‍What About the Thief on the Cross?

‍Does the thief on the cross prove that baptism is not required for salvation?

  Gary Hoge  ·  October 19, 2026

‍Jesus hung on the cross between two thieves. 

‍One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43).

‍Some Christians cite this exchange as if it refutes the Catholic¹ teaching that baptism is necessary for salvation. “Aha,” they say, “Baptism can’t be required for salvation because the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized, and yet Jesus said he was saved.” They conclude that because baptism wasn’t required for the salvation of the thief on the cross, it isn’t required for anyone. That’s called “making exceptions the rule.” 

‍The thief's salvation demonstrates that God can save someone without baptism. It doesn't demonstrate that baptism is unnecessary for people who have the opportunity to receive it.

‍Often we Catholics try to explain away the thief on the cross as if these Christians have a point. We say, “Well, he obviously knew who Jesus was. Maybe he had been a follower at one time and had been baptized.” That seems unlikely. Or we say, “He died under the Old Covenant, before Christian baptism became obligatory, so he doesn't count.” Perhaps so.

‍But none of that matters. There’s no need to contort ourselves to explain the case of the thief on the cross. The Church has always understood that baptism is a normative requirement. That means that in the ordinary course of things, when a sinner turns to Christ in faith, that sinner is baptized. And baptism is the ordinary means by which his sins are washed away (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16), he is regenerated (John 3:5, Titus 3:5), and he is incorporated into Christ (Romans 6:3, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27).

‍But there are always edge cases like the thief on the cross, or a new believer who gets hit by a bus before he can be baptized. What happens in cases like that? Well, Jesus said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Notice that Jesus did not say, “whoever is not baptized will be condemned.” He connected baptism with salvation, but he connected condemnation with unbelief. Taken together, Jesus' words and his treatment of the thief support the Catholic understanding that baptism is ordinarily necessary for salvation, but God can save someone who cannot receive it.

‍Specifically, the Church teaches that although God has bound salvation to the sacrament of baptism, “he himself is not bound by his sacraments.”² In the case of those who desire baptism but die before they can receive it, “their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.”³ And in the case of those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or his Church, but sincerely seek God and strive to do his will, “it may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.”⁴

‍Jesus commanded his followers to baptize those who became his disciples (Matthew 28:19). The fact that he saved a dying man who couldn't be baptized tells us that he is merciful, not that baptism is optional. After all, he instituted baptism as a means of salvation, not as an obstacle to salvation. 

‍It wasn’t meant to keep sinners out of heaven; it was meant to bring them in.

‍__________

^‍1 Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist groups also hold to some form of baptismal regeneration.

^‍2 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1257.

^‍3 Catechism, 1259.

^‍4 Catechism, 1260.