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NASB | Matthew 8:5 ¶ And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 8:5 ¶ As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help], [Luke 7:1-10] |
Bible Question (short): Part 2.... |
Question (full): Part 2 Matthew 11:23 also speaks of Hades as a place of punishment: 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. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. (Matt. 11:23-24) Again, the original Greek Word used in this passage for hell is Hades. When Jesus was speaking to the city of Capernaum, He was speaking of their downfall. There being brought down to Hades was a punishment for rejecting the mighty works of God. Since Jesus Himself spoke the two passages referenced so far and used the word Hades in both passages, I have no doubt that He was distinguishing this particular place from Gehenna. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word Hades. In the Old Testament it is sometimes referred to as the place of rest for the OT saints. We have the New Testament verification of this truth in Luke 16:22. Yet, the Old Testament also uses it as a place of punishment and torment (2 Sam. 22:5-6; Psalm 9:17; 116:3-4; Prov. 15:24; Isa. 14:12-15). Now having established the fact that Hades (or Sheol) is indeed a place of torment, is it not possible that our Lord Jesus suffered there as a result of taking upon Himself our sin and becoming a curse on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21; Gel. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24)? We pointed out this possibility in part two of our series of essays. We will briefly touch on this again. Acts 2:24-31: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. As we pointed out in part two the word pains (or pangs in most versions) denotes some kind of suffering. If Jesus had only went to Abraham's bosom then He would not have suffered any pains of death. Albert Barnes gives more insight on the meaning of the "pains of death" that Christ suffered: The word translated pains denotes, properly, the extreme sufferings of parturition, and then any severe or excruciating pangs. Hence it is applied also to death, as being a state of extreme suffering. A very frequent meaning of the Hebrew word, of which this is the translation, is cord, or band. This perhaps was the original idea of the word; and the Hebrews expressed any extreme agony under the idea of bands or cords closely drawn, binding and constricting the limbs, and producing severe pain. Thus death was represented under this image of a band that confined men; that pressed closely on them; that prevented escape; and produced severe suffering. For this use of the word , see Ps 119:61 ; Isa 66:7, Jer 22:23, Hoss 13:13 . It is applied to death, ( Ps 18:5 ,) "The snares of death prevented me;" answering to the word sorrows in the previous part of the verse. Ps 116:3 , "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell (hades or sheol, the cords or pains that were binding me down to the grave) gat hold upon me."(3) Continued... |