Did Jesus Go to Hell to Pay for Our Sins?

The answer is no, Jesus did not enter Hell to pay the debt of our sins. This is proven in two scriptures. While hanging on the cross, Jesus said to the criminal hanging on the cross next to Him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Upon His death, Jesus would enter Heaven and not Hell. In addition, just before His death Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) At the moment Jesus said this, the debt of sin had been paid. There was nothing else to be done.

Jesus Christ was quite different from any other human ever born. He is the one and only Son of God who existed from eternity before all time. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. In Him, the eternal God became a human being and dwelt among us. Therefore, the physical body of Christ given over to death on the cross was enough to pay the eternal debt of our sin against God. The moment Christ died, amends had been made. There was a perfect balance: Christ’s eternal life balanced our eternal debt of sin. With His last breath, Christ paid our debt and it was truly finished.

This is why Jesus could say the criminal next to Him, “Today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Christ did not have to wait until His resurrection. Upon Christ’s death, the debt of sin had been paid. Therefore, when His Spirit ascended to Heaven, Christ could also promise the same to a criminal who had violated the Law of God. The sins of this man had been forgiven since He had repented and believed in Christ.

In Paradise, Jesus stayed for three days, awaiting His resurrection. This is the same pattern all His people will follow until the day of Christ’s return. Upon death, we will ascend to Paradise while we await the resurrection of our bodies.

The truth concerning the finality of Christ’s death, however, raises another question. If the death of Jesus paid the debt of sin, why does not our own death pay for our sin?