Hell in the New Testament - Gospels and Jesus' Direct Teaching, Part 4

By Bart Breen

The fourth note looking at passages in the Gospels where Jesus mentions or refers to Hell, the passage in question is:

.  

Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 

.

Whom Speaking to:  Jesus is speaking in general to crowds in the time just following sending His disciples out to cities and towns throughout Judea.  The specific location isn't clear.  It may be close to Jerusalem, as just prior to this John the Baptist sent some out to question Jesus as to whether He was really the one.  John was in prison at Herod's Palace so it may be that Jesus' proximity is what prompted the emissary.  It's not clear, but it doesn't really impact what Jesus has to say.

.

Word translated Hell: Hades (the first time we've seen that as opposed to Gehenna  which has been in the previous verses looked out.).

.

Immediate Context:  Jesus has prepared his disciples for going out ahead of his to proclaim the gospel (good news) of the coming of the Kingdom.  Jesus then speaks to the group of people present and contrasts the cities He's been to and their response to Him as compared with cities in the past that messages have been delivered to. 

.

Capernaum in particular is a city that has seen Jesus more than any other city and in which Jesus has performed miracles more than any other.  Further it is a privileged city with much wealth and reputation and so it is seen metaphorically as "lifted to heaven" and Jesus contrasts this with their being brought down into Hades.  Obviously not everyone in Capernaum is going to "hell" in the context of this passage.  It's speaking comparatively and there is no sense of punishment in the sense of Gehenna and so hades is used instead.

.

Thoughts:  This is a good example of how in particular the KJV can create some confusion by using the word Hell to translate both Gehenna and Hades in the NT.  There's very different senses involved and this passage in particular demonstrates that Gehenna is what speaks more of punishment where Hades is speaking more of an underworld or place where departed souls go waiting for the day of judgment.  Metaphorically then the threat to Capernaum as a city is that it will be brought down to a state of desolation in contrast to its current prosperity. 

.

Conclusion:  This is a collective sense of judgment upon an entire city and not a sending of all of its inhabitants to a literal hell, which would contradict other passages of Scripture where eternal salvation is a matter of individuals rather than entire peoples.  The sense of groups of people is still preserved in the NT in terms of their place in the overall plan of God (Israel as a chosen nation as opposed to the Gentiles for example).. Given that the use of the word here is comparative as a metaphor rather than a literal reference to a permanent location of punishment, it doesn't really add anything to a comprehensive doctrine of hell.

.

The next passage to look at will be Matt 16:18