Did Jesus Believe In Hell?

Did Jesus Believe In Hell?

Brett A. Todd

With all the talk about God’s love, one would think that Jesus didn’t believe in hell.  You know, we are talking about the place where all of the non-Christians, those who don’t believe in Jesus, are sent for eternity.  Growing up, this was probably the number one reason why I made my way up to the altar and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I remember with anxiety reading Jonathan Edward’s sermon, Sinners In The Hand Of An Angry God:

“That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open, and you have nothing to stand upon, nor anything to take hold of, there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.”

Did Jesus believe in hell, and if he did, what did he believe?  The question is thought-provoking and the answer is probably something you would not expect.

Perhaps the best-attested passage in New Testament Greek manuscripts concerning Jesus’ belief and view on hell is found in Matthew 25:31-46.  Here it is clear that Jesus believed in hell.  Although the word “hell” is not used, it is pretty clear this is exactly what Jesus was talking about and believed.  Note verse 41, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…”  

In this story, Jesus is depicted as the Son of Man and the King (Judge), not God, who separates the nations into two groups, the sheep and the goats.  The first group consists of sheep, those who care for the downtrodden by feeding those who are hungry, giving drinks to those who are thirsty, welcoming the stranger (foreigner), clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison.  It is this group that inherited the Kingdom of God.  The second group is the goats, who by all accounts fail to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, etc. This is what the narrator says about this group, verse 46, “And these will go away into eternal punishment…”

This is where the answer to the question, “Did Jesus believe in hell and if he did, what did he believe?” gets interesting.  Not once in this story is anything mentioned about one having faith in Jesus or becoming a church member. Rather, one entered God’s Kingdom by good works.  You could be the most religious person in the world, but without caring for the poor, hurting, and disenfranchised, you were headed for hell.  For Jesus, entering into God’s Kingdom was all about caring for those in need.

In our next study, we will talk about whether or not the four Gospels teach the divinity of Jesus.