Why was the first person to enter paradise with Jesus a thief ?

Question

Why did Jesus choose to take a thief with him when he died. ?
Some say that it should have been one of the apostles or ????????

Answer 1

Suzuki got it partially right, Enoch and Elijah are not in heaven either. The only beings that are in Heaven, according to the Bible, are the Father, the Son, and the Angels who remained faithful to them.

The theif is not in paradise. If anyone was going to be in "paradise" then one would assume that David, a person of whom God says:

" And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will". Acts 13:22

Is David in "paradise" or heaven?

Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.


Please follow the attached links if you truly wish to learn the facts about life after death.

Answer 2

The thief died before any of the apostles....The reason the thief got to go to paradise was because he asked for forgiveness. Jesus, being true to His word forgave the sinner. The point was to let the rest of humanity know that even if you're a thief and are about to die, it's not too late for salvation if you believe. We all have that opportunity to spend eternity in heaven, the door is open to all but some won't accept it. The point is, do you want to accept it now while you have a chance too or do you want to wait until you're at deaths door, that is if you're fortunate enough to know when that is. For some death comes without notice, unfortunately for them it's too late to accept His offer of salvation. TODAY is the day of Salvation....None of us is promised tomorrow... What about you whoever may be reading this, do you know at which hour you will pass from this life?...Do you know where you will go?...Now's the time to choose while you can!
Choose wisely!

Answer 3

Because when the thief recognized who Jesus is, and acknowledged his sinful state, his faith in Jesus saved him.

But that doesn't mean that he was the first to enter paradise. When Jesus rose from the dead, it is recorded that many righteous were resurrected (a kind of "first fruit" so to speak, I'm guessing), and they went up also - at the same time.

I'm sure that if one of the apostles had died, he would have been among those who went up also, but that's not what history records.

The NEXT person after that crowd, was Stephen. He was martyred, and when he died, he joined the rest.

My question for you is, when YOU die, will YOU join the rest of those who went on before you into God's kingdom? Or is your eternal destiny elsewhere, like the OTHER thief on the cross that mocked and scorned Jesus?

Answer 4

Jesus didn't take the thief with him. Jesus ascended alone to be with his Father. Jesus did tell the thief they would be together in paradise, but Jesus couldn't have meant that very day. Jesus didn't ascend that day, so how could he have promised that to the thief? The problem in understanding this passage is due to the fact that punctuation marks have been moved around since the original books were written.

Answer 5

One obvious point is that the thief was dying beside him and someone else (one of othe apostles or ???) wasn't. The thief admitted that he was unworthy and expressed faith in Jesus directly to him in the last moments of both their lives...who else could Jesus have told that he would be with him in paradise that day?

I think the fact that Jesus was crucified between two criminals is symbolically important and by promising forgiveness to a condemned criminal on his "death bed", Jesus confirmed in his last moments that through Jesus, even the worst sinner can be saved from the eternal consequences of sins. Perhaps a murderer would have made the point even stronger, but a thief does quite nicely!

Answer 6

Because on the cross the thief believed that Jesus was the Messiah and asked for forgiveness. It was freely given as it is to us all. Jesus did not judge people, he loved them, as we should love each other. He dinned with prostitutes and some of the disciples were of the worst kind, but turned from their wickedness and served Him. Any time anyone comes to Christ and becomes a believe it is a day of celebration. That thief had no reason to celebrate, he was about to die and even after Jesus spoke to him he had both of his legs broken to hasten his death. So he still had to endure pain. That is a lesson...just because we are saved doesnt mean we are saved from pain or trials in this life. It is in the next life that our reward awaits.

Answer 7

Jesus took the thief with Him because the thief was sorry and repented. He didn't mock Jesus. Jesus left the apostles behind to carry on His work.

Answer 8

Because even after a life of Sin the thief repented at the last moment. After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus things changed a bit, for then to get to Heaven we have to Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus was alive He forgave the thief and the man entered Paradise with him. It is not really wise to wait til the last minute, because no one really knows whn their last minute will be.

Answer 9

Because the apostles didn't die when Jesus died and the thief asked for forgiveness.

Answer 10

The "thief" was was executed beside Jesus, is awaiting a resurrection in the near future on a "paradise earth" as are millions who are now asleep in death,

p.s. the thief recognized his own sinful state and also that Jesus truly was the son of God and had committed no sin...this man repented of his sins and was forgiven.

Answer 11

Jesus chose the thief first to enter paradise with him because he knew that they would both die very soon. He promised he would see him "today" in paradise because he knew that they would both die on that day. The thief showed that he believed in Jesus and was saved just before he died.