The impenitent thief is a man described in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

account of the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...

. In the Gospel narrative, two bandits are crucified alongside Jesus. In the first two Gospels (Matthew and Mark), they both join the crowd in mocking him. In the version of the Gospel of Luke, however, one taunts Jesus about not saving himself and them, and the other (known as the

penitent thief The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief, Wise Thief, Grateful Thief, or Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesu ...

) asks for mercy. In

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

writings, the impenitent thief is given the name Gestas, which first appears in the

Gospel of Nicodemus The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate (; ), is an apocryphal gospel purporting to be derived from an original work written by Nicodemus, who appears in the Gospel of John as an acquaintance of Jesus. The title "Gospel of Nicod ...

, while his companion is called Dismas. Christian tradition holds that Gestas was on the cross to the left of Jesus and Dismas was on the cross to the right of Jesus. In

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

's ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

'', the name of the impenitent thief is given as Gesmas. The impenitent thief is sometimes referred to as the "bad thief" in contrast to the good thief. The apocryphal

Arabic Infancy Gospel The Arabic Infancy Gospel is a New Testament apocryphal writing concerning the infancy of Jesus. It may have been compiled as early as the sixth century, and was partly based on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of James, and the Gospel o ...

refers to Gestas and Dismas as Dumachus and Titus, respectively. According to tradition – seen, for instance, in

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

's ''The Golden Legend'' – Dumachus was one of a band of robbers who attacked

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

and the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

on their

flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

New Testament narrative

The earliest version of the story is considered to be that in the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical Gospels and one of the three synoptic Gospels, synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from baptism of Jesus, his baptism by John the Baptist to his death, the Burial of Jesus, ...

, usually dated to .Professor Bart D. Ehrman, ''The Historical Jesus'', Part I, p. 6, The Teaching Company, 2000. Quote: "Scholars are fairly unanimous that they were written some decades after Jesus' death: Mark, AD 65–70; Matthew and Luke, AD 80–85; and John, AD 90–95." The author says that two bandits were crucified with Jesus, one on each side of him. The passersby and chief priests mock Jesus for claiming to be the Messiah and yet being unable to save himself, and the two crucified with him join in. Some texts include a reference to the

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

, citing this as a fulfilment of prophecy (

Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53 is the fifty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah and is one of the Nevi'im. Chapters 40 to 55 are known as "D ...

:12: "And he... was numbered with the transgressors"). The

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, written , repeats the same details. Gestas en la cruz

In the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

from , the details are varied: one of the thieves rebukes the other for mocking Jesus, and asks Jesus to remember him "when You come into Your kingdom". Jesus replies by promising him that he will be with him that same day in Paradise.

Holy tradition Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition, Anno Domini tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one ''deposit'', so sacred T ...

has given this bandit the epithet of the

and the other the impenitent thief. The

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

, thought to be written , also says that Jesus was crucified with two others, but in this account they are not described in more detail and their words are not recorded.

References

External links

* {{New Testament people Gospel of Luke People in the canonical gospels 30s deaths People executed by crucifixion Year of birth unknown People executed for theft People executed by the Roman Empire Unnamed people of the Bible Flight into Egypt

New Testament narrative

See also

References

External links