And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, To day shall you be with me in paradise.
To day.
Luke 15:4,5,20-24 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? …
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Job 33:27-30 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; …
with.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
in.
2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
“Truly I tell you,
The use of "truly" (Greek: "amen") signifies the certainty and authority of Jesus' statement. It is a solemn affirmation, often used by Jesus to introduce important truths. This phrase assures the listener of the reliability of what follows, reflecting Jesus' divine authority and the trustworthiness of His promises.
today you will be with Me
The immediacy of "today" indicates that the promise is not for a distant future but for the present moment. This suggests a direct transition after death, countering any notion of soul sleep or purgatory. The phrase "with Me" emphasizes the personal relationship and presence with Jesus, highlighting the intimacy and assurance of salvation.
in Paradise.”
"Paradise" is a term used to describe a place of blessedness and rest, often associated with the Garden of Eden or the heavenly realm. In Jewish thought, it was considered a part of Sheol where the righteous awaited resurrection. This promise of Paradise reflects the hope of eternal life and the restoration of fellowship with God. It connects to the broader biblical narrative of redemption and the ultimate restoration of creation.
• Jesus personally turns toward the repentant thief, offering direct assurance rather than a generalized promise.
• The Lord’s willingness to respond in the middle of His own agony showcases the constant readiness He expressed elsewhere: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
• His word carries saving authority, just as when He told the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20). The same voice that calmed storms (Mark 4:39) now calms a sinner’s fear.
• Scripture consistently presents Jesus as the one Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), so no priest, ritual, or work is interposed—only Christ’s spoken grace.
• “Truly” (amen) highlights an unbreakable guarantee. Jesus often prefaces His deepest revelations this way (John 3:3), underscoring their certainty.
• The weight behind the phrase is reinforced by His declaration, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
• What follows, then, is not wishful thinking or metaphor; it is a rock-solid, literal promise from the One who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
• Salvation is immediate. There is no probationary waiting room, no purgatorial delay.
• Paul echoes this urgency: “Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
• Hebrews repeats, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
• The same day that witnessed the thief’s last breath witnessed his first moment in eternal life, confirming that believers go straight into conscious fellowship with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
• The promise is personal—“you,” not merely the righteous in general. Even at life’s eleventh hour, grace reaches an individual heart.
• The heart of heaven is being “with Me.” Union with Christ is the believer’s ultimate hope, as He earlier assured, “I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).
• Jesus prayed, “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am” (John 17:24). Luke 23:43 shows that prayer already being answered.
• Security is absolute: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish” (John 10:28).
• Paradise is presented in Scripture as the dwelling of God and the redeemed. Paul was “caught up to Paradise” (2 Corinthians 12:3-4), and the risen Christ speaks of “the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
• It evokes Eden restored—fellowship, life, and joy untainted by sin.
• The thief is promised the full blessing of heaven, not a lesser compartment. No merit of his own, only the King’s word, opens that door.
• The scene foresees Revelation 21:3-4, where God dwells with His people and wipes away every tear.
