Question: Why did Jesus, the Son of God, go to hell? I ask in view of Acts 2:27.
Answer: On the Day of Pentecost Peter preached concerning a Messianic prophecy recorded in Psalm 16:8-11. The King James Version reads: “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” The New King James reads: “You will not leave my soul in Hades.” The American Standard Version reads: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades,” as does numerous other translations of the verse, correctly render the word “Hades.”
Sometimes this verse will be coupled with 1 Peter 3:19 and some preachers will state emphatically that Jesus “went into hell and preached to the spirits of the dead which are there.” The notion that Jesus Christ ever spent a single minute in hell is far removed from the plain teaching of the Scripture.
We know that Jesus Christ did not enter “hell” after His death, because Jesus made a promise to a penitent thief while hanging on the cross. “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” (Luke 23:43). The New King James reads “Paradise” as well. Hell is a place of “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” (Matthew 25:41). That is not a place for the sinless and Holy Son of God!
The Greek word translated “hell” in Acts 2:27 is hades. The English word “hell” is from the Greek Gehenna, found 12 times in the New Testament, and 11 times in the Synoptic Gospels and each time there spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. Hades is actually a Greek word defined as being “the region of departed spirits of the lost (but including the blessed dead in periods preceding the ascension of Christ). The word is used four times in the Gospels and always by the Lord,” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary, p. 286).
Hell is a reality, and it is the unenviable destiny of those who refuse to “retain God in their knowledge,” (Romans 1:28). It is described as a place of “outer darkness…a lake of fire…everlasting fire and punishment,” (Matthew 8:12; 25:41-46; Rev. 19:20). My Lord has never spent a moment in that eternal abode. We can avoid that terrible abode in our obedience to the Lord’s commandment of Mark 16:15-16. Next week, Lord willing, we will consider that passage in 1 Peter 3:19.
A warm welcome awaits you at all the services of the Maysville church of Christ, located at Main and Ash Streets. We have worship services each Sunday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Bible classes for all ages are held Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. We welcome your Bible questions at P.O. Box 562, Maysville, OK 73057, or at jessandterr@yahoo.com.
