More to ponder in Luke 23:42, or Forgiveness is part of God's Plan.

The repentant thief was going with Jesus to Paradise.

Now a bunch of legalists standing round would likely have disputed the comment.

Remember, until then, the law was all the people had for any individual to be cleansed or forgiven before God.

However, a New Testament was being written in blood that very moment.

Jesus showed that there was a new way to Paradise and it did not require the spilling of animal blood. He was giving His Own blood.

From the time of Adam and Eve blood had been spilt to cover the sin/offense.

God had a plan. Those laws, the Old Testament, were written for mankind's good.

This writer believes those laws had to be in place in order to clear the way for mankind to be freed from the devil's snare.

Remember the fallen nature of mankind began when Adam gave Satan the authority and dominion over the whole earth. (God originally gave that to Adam -Genesis 1:27-28, Genesis 2:19. An example to show fallen nature could be you have to teach a child to be good, it's not automatic behavior).

This writer also believes the timing of the death of the Lamb of God was set so all possible, conceivable sin could be covered by the blood of the precious Lamb.

It is interesting to note that sins particular to women are mentioned in the female names of the lineage of Jesus seems to validate the viewpoint. Mark 1:15 also highlights the time marker (pun intended), "The time is fulfilled".

Jesus showed us that the way to Paradise was now available to even the worst of society, (all the bases are covered).  The Plan all along was to get back God's children.

There was/is never any coercion to join God's family. God is a "gentleman" and waits for the individual's decision. This is a personal decision, not a corporate one. That means it is up to the individual (not a group of people) to repent for any sin against God, known or unknown. You can't earn this in any way, salvation is much bigger than that. Remember the thief on the cross beside Jesus had no time to earn anything. It is also more than emotional regret or remorse. It is believing God is who He says He is and you want to be joined to His family.