But the dead in Christ DID rise first! They were roaming around Jerusalem after the Resurrection of Christ and only the believers could see them. They were waiting for Christ to ascend to heaven.
Even with the good thief — “Christ says, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” That Paradise is a pleasant or not so pleasant waiting place — depending on the state of one’s soul at the moment of death.
By putting the comma in the proper place you can make better sense of it. Jesus was assuring him that day , that he would be with Him in paradise. The "good" thief didn't even die that day. He died after sunset which was, in Jewish terms, the next day.