by Bobby L. Graham
Was the thief on the cross saved (cf. Luke 23:43)?
Yes, I would say that the thief was a saved man in view of what Jesus said to him: "This day you shall be with me in paradise." Additionally, the Bible tells us more about paradise, as seen in the following quotations:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7).
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
It does seem from these passages that paradise is the realm where the redeemed are awaiting judgment. That it is the realm of the righteous is evident from (1) Jesus' being there, as He said that He would be there with the thief; (2) those overcoming's being there; and (3) the tree of life's being there.
Some would misuse this conclusion to teach that the thief was saved apart from baptism, but they make at least two mistakes: (1) They must assume that he was not baptized, as in the baptism taught and practiced by John on a limited basis (which was not universal, but taught to those in the area of the Jordan River). It is possible that he was baptized, though we do not know about this for sure and do not have to, as will be seen in the following point. (2) They also fail to discern the covenant under which he was saved—the Mosaic Covenant under which Israel served until it was replaced by the New Covenant ratified by Jesus' death (Heb. 9:15-17).
This passage from the Hebrew epistle shows that the New Covenant could not have begun until after Jesus died. Therefore, He saved the thief on the cross while the Old Covenant was operating, or before the baptism commanded of all people in the Great Commission came into effect. The simple fact is that the thief was not subject to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark. 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47).
The thief on the cross did not have to be baptized for the remission of his sins, just as David, Abraham, Noah, and Abel did not have to be baptized to have their sins forgiven. None of these individuals was amenable to the New Covenant or to the Great Commission, which lay the foundation for preaching the Gospel of Christ to all and obedience thereto. To conclude that people today do not need to be baptized for this purpose, as do many, is to misapprehend the teaching of the New Testament. It is a major mistake of Biblical interpretation to take a requirement of one covenant and make it applicable to people living under a different covenant.
Author Bio: Bobby L. Graham preaches and is an elder for the Old Moulton Rd. church of Christ. He and his wife, Karen, have three children: Richard, Mary Katherine Winland (Darren), and Laura Paschall (Jeremy). His email is bobbylgraham@pclnet.net.
