[1010RD]

Certainly. As you likely know Christ's words are critical and very well spoken. Think for instance about the time Matthew agreed to pay the temple tax on Jesus' behalf. The entire event is really incredible.

Imagine that we're there. Matthew fumbles it, Jesus rebukes, but gently and then turns it into a lesson, right. King's sons don't pay for what is rightfully theirs. Then Jesus to avoid offense calls for a miracle. Peter goes fishing with an unbaited hook. That's something to see and we expect failure, no?

Next he gets a bite and we're surprised and impressed. The fish he lands is a carp, not Kosher and we laugh at his apparent good luck/bad luck classic Hebrew story. He's failed at succeeding, but that's not the end of the story.

He reaches into the fishes mouth and pulls a tetradrachma out. The temple tax is 1/2 Shekel and for two it would be one Shekel. What a miracle and being there we'd experience it in all the emotion it evokes. Jesus doesn't pay the tax at all, it is provided miraculously for him and his disciple.

Now, getting back to the thief on the cross the story is given to express something important to believers. What is it? Jesus says, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." He uses paradeisō (paradise - a park, an Eden, of Persian origin meaning an enclosure - obviously a positive/good place), but he doesn't use ouranois. Why?

[MHGinTN]

Because He was not yet ascended into Heaven. I happen to believe the place where Jesus took the thief is the same where/when from which He reached out to write on Belshazzar's wall, and the same place from which He stepped into the upper room, and the same where/when to which he stepped when He left the tomb without rolling away the stone.

[MHGinTN]

BTW, we must have been typing our responses at the same time. You have started it, and I am enjoying it very much.