Short answer: Yes. In Luke 23:39–43 a criminal being executed beside Jesus asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his Kingdom, and Jesus answers, "Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." The promise is specific and personal: this man, that day, with Jesus. Nothing in the passage describes baptism, church membership, or restitution, only an honest confession and an appeal to Jesus, and the certainty of the answer rests on the authority of the one who spoke it.
Two criminals, one promise, at the place of execution
Luke sets this exchange on a hill outside Jerusalem, at a public execution. Two criminals are crucified beside Jesus, and a crowd watches. Just before, soldiers have mocked him and a written charge has been fixed above his head naming him King of the Jews. Luke keeps that title in view, so the question hanging over the scene is who this dying man actually is. The passage is built almost entirely from speech: a taunt, a rebuke, a request, a promise. Luke slows the narrative down to let four short statements carry the weight of the moment.
One criminal picks up the mockery already in the air, urging Jesus to save himself and them if he is the Christ (23:39). The other stops him with a question about the fear of God, since both men are under the same sentence. He admits the justice of their punishment and insists that Jesus has done nothing wrong (23:40–41). Luke has been pressing Jesus' innocence for chapters, and here it comes from an unlikely witness, a condemned man. Then he asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his Kingdom (23:42), a request that looks past the cross to a reign still to come.
The promise answers that request: today, in Paradise, with Jesus (23:43). Luke places it before the darkness covers the land and before the temple veil is torn in two (23:44–45), so the words are spoken while Jesus is still dying, before any resurrection appearance. That timing matters. The dying man receives a promise, not relief from his pain or an escape from the cross. This is one man's appeal met by one generous answer, and the passage does not turn it into a rule that repentance can safely be postponed to the end.
What Jesus promised the criminal on the cross
Luke places three voices around the cross in quick succession. The rulers and soldiers mock Jesus with the same taunt, and one of the criminals joins in: if Jesus is the Christ, he should rescue himself and them. The second criminal answers with a question about fear of God and an honest verdict on their own sentence. He does not claim innocence or bargain. He asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his Kingdom. Luke has already told us the inscription over Jesus named him King of the Jews, so the request is not random. It is a dying man asking a dying king to keep him in mind.
Jesus does not correct the man's expectation of a Kingdom. He answers it with something more personal: a promise to be together. The phrase "Assuredly I tell you" is his strong way of marking a statement as certain, the kind of opening he uses when he wants a hearer to stop doubting. Then comes the word Paradise, the term Jesus chooses for the place of blessing, and the word today, which leaves no waiting room between the promise and the man's death. The request was remember me; the answer is you will be with me. The man asked for a place in mind; he is given a place in presence.
Read closely, the passage is a story of undeserved favor, not a procedure for last-minute repentance. This man had no opportunity to be baptized, to make restitution, or to live a changed life. Everything rested on Jesus. That is the point, and it is also the limit of what the text says. It does not tell us that anyone can plan to turn to Christ at the end and presume on this promise. It tells us that a person with nothing to offer was received. The promise is certain because of who spoke it, not because deathbed timing is safe to gamble on.
What Jesus promised the dying criminal
Luke sets the exchange against mockery. Soldiers had already taunted Jesus to save himself, and the inscription above him named him King of the Jews. One criminal hanging there picks up that same language, demanding that Jesus prove himself by rescuing them both. The other criminal stops him, asks whether he fears God, and admits the sentence is just: they are getting what their deeds deserve, while this man has done nothing wrong. Luke keeps the innocence of Jesus and the guilt of the criminals in plain view, so the promise that follows is not payment for good behavior.
Then the second man turns to Jesus with a request, not a demand. He asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his Kingdom, which means he expects Jesus to reign even while Jesus is dying beside him. Jesus answers with a direct assurance that this man will be with him that very day in Paradise. Notice what the text does not record: no baptism, no restitution, no long record of devotion. There is honest confession, a plea for mercy, and a promise spoken on Jesus' own authority. The assurance rests on who Jesus is, not on what the man has accomplished.
