He also said: "The dead, they know nothing." And several times refers to dead people as "sleeping". BTW, I could have sworn we used to say in Mass: "He descended into Hell." I always thought it was so Satan could torture him for 3 days.
I've seen another version of that painting, where Jesus greets the righteous in Hell, now freed by the Crucifixion.
I just can't grasp it at all.
Without punctuation in the Greek this promise must be understood in the context of Jesus being dead for three days before being resurrected.
“He also said: “The dead, they know nothing.” And several times refers to dead people as “sleeping”. Indeed as the Congregator made clear in Eccl.
What is confusing is the attempts to force Scripture to fit the teaching and dogmas of men.
The “Paradise” was not heaven. It was a waiting place, sort of a limbo, where the good souls were waiting.
Many people make this error, so don’t feel bad.
Move the comma from, “Truly I say, today you will be with me in paradise,” to “Truly I say today, you will be with me in paradise.” Makes a big difference.
Perhaps you are confusing Jesus with Solomon. In Ecclesistes 9:5 he wrote:
"The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered."