What About the Thief on the Cross?
One of the most common questions raised about baptism concerns the thief who was crucified beside Jesus.
The thief said:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
(Luke 23:42)
Jesus answered:
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)
The thief was dying on a cross. There is no record that he was baptized after this conversation, yet Jesus promised him Paradise.
So the question is understandable:
If the thief was saved without baptism, why should anyone need to be baptized?
The answer begins with a question we have emphasized throughout these studies:
Where are we in the biblical story?
GOING DEEPER
Start With What We Know
We should not try to explain away the thief.
Jesus saved him.
The thief acknowledged his own guilt:
“We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.”
(Luke 23:41)
He recognized Jesus' innocence and then turned to Him:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus promised him Paradise.
Whatever else we say must begin there:
The thief was saved by Jesus.
But When Did This Happen?
The timing matters.
When Jesus spoke to the thief, Jesus had not yet died, been buried, or risen from the dead. The Great Commission had not yet been given. The apostles had not yet begun preaching the completed gospel of Christ's death and resurrection.
Peter had not yet told the crowd at Pentecost:
“Repent and be baptized...”
(Acts 2:38)
And Paul could not yet describe Christian baptism as being baptized into Christ's death and raised with Him to new life.
The thief died during Jesus' earthly ministry.
He lived before the events upon which Christian baptism is based had been completed.
Jesus Had Authority to Forgive Sins Directly
The thief was not the first person Jesus forgave during His earthly ministry.
When a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, He said:
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
(Mark 2:5)
When the religious leaders objected, Jesus healed the man to demonstrate:
“that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
(Mark 2:10)
That helps us understand the thief.
Jesus forgave the paralytic. He forgave the sinful woman in Luke 7. And He could promise the thief Paradise.
Jesus had authority to forgive sins directly.
The Thief Lived Before the Great Commission
After His resurrection, Jesus gave His apostles instructions for making disciples throughout the world:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
(Matthew 28:18)
Then:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them...”
(Matthew 28:19)
That command came after the thief had died.
Paul later explained:
“All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.”
(Romans 6:3)
And:
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death...”
(Romans 6:4)
The thief could not have been baptized into the completed death and resurrection of Christ while Jesus was still hanging beside him on the cross.
Those events had not yet occurred.
What About John's Baptism?
Could the thief have been baptized earlier by John?
The Bible doesn't tell us.
John baptized large numbers of people, so it is possible. It is equally possible that the thief had not been baptized by John.
We simply don't know.
We should not build an argument on something Scripture does not tell us.
And we don't need to.
The important point is that the thief lived and died before Christian baptism was commanded following Christ's resurrection.
A Change in the Biblical Story Matters
We have already seen this principle with John's baptism.
John's baptism came from God. Yet years later Paul met men at Ephesus who had received John's baptism. After they learned about Jesus:
“they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
(Acts 19:5)
Why?
Because God's plan had moved forward.
Christ had died and risen.
What was appropriate before the cross did not automatically define the response to the completed gospel afterward.
The same principle applies to the thief.
The Cross Is a Turning Point
This principle involves much more than baptism.
During His earthly ministry Jesus told a healed leper:
“Show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded.”
(Luke 5:14)
Christians today do not take animals to a priest for sacrifice.
Why not?
Because we understand where that command belongs in the biblical story.
Jesus' death brought the Old Covenant to its fulfillment and established the New Covenant. Hebrews describes Christ as:
“the mediator of a new covenant.”
(Hebrews 9:15)
So when studying an event from Jesus' earthly ministry, we must ask:
Did this happen before or after the cross?
That is not a special rule invented to avoid the thief.
It is simply reading the passage in its historical setting.
What Does the Thief Prove?
The thief proves something very important:
Jesus has the authority to save.
The thief had no opportunity to spend years doing good works. He could not climb down from the cross and repair the damage he had done.
He could only turn to Jesus.
And Jesus saved him.
Nothing about baptism changes that truth.
The question is not whether Jesus could save someone without baptism.
Of course He could.
The question for us is: What has the risen Lord told us to do?
We Should Follow the Instructions Given to Us
After His resurrection Jesus said:
“Make disciples...baptizing them.”
When people asked the apostles what to do, Peter said:
“Repent and be baptized.”
When the Ethiopian heard Jesus preached, he was baptized.
When Saul was ready to respond, Ananias said:
“Arise and be baptized.”
When Cornelius received the Holy Spirit, Peter still commanded him and his household to be baptized.
The thief never heard those instructions.
We have.
That is an important difference.
Don't Make the Thief Answer a Question Luke Wasn't Asking
Luke did not record the thief to settle a later debate about baptism.
The passage is about Jesus.
Even while dying, Jesus is still the King. He can extend mercy to a guilty man who turns to Him.
The thief asks:
“Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus gives him far more than he asks:
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Using the thief primarily as an argument against baptism can cause us to miss what Luke is showing us:
The crucified Jesus still has authority to save.
Put the Thief Where He Belongs
Does the thief contradict what the New Testament teaches about baptism?
No.
The thief was genuinely saved. But he was saved before Christ died, before Christ rose, before the Great Commission was given, and before Christian baptism into Christ's death and resurrection was proclaimed.
He belongs exactly where Luke places him:
during the earthly ministry of Jesus.
After the resurrection, we should look to the instructions of the risen Christ and the preaching of His apostles to learn how people were told to respond to the completed gospel.
And when we do, baptism repeatedly appears.
The thief should not be ignored. But neither should he be moved to the other side of the cross.
Continue Your Study
Next Bible Study
The Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his household before they were baptized.
Does that mean baptism was unnecessary?
If so, why did Peter immediately command them to be baptized?
And why was the coming of the Holy Spirit so important in Acts 10 and 11?
We'll let Luke explain what happened.
Related Bible Studies
What Did Jesus Teach About Baptism?
Buried and Raised With Christ
Difficult Questions About Baptism
Read First. Conclude Later.