
A great multitude of people today…perhaps even someone here this morning…have turned to the example of the thief on the cross to claim salvation simply by “calling on His name.”
- In doing so, they have dismissed the commandments…the orders that He left for us while He is gone.
I know the example of the thief on the cross is a very popular teaching…and the idea of salvation apart from baptism is one that many ascribe too.
- But just because it is popular…and just because a very large number of people ascribe to these ideas does not make it right.
What is right…and what we must ascribe too is what Christ commanded for us to do while He is gone…and He commanded us to be “baptized in His name…or by His authority, for the forgiveness of our sins.”
Judgement is coming; the Lord will return and all who are in the graves will be raised; some to a resurrection of life; others to condemnation. Christ promised the thief on the cross that on that day resurrection he would be in Paradise with Christ. Jesus could do that when He was here.
- But things changed when He left and ascended into heaven. He commanded baptism for the forgiveness of sin. The apostles taught it; the people they taught obeyed it; and no less is expected of us or anyone else today.
- If you desire this morning is to be a disciple of Christ; discipleship begins at baptism just as Christ commanded; will you come as we stand and sing.