Why did Jesus lie when he was on the cross?

Question

The Bible says when Jesus died he descended into Hell for 3 days... so why did he say to the guy next to him "Truly I say to you, TODAY you will be with me in Paradise"....?

Answer 1

WHAT? You mean there's inconsistancies in the bible? The Hell you say . . .

Simply shocking

Answer 2

That's the trouble with popular Christianity: Too much misinformation.

In the "Hell" verse, Ephesians 4:9 ("Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?") apostle Paul doesn't say exactly When Jesus descended or exactly Where because He thought people knew! Isn't one of the big features of the Christmas story the idea that Jesus humbled himself and came all the way down from heaven to be a little baby and grow up, not in a palace, but "the lower parts of the earth" like the rest of us!
You Could say that going into the tomb was "going into the lower parts of the earth," but then you're still Right: Jesus must not have gone to heaven on Crucifixion Friday because on Resurrection Sunday he told Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father"! John 20:17

So, What's Going On?

Well, once you remember
1) the original manuscripts in those other languages may have had no punctuation,
2) the Apostle Paul told Timothy that "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15) is part of the job of a Christian scholar (kudos to you, kid!), and
3) you merit respect, yourself, ("Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example... " 1 Timothy 4:12)
then you yourself can take that little comma in Luke 23:43, put it on the other side of the word, "today," and let everything make sense.
And let it agree with the rest of the Bible (Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the resurrection of Lazarus story, etc.), which consistently says that dead people like King David (Psalm 6:4-5, Acts 2:29) wait in their graves for Jesus to come back to earth again and raise up all the righteous dead together "at the last day" (1 Thess 4:16, Job 19:25,26, etc.). So Jesus, in his darkest hour made that promise to the thief that he would be one of those that Jesus would come back for (John 6:40). God loves you! There are lies, but God's not telling them.

Answer 3

He didn't, Greek doen't have comma's.

So it is the translation you are reading that placed the comma in wrong place.

It should read "Truly I say to you today,

You will be with me in Paradise".

That is one test for a high quality translation of the bible.

Old Testament:
In fact, the New World Translation is a scholarly work. In 1989, Professor Benjamin Kedar of Israel said:
"In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translation, I often refer to the English edition as what is known as the New World Translation. In doing so, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this kind of work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible. Giving evidence of a broad command of the original language, it renders the original words into a second language understandably without deviating unnecessarily from the specific structure of the Hebrew....Every statement of language allows for a certain latitude in interpreting or translating. So the linguistic solution in any given case may be open to debate. But I have never discovered in the New World Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not contain."

New Testament:

While critical of some of its translation choices, BeDuhn called the New World Translation a “remarkably good” translation, “better by far” and “consistently better” than some of the others considered. Overall, concluded BeDuhn, the New World Translation “is one of the most accurate English translations of the New Testament currently available” and “the most accurate of the translations compared.”—Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament.

“Here at last is a comprehensive comparison of nine major translations of the Bible:
King James Version,
New American Standard Bible,
New International Version,
New Revised Standard Version,
New American Bible,
Amplified Bible,
Today's English Version (Good News Bible),
Living Bible,
and the New World Translation.
The book provides a general introduction to the history and methods of Bible translation, and gives background on each of these versions. Then it compares them on key passages of the New Testament to determine their accuracy and identify their bias. Passages looked at include:
John 1:1; John 8:58; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1

Jason BeDuhn
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Chair
Department of Humanities, Arts, and Religion
Northern Arizona University

Answer 4

Ignorance is bliss. What bible are you reading? My bible doesn't say three days in hell.

Paradise and hades were separate locations.

Read for yourself:

Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:43

That is why the Good News was preached even to those who have died--so that although their bodies were punished with death, they could still live in the spirit as God does.
The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
1st Peter 4:6,7

Answer 5

Jesus was in the tomb for three days, the grave, hell, all the same thing.

While his body was in the tomb, his divine spirit and his human soul were elsewhere, accomplishing a number of things.

One of those things was freeing the captives who had been detained in Paradise, waiting for the grace of redemption, so they could enter heaven.

Jesus simply granted the faithful thief a pardon, and took his soul with him to Paradise, exactly as he said he would.

There are no contradictions in scripture. There are only those who fail to understand.

Answer 6

The bible says he went unto his Father. That is where the thief on the cross was as well, in Paradise.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43.

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:46.

You had been listening to too many Benny Hinn types who built an entire false doctrine around the idea that Jesus died and went to hell.

Answer 7

It is a legend that he went to hell. it's not in the bible but is an old belief
Originally it might have described how he came down to the earth 'hell' and the guy next to him would return with him to paradise.This contradicts the belief that people don't immediately go to heaven and have to wait for judgement day, no... straight there according to Jesus

Answer 8

The word Hell generally means the place where the departed souls rest until the Resurrection.

Revelations 20:
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Answer 9

It isn't Jesus that lied but the priests that preached that he descended to hades for three days, and really it wasn't a lie, hades merely means a hole in the ground.

Answer 10

I'll sum it all up for you: The Bible is a collection of mixed facts & fairy tales, embellished to convey points of morality and to establish dogma.
Religion is a crutch for the weak, but it's better than drugs or alcohol.

Answer 11

he descended into the heart of the earth- and apparently you are not aware that a day can be 1000 years for the lord