This is another incident that only Luke recorded. It reflects his interest in needy people receiving salvation from Jesus. This is such a dominent theme in Luke's Gospel that one commentator concluded that this incident is the core of Luke's crucifixion narrative.507The attitudes of the two criminals crucified with Jesus represent the two attitudes that lead to condemnation and salvation. The incident is also another testimony to Jesus' innocence, and it presents Him as the Savior even as He was dying.
23:39 The first criminal (robber, Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:27) joined the mockery of others around the cross by implying Jesus' inability to save Himself and His fellow sufferers. He was bitterly sarcastic of Jesus.508His verbal abuse constituted blasphemy (Gr. eblasphemei). Blasphemy is essentially impious irreverence and defamation. Obviously this man did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Luke may have intended this criminal's action as a warning to his readers not to do the same thing. Refusing to take Jesus' claims seriously constitutes blasphemy of Him.
23:40-41 Matthew and Mark wrote that both criminals railed at Jesus (Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32). Luke focused on the repentance of the second one. This man did believe that Jesus was the Messiah (v. 42). He therefore viewed the blasphemy of his compatriot as worthy of divine judgment on top of human condemnation. He admitted His own guilt (cf. 18:13-14) and did not try to excuse His acts. He went further and even defended Jesus' innocence.
23:42 His request that Jesus remember him was a call for salvation. He claimed nothing deserving of Jesus' mercy but simply asked for grace in spite of His guilt. It anticipated a distant time when Jesus would return, raise the righteous dead, and establish His kingdom on the earth. The man's view of Messiah was that He was divine, not just a present political deliverer. Evidently this man had heard Jesus' teachings about the kingdom.
". . . the second criminal is a perceptive person who contrasts sharply with the imperceptive people who are calling on Jesus to save himself. . . .
"The criminal is the last person who turns to Jesus for help during Jesus' ministry; he is also the one person who understands and accepts the path which Jesus must follow to fulfill God's purpose: through death to enthronement at God's right hand."509
23:43 The man received more from Jesus than he expected, as is always true in salvation. Jesus prefaced His solemn promise with a guarantee of its validity. The thief would not have to wait for the kingdom to be with Jesus. He would be with Him in the place of righteous departed spirits that very day when they both died.
Paradise and Abraham's bosom (16:22-26) are the same place. The word "paradise"has come into English from Greek but originally from Persian. It describes a beautiful garden or delightful park such as the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8). Symbolically it represents future bliss (cf. Isa. 51:3; Rev. 2:7). Essentially the paradise that lies ahead of believers is paradisiacal because God is there (cf. 2 Cor. 12:4). Jesus presented fellowship with Himself as the best part of salvation, as it is.
". . . Jesus acts as the Messiah who has the kingly right to open the doors of paradise to those who come into fellowship with him."510
When Jesus suffered on the cross, He experienced separation from the Father, which is spiritual death. Having died physically His body went into the grave for three days. His spirit went to paradise, namely into the Father's presence where the spirits of the righteous dead abide until their reunion with their bodies at their resurrection. When Jesus arose, the Father reunited His spirit with His then immortal body.
The Apostles Creed says that when Jesus died He descended into hell. This idea evidently originated because Jesus said that He would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth when He died (Matt. 12:40). The ancients viewed Sheol (the Old Testament term) and Hades (the New Testament term) as in the heart of the earth or at least as under the surface of the earth. The formulators of the Apostles Creed apparently confused the temporary destiny of Jesus' spirit (i.e., His immaterial part) with the temporary destiny of His body (i.e., His material part). There is no clear biblical statement that Jesus' spirit went to hell after His death. On the contrary Jesus here affirmed that His spirit would go to paradise (i.e., God's presence) when He died.
Note also that Jesus promised the thief that he would go to paradise simply because of his faith in Jesus. This is one of the clearest examples in Scripture that salvation is not a reward for meritorious works but is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9). The thief did not have to do anything more to qualify for heaven. Indeed he could have done nothing more. People who believe that some works are necessary for salvation usually explain this instance of salvation as an exception to the rule. However, it is consistent with the teaching of Scripture elsewhere that salvation comes to a person solely in response to believing faith in Jesus Christ.