Luke 23:43 offers a five-fold assurance: Jesus Himself speaks; His word is absolutely reliable; salvation is granted the very moment one believes; eternal life means personal, unbroken communion with Christ; and the destination is the perfect Paradise of God. The dying thief illustrates that anyone who turns to Jesus in faith—even at the last breath—receives the same immediate, irrevocable promise: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
(43) To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.--We have first to consider the word, then the thought expressed by it. The former first appears as a Persian word applied to land enclosed as a park or garden for a king or satrap. As such it meets us often in Xenophon's Anabasis (i. 2, ? 7; 4, ? 9, et al.). Finding it so used, the LXX. translators used it in Song of Solomon 4:13; Ecclesiastes 2:5; Nehemiah 2:8, and, above all, in Genesis 2:15, taking what we treat as a proper name as a description, and giving "the Paradise of Delight" for "the Garden of Eden." In the figurative language in which the current Jewish belief clothed its thoughts of the unseen world, the Garden of Eden took its place side by side with "Abraham's bosom," as a synonym for the eternal blessedness of the righteous, presenting a vivid contrast to the foul horrors of Gehenna. It is remarkable, however, that this is the one occasion on which the word appears as part of our Lord's teaching. In the mystical language of the Apocalypse, "the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God," is one of the promises to "him that overcometh" (Revelation 2:7). St. Paul speaks of himself as having been caught up in ecstasy and vision into "paradise" (2Corinthians 12:4). In this instance we may trace in our Lord's use of the word a subtle tenderness of sympathy. What He said in answer to the penitent's prayer was, in part, a contrast to it, in part, its most complete fulfilment. Not in the far-off "Coming," but that very day; not "remembered "only, but in closest companionship; not in the tumult and battle which his thoughts had connected with the Kingdom, but in the fair garden, with its green lawns and still waters, its trees of Knowledge and of Life. No picture could meet the cravings of the tortured robber more completely than that; none, probably, could be more different from his expectations. Yet the "paradise" of Eastern lands was essentially the kingly garden, that of which the palace was the centre. The promise implied that the penitent should enter at once into the highest joy of the Kingdom. Are we right in thinking that there was no fulfilment of the words till death had released the spirit from its thraldom? May there not even then have been an ineffable joy, such as made the flames of the fiery furnace to be as a "moist whistling wind" (Song of Three Childr. Luke 23:27, in the Apocrypha), such as martyrs have in a thousand cases known, acting almost as a physical anaesthetic acts? The penitent thief is naturally prominent in the Apocryphal legends of our Lord's descent into Hades, seen by His side as He enters Paradise (Gosp. of Nicodemus, ii. 10). . . . Verse 43. - And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. No strengthening angel could have been more welcome to the dying Redeemer than these words of intense penitence and strong faith. Very beautifully Stier suggests that the crucified King "cannot see these two criminals, cannot direct his glance to this last without adding to his own agony by movement upon the cross. But that he forgets, and turns with an impulse of joy as well as he can to the soul that speaks to him, thus making the nails more firm." With those solemn words, "Verily I say unto thee," with which he had so often in old days begun his sacred sayings, he replied to the sufferer by his side. One at least, St. John, of his disciples would have heard the well-known words from the well-known voice. What memories must they not have recalled to that disciple whom Jesus loved, as he stood hard by the cross with the Mother of sorrows! The Lord's answer was very striking, Remember him, who could call on him with such reverent faith at the moment of his deepest humiliation! Remember him! yes; but not in the far-off "coming," but on that very day, before the sun then scorching their tortured bodies set; he would not be remembered by him only, but would be in closest companionship with him, not, as he prayed, in some far-off time in the midst of the awful tumult of the bloody and fiery dawn of the judgment advent, but almost directly in the fair garden, the quiet home of the blessed, the object of all Jewish hopes. There would he be remembered, and there, in company with his Lord, would the tortured condemned find himself in a few short hours. Are we right in thinking that there was no fulfilment of the words till death had released the spirit from its thraldom? May there not even then have been an ineffable joy, such as made the flames of the fiery furnace to be as a "moist, whistling wind" (Song of the Three Children, ver. 27), such as martyrs have in a thousand cases known, acting almost as a physical anaesthetic acts? (Dean Plumptre)."Non parem Paulo veniam require,
Gratiam Petri neque posco, sed quam
In crucis ligno dederis latroni
Sedulus oro." This striking verse is engraved on the tomb of the great Copernicus, and alludes to this prayer and its answer. Paradise. This is the only instance we have of our Lord's using this well-known word. In the ordinary language used by the Jews, of the unseen world, it signifies the" Garden of Eden," or "Abraham's bosom;" it represented the locality where the souls of the righteous would find a home, after death separated soul and body. The New Testament writers, Luke and Paul and John, use it (Acts 2:31; 1 Corinthians 15:5; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7). To Luke and Paul, probably, this was a memory of the word spoken on the cross, which they alone record in their Gospel. It may have been told Luke by the Mother of sorrows herself. John, who uses it in his Revelation, doubtless heard it himself as he stood at the foot of the cross. Paradeisos is derived from the Persian word pardes, which signifies a park or garden.
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