Where Did Jesus Go?

The Question Series

 

This next question in our series, “Questions you have always wanted to ask,” is really challenging to answer. Scholars all seem to agree that the text this question is based on is the most difficult passage in the NT, and possibly the Bible. 

            The question is this: Where was Jesus on the Saturday between Good Friday (the crucifixion) and Easter Sunday (the resurrection)? 

            The primary text from which we get this question is 1 Peter 3:18-22 where it talks about Jesus supposedly going to hell to preach. The difficulty with understanding this text arises from the distance of time and culture. Peter wrote this piece as an illustration but assumed that his readers would immediately understand what he was saying, which they did. But we do not. Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther commented on this text and said (in today’s language), “I haven’t got a hot clue what Peter meant.” 

            The church has wrestled with this question for centuries. Already in the 4^th century one famous creed (a summary of the gospel truths), stated it like this: “He (Jesus) suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, he descended to hell. The third day he rose again…” But another famous creed leaves the visit to hell out altogether. 

            Does it matter where Jesus was between his death and resurrection? Scripture talks about it briefly, and if scripture mentions it, it is worth considering. Scripture is written for our encouragement, and after attempting to explain this difficult text, I hope you will hang on for the punchline. 

            There are two texts that suggest what happened to Jesus on Holy Saturday, Ephesians 4:7-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-22. We will look at the first one briefly and the second one more in-depth to form a reasonable answer to this intriguing question. 

Ephesians 4:7-10 What does it mean that Jesus “descended”?

 

In the past, some teachers have used this text to propose that Jesus went to hell or Hades to release prisoners there and take them to heaven. Verse 9 forms the basis of this assumption, “In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?”

            We know the saying, “What goes up must come down.” Paul implies that since Jesus ascended, he must have descended. He bases this on verse 8, a quote from Psalm 68, which says that “When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives…” What could this mean?

            There are three common interpretations of this verse as it applies to Jesus. 1) Jesus went to hell and released the saints who had been in prison from the OT till Christ came. 2) It could refer to the coming of Christ in the flesh as a baby and thus a man into our world. 3) It could refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church after the resurrection of Christ (since it talks about giving gifts to men; see vv. 11-13). Which one is the correct interpretation? 

            These are very brief summaries, and much could be explained about each one. Personally, Psalm 68 sheds light on the meaning of ascending and descending the most for me. In the psalm, the psalmist talks about Yahweh coming down to save his people from some disaster or trouble. When Yahweh achieves the victory, he ascends to his throne in Zion and receives the worship of his people. Applied to Jesus, Paul sees Jesus descending to earth as a man to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Then he ascends to the right hand of God to rule as Lord giving gifts to humankind through the Holy Spirit. 

            I don’t see anything about hell in this text. If we compare scripture with scripture, Romans 10:6-7 speaks of Christ’s ascent to heaven being contrasted with his descent into the abyss. The abyss is not hell, but the place of the dead (the grave). So, the ascent of Jesus refers to his rising from the dead, and not to emerging from hell. 

1 Peter 3:18-22 Did Jesus go to hell on Saturday?

 

There are three questions that we will ask of this text. But first we need to deal with the “hell” problem.

            Two early theologians, Clement and Origen, proposed what is called “the harrowing of hell” view. They were the ones who first taught that Christ descended into hell between the crucifixion and resurrection. However, they did not base their theory on a proper study of 1 Peter 3:18-22 but on two questions: 1) How could the saints in the OT be redeemed by Christ since they lived before his time? 2) Where and what was Jesus doing between his death and resurrection? 

            Based on a loose interpretation of 1 Peter, they decided that Jesus went to hell to preach to the prisoners. But the Bible does not support this idea. In Acts 2:27, Peter quotes a psalm of David that promises, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades…” In other words, Christ did not go to hell but to Hades. Hell is the place of punishment of the wicked; Hades is the place where all the dead went. This psalm prophesied that Jesus would not be left for dead by God. This is very important for understanding 1 Peter.

            Another problem is what Peter meant by “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (18b). He writes that Christ suffered once for sins to bring us to God. But some have understood that Jesus died physically and that his spirit went to hell to preach to someone. The problem created by this thought is that it makes a division between body and soul. It suggests that when someone dies, their body (which is mortal) separates from their spirit/soul (which is eternal). This is what is called Greek dualism and it is not Christian thinking, it is pagan. 

            The word for “soul” in Greek is what we call “psyche.” It refers not to your “ghost” but to your whole person. Peter uses this word “psyche” five times in his letter (1:9, 22; 2:25; 3:20; 4:19). The ESV oddly translates this word as “soul” every time except in 3:20 where it uses “persons.” Think about it this way: When the Titanic sent out an SOS (Save Our Souls), did they mean for their rescuers to save only their spirits? No, they wanted their whole person rescued. Your soul refers to your whole person. 

