How on earth could that wretched thief go to Heaven?!!!

I imagine it has to be a hard pill to swallow when one comes to this passage of scripture in the Bible. The reason is because it puts anyone in wonder who believes that being a "good enough person" and earning your way to heaven is the way.

On the contrary this context of scripture proves that it is only by faith in what Jesus did on the cross for sin through God's grace one can enter His Paradise.

Here in Matt 27:44 it says "Even the robbers who were with Him reviled Him with the same thing." and in Mark 15:32 "...Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him."
And then the twist! After a while of hanging on the tree there was a change of heart within one of the robbers (by God) In Luke 23:39-43 "Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man had done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise."

So what happened? This thief who had done no good most likely for his entire life was going to spend eternity in Paradise?????? Hmmmm....What's up with that?!! I've been wayyy better than Him you may say, surely I will go to Paradise. This is where you have to examine the scriptures more in depth.

The thief after reviling Jesus and after God changing his heart realized His sinfulness and repented to Jesus and admitted that he was a sinner and acknowledged Jesus as God and Lord and that this Jesus had the power to save him and not himself. It was all of what Jesus did on the cross for him and none of what the thief could do to earn His way to heaven.

Here it hits. Eph. 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, so that no man can boast."
So who will spen eternity in heaven? Those who realize their sinfulness and wretchedness and how good God is and not how good I am. I love this. Salvation is God's work and none of us. We only do good deeds as the result of Him giving us a heart of faith in His Son's work on the cross for our sins. Praise God! What a great and awesome God!