According to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified between two criminals, often called the “two thieves” or “two robbers.”

Who was crucified next to Jesus?

  • The Gospels say there were two other men crucified with Jesus, one on his right and one on his left.
  • They are described as “robbers” or “criminals,” not by personal name, in the canonical Bible texts.
  • Christian tradition later gave them the names Dismas (the “good thief”) and Gestas (the “unrepentant thief”), based on later writings like the apocryphal Book of Nicodemus.

The “good thief” and the “bad thief”

  • In the Gospel of Luke, one criminal mocks Jesus, while the other acknowledges his own guilt and asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom.
  • Jesus replies to the penitent thief: he will be with Him in paradise , which is why this man is often called the Good Thief and venerated in some traditions as Saint Dismas.

Do we know their real names?

  • Historically, the only firmly attested facts are that two unnamed criminals were crucified alongside Jesus.
  • Names like Dismas and Gestas come from later Christian tradition and are not found in the original Gospel texts, so they are devotional/legendary rather than historically verified.

TL;DR: The Bible says Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one on His right and one on His left; their names are not given in Scripture, but later tradition calls them Dismas (the repentant “good thief”) and Gestas (the unrepentant thief).

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