            When Jesus died, he died. “Christ in his entirety was put to death at the crucifixion and in his entirety was made alive at the resurrection,” (Karen Jobes, 1 Peter). I am showing you my cards early with this statement: Jesus didn’t go anywhere, because he was dead. For Jesus’ death to be effective to remove sin, he had to actually die. In what sense could Christ’s soul be said to have been made alive when his body was dead? 

            Now we can look at the three questions:

1) To whom did Christ bear witness in prison? Peter mysteriously wrote, “…in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience awaited in the days of Noah…” (19-20).

            There are several ways to unpack this verse. One suggests that Christ preached “in spirit” through Noah to unbelievers who were alive then but are now spirits in prison (hell). Another suggests that Christ preached to people in hell to give them a second chance at redemption. But why would Jesus preach only to the Noah generation and not all the OT generations? And where does the Bible ever speak of a second after-death opportunity to believe in Christ?

            Two things need clarification: In the NT “spirits” always refers to non-humans (demons); and the dead are never said to be in prison. 

            To whom did Christ preach to then? Christ did not preach to the people of Noah’s generation, but to the demonic spirits who influenced people to sin just as they do now. God judged the people with the flood and imprisoned the demonic forces. It was to these confined demons that Jesus bore witness. 

2) What did Christ preach? Nothing! He didn’t preach. The Greek word for gospel preaching isn’t used here. The word is “proclaim.” Christ did not preach to the “souls” who had already died or to fallen angels. Hebrews 9:27 tells us very plainly “…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment.” There is no second chance after death, only judgment. 

            And what did Jesus proclaim to the spirits in prison? Christ proclaimed his victory over sin, death, and Satan. As Paul also made clear in Colossians 2:15, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” God through Christ’s death on the cross defeated the powers of evil. The cross was Christ’s proclamation to the spirits in prison. 

3) When did Christ bear this witness? Along with this question I would add, “How did Christ proclaim this message? Go back to verse 18 where it says, “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” This is a fine distinction, but I will make it anyways: The word “but” in Greek can also be translated “and.” So, you could read it as “being put to death in the flesh and made alive in the spirit.” This puts the crucifixion and resurrection together as one event, an event that proclaims the victory of God in Christ. 

            Some scholars suggested that Christ preached through Noah to the sinful generation of his time. I counter that Noah proclaimed his faith in God by building the ark. For 120 years in the sight of people who disobeyed God, Noah “preached” by continuing to build a boat for a flood no one had ever heard of or seen before. In the same way, Christ “preached” his victory over sin and death and Satan by dying and rising again. He never used words; his actions on the cross were his message; his victory over death spelled the doom of the spirits.

 

What is Peter really trying to say? 

 

Some years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. They have an amazing collection of pieces from around the globe and the past centuries. We saw Picasso, Gaugin, the American Gothic, and Monet. 

            I stood for a time staring at a painting by Monet of London Bridge wondering why impressionist painting was so popular. I could not figure it out; all I saw was a foggy, almost pixelated, unappealing image of London Bridge. Leaving the large exhibition room and heading to another, I turned to look one more time at Monet’s bridge. And then I saw it – it was a revelation. I was standing too close to see it from 7 feet away; I had to be 70 feet away to grasp the genius of the painting. 

            When we look at the fine details like our feature question and try to find precise answers from the biblical text, we may miss the main message. What was Peter trying to say? 

            Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering for their faith. They had been baptized in the name of Jesus and paid the price for that confession. These first-generation believers were beginning to wonder if their faith was worth the suffering they endured. If a Christian was a contractor, his bid was ignored. If a feast was held in the community, the Christians were not invited. They were being socially ostracized. Physical suffering was sure to follow. 

            The encouragement Peter gave them focused on the suffering of Christ. Look at Jesus, Peter wrote, who suffered for the sins of the world even though he didn’t deserve it. Jesus was put to the death, but even in his death, God vindicated him. The Christians’ suffering was not at the point of death, but God will vindicate them in time. Look at Noah, Peter wrote in v. 20-21; his voyage in the ark was like baptism. The water that deluged the world in judgment is the same water that saved Noah and his family. Your baptism, Peter intones, saves you, “…not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (21). 

            Finally, just as Christ’s sufferings spoke to the powers and authorities of his ultimate victory, your suffering “preaches” to a watching world. Our willingness to suffer unjustly for Christ’s sake may just provide us with an opportunity to share our faith. Paul affirmed this truth when in 2 Corinthians 5:20 he says that when we share our faith with our unbelieving friends, God makes his appeal through us. 

 

Where did Jesus go between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? I have given my answer according to my understanding of scripture. You may prefer a different interpretation. But let’s agree that the death and resurrection of Christ are a promise to us that no matter how much we suffer for our faith in this life, God will vindicate us through Jesus.

 

 

                                                AMEN