Jesus and Hell: What He Actually Taught in Scripture

Editor’s note – The claim that Jesus never spoke of Hell circulates widely online, often repeated with confidence and little Scripture behind it. The author tests that claim directly against the text, walking through what Jesus actually said in Matthew and Mark rather than what people assume He meant. This is important because the doctrine of Hell, as with Heaven, shapes how urgently we take the gospel of salvation.

Hell, You Say?

There are many opinions on this subject. As a matter of fact, if you ask 100 people, you’ll likely get 100 different answers.

Scholars have debated the content of this question for centuries. Families have divided over it. Christians have been persecuted & martyred for it. Preachers have shaken sweaty fists at congregations about it.

One man laid down His innocent life to keep us from it.

So, it’s probably important.

Might as well rip the bandage off. I read the below recently in an article on BCWorldview:

“Jesus never taught about Hell.”

This statement may be shocking, but unfortunately you can find this view echoed all over the internet from atheists and Christians alike. There are some popular voices who I’ve heard make great arguments for the non-existence of Hell, and on Jesus’ alleged non-teaching on the subject.

These claims are well-researched, passionately made, and backed by some incredibly knowledgeable scholars.

So what’s the problem?

They’re passionately wrong.

Let’s look at what Scripture has to say. Here is an instance in Matthew 23:33 where Jesus was talking to a group of Pharisees & teachers of the law (a.k.a. the religious elite of those days):

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? [Matthew 23:33]
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? [Matthew 23:33]
You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? [Matthew 23:33]
Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? [Matthew 23:33]
You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? [Matthew 23:33]

I surveyed over 25 translations, and only a handful of them say anything other than “Hell.” Translations that use a different word say “Gehenna” or, as the Berean Annotated Bible says, “Hell {Gehenna}.”

Why is this important, you ask?

Gehenna was actually a physical, geographical location that Jews at the time knew well. Some claim that, since Jesus was referencing this literal place, He wasn’t teaching about what we call “Hell” today (the eternal place of torment).

What Gehenna Really Meant

Also identified as the Valley of Hinnom, Gehenna was the valley that marked part of the boundary between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. This valley saw many sinister practices, such as child sacrifice and other acts of idol worship. It was also a place where city waste and the bodies of criminals were burned¹.

Fires were constantly burning there, and it wasn’t a place anyone went willingly or casually. Those whom Jesus was teaching would have understood that His reference to this depraved place was painting a vivid picture of what spending an eternity without God would look like.

Additionally, when you look at the surrounding text of this verse, and many others of Jesus’s teachings, you can see that He often used exaggerated imagery and metaphors to emphasize the point.

It’s no different in this passage.

Editor’s note – Knowing Gehenna was a real valley with a reputation for depravity doesn’t soften Jesus’ warning; it sharpens it. He drew on an image His listeners could see and smell, not an abstract legend.

Jesus and the Language of Warning

Let’s look at another teaching where we see Jesus reference Gehenna again, this time in Mark:

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' [Mark 9:47-48]

The word here for “Hell” is also Gehenna, which is found numerous other times in the New Testament.

We know in this passage Jesus was not actually telling people to cut their limbs off. This is an example of using extreme language to get a point across. We do the same thing today when we say things like, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” or, “I could eat an elephant.”

It doesn’t really rain animals from the sky, and we couldn’t actually eat an entire elephant. We understand these phrases to mean it’s raining heavily and we’re very hungry. Likewise, when Jesus was saying that it would be better to lose an appendage and enter Heaven than to keep them and enter Gehenna (Hell), we understand this to mean an eternal place without the presence of God dwelling in it.

Editor’s note – Recognizing hyperbole in Jesus’ teaching cuts both ways. It tells us He didn’t mean people should maim themselves, but it never tells us He didn’t mean Hell.

I shudder at the thought of that.

Now, could the lake of fire after Judgment Day be located where Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, was? Sure, why not? However, the point here is that Jesus is truly teaching about Hell, as He did often.

Hell is a real place, and it will be truly unimaginable. Jesus doesn’t want you to spend eternity there, and He’s offered you a way out.

Please, choose Him.

Source: Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Philip W. Comfort, Ph.D., Walter A. Elwell, Ph.D., Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2001.

A Word from the Editor
Hell is not a rhetorical flourish Jesus borrowed for effect; it’s a real destination He warned people away from because He loves them. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Take both the warning and the invitation seriously, and choose Him.

Editor Comment: Thanks for the shoutout from BCW Stephanie! Our attraction to the gospel should come from a position of appreciation for what God has done in our lives. However, the reality of a real and literal Hell must also not be ignored because the consequences are eternal as well.

This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.