In the traditional scheme of Jesus' Seven Last Words, this saying is the second of Jesus' pronouncements. It is Jesus' response to the second of the two thieves with whom Jesus was crucified.
I have heard the "Today" of this saying batted around to ridiculous extents. The crux of that debate is whether people immediately enter Heaven (or Hell) upon their deaths, or do they await a general resurrection on the Last Day? Some of those in the latter camp hold that only Enoch, Elijah, Moses, the thief on the cross, and Mary the Mother of Jesus (or any combination of these folks) are already in Heaven.
Likewise, people argue ad infinitum about the precise nature of "Paradise." the popular modern understanding is that the term refers to "Heaven." But what 21st century believers frequently understand by that word is totally outside any First Century comprehension of Paradise. And again, one question becomes, "when does one enter whatever realm is in the afterlife?" A lot of people have ideas about such things, but there is neither a definitive answer nor a consensus opinion.
I hold that the thrust of the saying is found neither in the first term nor the last. The comfort, the revelatory sympathy, comes in mid-sentence: "with me." The "when" or the "where" is irrelevant in the face of the "who." Isn't the hope of every believer that -- in whatever form it presents itself -- that we abide with Jesus? If that is our hope, if that is our promise, the rest of the debate fades as does a puff of smoke.
If Jesus says, "...you will be with me..." that is enough.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
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