The Problem with the Thief on the Cross
Few figures in Scripture get used more often to justify doctrine than the thief on the cross. And few figures are more misunderstood.
You've heard the arguments. The thief wasn't baptized - so baptism isn't necessary. The thief didn't do any good works - so works don't matter. The thief just believed - so belief is all you need.
But there's a problem with building doctrine on the thief. A big one.
What if the thief wasn't the first example of New Covenant salvation - but the last example of Old Covenant salvation?
Paradise, Not Heaven
Let's start with what Jesus actually said.
"Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Paradise. Not Heaven. That distinction matters.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man. When Lazarus died, he went to Abraham's Bosom - a place of comfort, separated by a great gulf from Hades where the rich man suffered. This was Paradise. The holding place for the righteous dead under the Old Covenant.
Abraham was there. Lazarus was there. All the Old Testament saints were there. Waiting.
Waiting for what?
Waiting for Jesus to finish His work.
The Covenant Wasn't in Force Yet
Here's a legal reality most people overlook.
"For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives" (Hebrews 9:16-17).
A will doesn't take effect until the person who wrote it dies.
When Jesus made His promise to the thief, Jesus was still alive. The New Covenant - the new testament in His blood - wasn't in force yet. It couldn't be. The testator hadn't died.
The thief died under the same covenant that covered Abraham, Moses, and David. Faith looking forward to the promise. Old Covenant terms.
He wasn't the first convert of the New Covenant. He was the last convert of the Old.
Jesus Hadn't Ascended Yet
After the resurrection, Mary Magdalene found Jesus at the tomb. She reached out to Him, and He said something strange.
"Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father" (John 20:17).
Jesus had work to do. He hadn't gone to the Father yet.
The book of Hebrews tells us that the earthly tabernacle was "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5). There is a tabernacle in Heaven. A real one. Complete with the ark of the covenant and a mercy seat.
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle it on the mercy seat. That blood covered the sins of the people for another year.
Jesus, our High Priest, had to do the same thing - but once for all. He had to take His own blood into the heavenly tabernacle and sprinkle it on the heavenly mercy seat.
"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12).
When the thief died, Jesus hadn't done that yet. The blood hadn't been applied. The atonement wasn't complete.
The Spirit Wasn't Given Yet
Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit worked differently than He does now.
The Spirit came upon people - temporarily, for specific tasks. He came upon Samson to give him strength. He came upon Saul to prophesy. He came upon David to reign. But He also left. Saul lost the Spirit. David, after his sin with Bathsheba, prayed "Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11). He knew the Spirit could depart.
The New Covenant promised something different. An indwelling Spirit. A permanent presence.
But that hadn't happened yet.
"But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39).
Not yet given. Jesus wasn't glorified yet.
Jesus told His disciples, "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7).
The Spirit couldn't come in the New Covenant way until Jesus left. That happened at Pentecost - Acts 2. Peter preached, and three thousand were baptized, and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The thief died before any of this. Before the resurrection. Before the ascension. Before the Spirit was poured out. Before Acts 2. Before "repent and be baptized." He couldn't have received the indwelling Spirit even if he wanted to. It wasn't available yet.
Leading Captives Free
So what happened to all those Old Testament saints waiting in Paradise?
"When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. Now this, 'He ascended' - what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?" (Ephesians 4:8-9).
Jesus descended. To the lower parts. To Paradise. And He led the captives free.
Abraham, Moses, David, Lazarus, and yes - the thief on the cross. All of them waiting. All of them transferred when the work was complete.
The thief went to Paradise that day, just as Jesus promised. But Paradise wasn't the final destination. It was the waiting room. And when Jesus finished His work, He came back for them.
The Evidence Stacked Up
Let's count the reasons the thief was under the Old Covenant:
One - Jesus said Paradise, not Heaven. The Old Testament saints' waiting place.
Two - Jesus hadn't died yet. The New Covenant wasn't in force.
Three - Jesus hadn't ascended yet. The blood hadn't been applied to the heavenly mercy seat.
Four - The Spirit hadn't been given yet. The New Covenant indwelling wasn't available.
Five - Acts 2 hadn't happened yet. "Repent and be baptized" hadn't been preached.
Six - Jesus led the captives free after His work was done. The thief was among them.
How many reasons do we need? The thief was Old Covenant by every measure.
Selective Proof-Texting
Here's something interesting. People love to use the thief to dismiss New Covenant commands.
The thief wasn't baptized - so I don't need to be baptized.
The thief didn't do good works - so I don't need to do good works.
The thief just believed - so belief is all I need.
But you know what else the thief wasn't?
Circumcised.
Funny how that never comes up. Under the Old Covenant, circumcision was required. But nobody says, "The thief wasn't circumcised, so circumcision must not matter."
Why not? Because we know circumcision was an Old Covenant requirement that doesn't apply to us.
Exactly. So why are we using an Old Covenant convert to dismiss New Covenant requirements?
Even If You Disagree
But let's say you're not convinced. Let's say you still think the thief was saved under New Covenant terms.
Fine. Let's grant everything you want to claim.
The thief confessed with his mouth. He believed in his heart. He recognized his sin and accepted his punishment. He probably didn't commit any more sins in the few hours he had left. And he couldn't get baptized - he was nailed to a cross with Roman soldiers guarding him.
Maybe grace covered what he couldn't do. Jesus knows hearts. The thief gets a pass on the things that were physically impossible for him.
I'll give you that.
Now answer me this: What's your excuse?
You've been saved for ten, twenty, thirty years. You're not nailed to a cross. You're not dying in the next few hours. You have legs that work. There's a baptistry at your church. There's water in the river.
The thief couldn't. You can.
The thief had hours. You've had decades.
The thief had no opportunity. You've had hundreds.
And if you're wheelchair-bound? I've seen people in wheelchairs get baptized. I've seen elderly people lowered into the water. I've seen baptisms in bathtubs, horse troughs, swimming pools, lakes, rivers, oceans. I've seen people baptized in hospitals.
If you want to obey, you find a way.
The thief had zero options. Zero.
You have options. You just don't like them.
Grace covers "can't." It doesn't cover "won't."
The Real Question
So here's the real question.
Why are we building doctrine on the one dying man who couldn't do anything - instead of the dozens of examples in Acts where people could do something and did?
Pentecost - three thousand repented and were baptized.
The Ethiopian eunuch - "Here is water, what hinders me?" He was baptized immediately.
Paul - "Arise and be baptized, washing away your sins."
Cornelius - baptized immediately after receiving the Spirit.
The Philippian jailer - baptized the same hour of the night.
Lydia - baptized with her household.
Person after person after person. The pattern is clear. Believe and be baptized. Immediately. Without delay.
But we ignore all of that and cling to the one guy who couldn't do it.
Why?
Because the exception lets us off the hook. The exception doesn't require anything of us. The exception lets us say "it's not really necessary."
We go with the one example instead of the dozens.
Bad foundation.
Conclusion
The thief on the cross is a beautiful picture of grace. A man at the end of his rope, with nothing to offer, placing his faith in Jesus and receiving the promise of Paradise.
But he's not your model.
He was the last Old Covenant convert, saved the same way Abraham was saved - by faith looking forward to the promise. He went where the Old Testament saints went. He was led captive when Jesus finished His work.
You live after Acts 2. You live after "repent and be baptized." You live after the Spirit was poured out. You have opportunities the thief never had.
Stop hiding behind a dying man's inability to justify your unwillingness.
Be a Berean. Look at all the evidence. Follow the pattern of Acts, not the exception on the cross.
And if you can obey - then obey.
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