Luke places this promise before the darkness covers the land and before the temple veil is torn, while Jesus is still dying and before any resurrection appearance. That timing matters. The words are spoken by a man under the same condemnation, and they answer a request about a future Kingdom with a promise about today. Yet this is one dying man's story, not a rule that repentance can safely wait until the end. It shows that Jesus saves the undeserving who turn to him, and it leaves no room for presuming on a deathbed while ignoring him now.
Where readers disagree about the thief on the cross
Careful readers who take Luke's account seriously agree on the core. Jesus, dying, spoke with authority and promised this man Paradise. The man received that promise by faith; he did not earn it. Where readers part ways is over what the episode proves. This man was never baptized. Some read him as an exception to normal Christian practice, since the church's ordinary life began after the resurrection. Others use him to argue that baptism is not necessary for salvation. The text itself says nothing about baptism here. It records a promise made at the edge of death, and it does not settle the wider question readers bring to it.
A second disagreement concerns what Jesus meant by Paradise. Some hear the immediate presence of God after death, resting on the plain sense of today. Others take the word as a way of speaking about the fullness of the coming Kingdom, and they point to Jesus' own words about being in the heart of the earth for three days. The text does not resolve the timing to everyone's satisfaction. It does, however, tie the promise to Jesus himself: the man would be with him. That personal certainty stays central even where readers differ over the details of place and timing.
Some also ask whether the man understood who Jesus is. His words, Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom, may show a full confession or a simpler hope that God would vindicate him. Luke does not describe his earlier life or any later teaching. And this single deathbed promise is not a general guarantee that anyone can delay repentance until the end. It is one man, one hour, one Savior. What the passage does say is that Jesus promised, and the man believed. Grace came first, and faith received it.
The king who saves a guilty man
Luke places three voices around the cross. The rulers and soldiers mock Jesus with the same taunt: save yourself. One criminal joins them, asking Jesus to prove his kingship by rescuing them both. The other criminal answers with a different fear. He admits the sentence is just, and he says of Jesus, “but this man has done nothing wrong.” That line matters in Luke's Gospel, where Jesus has been declared innocent again and again. The scene shows a dying King, mocked as a fraud, yet the only person on that hill who has done nothing wrong. The gospel begins here, with the innocent one numbered among the guilty.
The second criminal does not ask to be taken down from his cross. He asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his Kingdom. He sees a kingdom beyond the present shame, and he appeals to the mocked King himself. Jesus answers with a promise that rests on his own word and presence: “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Salvation here is not a reward for a good life, since the man has none to offer. It is given to the undeserving by the one who is dying beside him. This fits what Luke has shown all along: Jesus receives sinners.
This promise is a real word to a real man, and it is not a rule for how anyone else should time their repentance. The passage does not tell us that a deathbed turning is normal or safe to presume upon. It tells us that Jesus saves by his own authority, even at the last hour, and that no one is beyond his mercy. The focus stays on him: the innocent King who speaks a saving word while dying. The gospel is not that we can wait, but that Christ receives those who come, and that his word is enough.
What faithful response looks like where you actually live
Start with the honesty of the second criminal. He does not compare himself to the crowd or bargain from a position of strength. He says the sentence is just, that he and his companion are getting what their deeds deserve, and that Jesus has done nothing wrong (23:40–41). That is the shape of repentance: agreeing with God about ourselves and about Christ. In ordinary life this looks less dramatic than a cross. It is the moment you stop explaining away your temper, your sharp tongue, your hidden habit, and simply say, this is mine, and I deserve judgment for it. Self-assessment like his is not groveling. It is telling the truth, which is where grace can finally reach us.
