Who went first?

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Average_Joe17

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According to my Catechism booklet, it states, “When we say that Christ descended into hell we mean that, after he died, the soul of Christ descended into a place or state of rest called the Bosom of Abraham, where the souls were waiting for him.”

Another Bible quote ( Luke 23:43) it reads: And he (Jesus) said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

My main question is this, did the repentful robber go to Heaven first? Or was it Jesus? Or was it both of them at the same time?
 
Haydock’s commentary provides a couple different thoughts on what was meant. Either to the limbo of Abraham’s Bosom where the Patriarchs and righteous men before Jesus went after death and which was made Paradise by Jesus’ coming (before they went to Heaven), or that the thief was the first in Heaven, where Jesus (as God) is also always present.
Ver. 43. I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise; i.e. in a place of rest with the souls of the just. The construction is not, I say to thee this day, &c., but, thou shalt be with me this day in the paradise. Wi. — In paradise. That is, in the happy state of rest, joy and peace everlasting. Christ was pleased by a special privilege, to reward the faith and confession of the penitent thief with a full discharge of all his sins, both as to the guilt and punishment, and to introduce him, immediately after death, into the happy society of the saints, whose limbo (that is, the place of their confinement) was now made a paradise by our Lord’s going thither. Ch. — The soul of the good thief was that same day with Jesus Christ, in the felicity of the saints, in Abraham’s bosom, or in heaven, where Jesus was always present by his divinity. S. Aug. — S. Cyril, of Jerusalem, says he entered heaven before all the patriarchs and prophets. S. Chrys. thinks that paradise was immediately open to him, and that he entered heaven the first mankind. — Tom. v. homil. 32.
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Although it may appear to be, I cannot see how paradise could be heaven. Our Lord had not yet ascended to open the gates. Yet, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man shows that Sheol, the abode of the dead, or “hell” was a place of comfort and consolation, but there was no Beatific Vision - God was not present.

Saint Peter calls it the location of the “spirits in prison”, and that certainly does not sound like heaven. Rather, they had not heard the Gospel and for that reason, the Lord descended to them so that they might hear it directly from Him.
 
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Its a tough one!

Was the Bosom of Abraham a place where all the dead resided awaiting the preaching of Jesus to decide whether they would follow Him or be damned to eternal punishment? Or were there some who were righteous enough to have their souls to heaven?

I would think, given the story of the Transfiguration, and of Jesus standing with Moses and Elijah, that some already went to heaven (and, even the Church celebrates St. Felcitas and her 7 sons, killed for not disobey the law of God (see 2 Maccabees, Chapter 7) as the first Martyrs , whose souls, like saints reside in heaven from the time of their death.

So, Jesus, being God (and possessing the power of judgment of eternal salvation) certainly could have granted the good thief entrance into Heaven.

Also, there is scriptural indication that the gates of heaven were opened at the baptism of Christ, not the Ascension…which could explain Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration, and the good thief going to Paradise.

Be at peace!
 
At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah did indeed appear - but only our Lord appeared in His glorified form.
 
po18guy said:
but only our Lord appeared in His glorified form.
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The manifestation may have been so Peter and the others understood…those in heaven today are without glorified bodies until the resurrection of the dead at the return of Christ.
 
I have a side thought, the place of rest of the righteous before Abraham died could not be Abraham’s bossom, but a separate place. And Jesus must have gone to both places to free the souls.
 
Dan_Defender said:
I have a side thought, the place of rest of the righteous before Abraham died could not be Abraham’s bossom, but a separate place. And Jesus must have gone to both places to free the souls.
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This limbo called by the Fathers Abraham’s Bosom is where Adam and Eve were, too. The name isn’t to indicate it began with Abraham.
 
Technically it needs not be the same. But this is a minor point, in any case all righteous souls were freed by Jesus.
 
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