THE
THIEF ON THE CROSS
(Luke 23 : 42, 43)
This
well known incident is quoted to support the following
theological traditions : 1st, Salvation without
Baptism ; 2nd, Entrance of the righteous into
their reward at the instant of death ; 3rd, Immortality
and immateriality of the soul ; 4th, Heaven,
the abode of the redeemed ; 5th, Death-bed and
scaffold repentances. But all these are quite unsupported
by Christ's answer to the thief ; and are opposed to
the teaching of the Word of God throughout.
1st.—With reference to Baptism, there is
no proof that the thief had not previously submitted
to John's baptism. But even if he were not baptized,
his case is no rule for the guidance of people in the
present day ; because, not only was it a peculiar one—his
confession having been made under circumstances which
rendered submission to that ordinance an impossibility,
and at a time when One in whom God dwelt and spake was
present—but it occurred in a different dispensation
from the present. The position in which the thief was
placed has never been followed by one precisely analogous
; and as long as Jesus is absent from the earth such
a case is an absolute impossibility. Since the crucifixion
the Lord Jesus has proclaimed:' "He that believeth
(the gospel) and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark
16 : 16) ; and the apostolic testimony is : "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2 : 38)
; "We are buried with him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life ; for if we are planted together in
the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection" (Rom. 6 : 4, 5) ; "As
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put
on Christ" (Gal. 3 : 27).
These testimonies teach that upon repentance, it is
necessary to be baptized ; that those who do so have
all their past sins forgiven, and are thus introduced
into Christ, whose death and resurrection is symbolized
by their being buried in water, and then raised out
of it. Those who are not so "planted in the likeness
of Christ's death" have not "put on Christ,"
and will never be "planted in the likeness of his
resurrection."
2nd.—Entrance of the righteous into their
reward at the instant of death.—The passage in
question affords no proof of this. The Lord Jesus did
not say, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou
be with me in Paradise" ; but, "Verily I say
unto thee today, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise,"
which is a distinction with a great difference, although
only a comma is moved. "Semeron (today) may follow
or precede the verb which it qualifies."—prof.
driver, Oxford. So also Prof. Kirk Patrick, Cambridge,
and all who know the facts of the case. The following
passages are illustrations, where, in the Greek, semeron
qualifies the preceding verb : Luke 2:11; 5 : 26 ; 22
: 34 ; Acts 20 : 26 ; 22 : 3 ; 24:21 ; 26 : 29.
If the thief went to "Paradise" immediately
after death, Jesus did also : if Jesus did not, neither
did the thief. We have the testimony of Jesus himself
that he went into the grave : "The Son of Man shall
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"
(Matt. 12 : 40). That this does not refer to his body
merely, in the "orthodox" sense, is shown
by Peter's statement on the day of Pentecost : "His
soul was not left in hell (hades, i.e., the grave),
neither did his flesh see corruption " (Acts 2
: 31). His "soul," which is here used for
the whole being, went into the grave at his burial,
and came out at his resurrection : consequently he could
not have gone into heaven (where "Paradise"
by some is supposed to be) immediately after expiring
on the cross. And as he did not ascend there, it follows
that the thief did not.
To say that the answer of Jesus was a promise that the
thief should go to heaven at death, is to make him contradict
his previous teaching concerning the time of reward.
He showed that resurrection must precede the enjoyment
of eternal life : "They that have done good (shall
come forth) unto the resurrection of life" (John
5 : 29) ; "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection
of the just" (Luke 14 : 14). He taught, also, that
the righteous would not be rewarded until they had been
judged at his second appearing : "The Son of Man
shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels
; and then shall he reward every man according to his
works" (Matt. 16: 27).
In speaking to Jesus about "his kingdom," the
thief showed not only that he had the same expectations
as his fellow-countrymen regarding the re-establishment
of the kingdom of Israel, but also that he believed Jesus
to be the King. This was what the Jews, who subjected
Jesus to an ignominious death, did not believe : they
regarded him as an impostor ; a fact which is illustrated
by what they said respecting the inscription placed on
the cross."Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the
cross; and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King
of the Jews" (John 19 : 19). But many of the Jews
were not satisfied with this ; therefore they came to
Pilate and said, "Write not, The King of the Jews,
but that he said, I am King of the Jews." The title
which Pilate had put up was doubtless written in derision
; but, nevertheless, it appeared to recognize the validity
of Jesus' claim to be their king. This was what the chief
priests did not want. The thief, on the contrary, recognized
the truthfulness of Pilate's inscription. This was an
exhibition of great faith on his part. He must have believed
that Jesus would be raised from the dead and appear at
some future day on the land of Palestine to "restore
again the kingdom to Israel " (Acts 1:6). He might
have been one of the audience who listened to the parable
by which Jesus illustrated his departure and return. On
that occasion "He spake a parable because he was
nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the Kingdom
of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore,
A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom and to return " (Luke 19 :
11, 12). Jesus himself is here represented by the "nobleman."
3rd.—The alleged "immortality and immateriality
of the soul."—Before this incident can be of
any service, these theories must be proved from other
evidence, as there is no mention of them whatever in the
narrative ; their existence is first assumed, and then
the passage is advanced in support of the assumption.
This untenable position is based solely on the word "today,"
which, as already shown, is no proof of the thief's ascension
to heaven at death.
4th.—" Paradise."—It is always
assumed that "Paradise" means heaven. This is
a mistake. Pardes, the Hebrew equivalent in the Old Testament,
is said to be derived from the Old Persian, and means
a garden, enclosure or park. It is only found three times
in the scriptures, viz. : Neh. 2 : 8, "Asaph the
keeper of the king's forest " ; Eccl. 2 : 5, "
I made me gardens and orchards " ; Song 4 : 13, "Thy
plants (O sister-spouse), are an orchard of pomegranates
with pleasant fruits." The Greek word paradeisos
is found only three times in the New Testament, viz. :
Luke 23 : 43, "Thou shalt be with me in paradise"
; 2 Cor. 12:4, "Caught up to paradise" ; Rev.
2:7, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise
of God." As used by Jesus it had reference to the
land of Palestine, which we are told is to " become
like the Garden of Eden" (Ezek. 36:35), sometimes
called Paradise; "The Lord shall make her wilderness
like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord"
(Isa. 51:3). It is on this land that Jesus will establish
his kingdom when he returns to the earth.
This excludes the suggestion that the Paradise referred
to by Jesus was the Paradise believed in by the Pharisees—a
place where the righteous were supposed to dwell in a
state of bliss between death and the resurrection. To
endorse this theory is to adopt one of the traditions
by which the Pharisees made void the Word of God, and
thereby to identify oneself with a class which the Messiah
severely denounced. Jesus believed the Hebrew prophets,
not the Pharisees—and, therefore, his use of
the word must be determined by the inspired teaching of
the former, and not by the nullifying traditions of the
latter.
5th.—Death-bed and scaffold repentances are
invalid; not only because they are the result of fear,
and are made at a time when the present life is no longer
of any value to its possessors, but because they do not
comprise a belief in that which is necessary for salvation,
namely, "the kingdom of God" (Mark 1 : 14 ;
16 : 15, 16). The thief did believe in this " kingdom
" which being the subject-matter of "the gospel"
is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
believeth" (Rom. 1 : 16). The conditions on which
God offers salvation are, a belief in His promises, and
obedience to His commandments.
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