Then notice how little the man has to offer. He cannot promise to reform, repay, or serve. He can only ask, "Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." (23:42). That prayer is available to you today, not only at the end of a life. Faithful response is not a grand gesture but a plain appeal to Jesus, repeated in small moments: before you answer the email, when the apology sticks in your throat, when you have failed again and have nothing to bring. Assurance rests on his answer, not on your record or your feelings. He said, "Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (23:43).
Two cautions keep this passage honest. The promise is that this man will be with Christ, not that anyone who waits until the last hour will be spared pain, or that suffering will be lifted. Nor does one deathbed rescue license delay; the text gives no timetable you can plan around, only a Savior who receives a man with nothing. So respond now, while there is time, and speak of him plainly. The criminal spoke honestly in a hostile place, and grace was the reason, not the price. Let the same grace make you quick to confess, quick to ask, and quick to tell others what Jesus has done.
Biblical fidelity check
Luke sets the scene at the cross, where mockers repeat the same taunt: save yourself. One criminal joins them, asking Jesus to prove his claim by rescuing them both. The other rebukes him, admits their sentence is just, insists Jesus has done nothing wrong, and asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his Kingdom. The risk here is reading the exchange as a template for a deathbed conversion or as proof about sacraments, when Luke records one conversation and says nothing of the man's earlier life. The promise rests on Jesus' authority, not the man's grasp of doctrine.
Careful readers agree Jesus truly promised this man Paradise and that he was saved by grace, not works. They differ over what the episode proves about baptism, since he was never baptized; some treat him as an exception, others as evidence baptism is not necessary. They also differ over whether Paradise means immediate presence with God or the fullness of the coming Kingdom, and how that fits Jesus' words about three days. What stays central is that Jesus, dying, promised this man he would be with him, and the man received it by faith.
Related studies for Luke 23:39-43
The promise to this criminal sits inside a larger account of the crucifixion, and reading the surrounding verses alongside it repays the effort. For further study, see Luke in the Bible: The Gospel That Seeks the Lost on the mockery that surrounded the cross, 1 John 5:11-13: Assurance of Salvation: What 1 John 5:11-13 on the tearing of the temple veil, Assurance of Salvation: What 1 John 5:11-13 Really Says on what Scripture says about repentance, and 2 Timothy 2:15: Handling the Word of Truth on the hope of being with Christ after death.
Frequently asked questions
Did the thief on the cross go to heaven, and what exactly did Jesus promise him?
Jesus promised him that he would be with Jesus that same day in Paradise. The man had asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his Kingdom, which looked ahead to a future reign. Jesus answered with something closer and more immediate: presence with himself, beginning that day. The text does not use the word heaven here, and it does not describe the man's condition in detail. What it does record is a promise spoken by Jesus to a named nobody, a man with no standing to claim anything. The answer to the reader's question is yes, and the ground of it is Jesus' own word rather than the man's life.
Was the thief on the cross baptized, and what does that mean for how people are saved?
The passage says nothing about this man being baptized, and there is no reason to think he was. He was a condemned criminal dying on a cross, and his entire recorded response to Jesus is a rebuke of the other criminal, an honest admission of guilt, and a request to be remembered. Jesus did not ask him for a ritual, a record, or a reform before answering. This does not make baptism optional for those who have the opportunity to obey, and the rest of the New Testament treats it seriously. What this scene shows is that salvation turns on Jesus and on a person's appeal to him, not on what that person has managed to accomplish. A man with nothing to offer was received on the strength of Jesus' promise alone.
What did Jesus mean by Paradise in Luke 23:43?
Paradise in this verse means a place of blessed rest and fellowship with God, and Jesus locates it with himself. The word pictures a garden, a place of life and peace rather than a bare holding cell, and Jewish expectation used it for the dwelling of the righteous with God. Jesus does not say the man will be near Paradise or on its edge; he says he will be with Jesus in it. The emphasis falls on the company as much as the location. Whatever else the man did not know about what awaited him, he knew he would be with the one who had just promised it.
