Trust In Jesus Through Hell And Back

5.14.23 1 Peter 3:18–22 (EHV)

18 He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, 19 in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. 20 These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. 21 And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22 He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Trust in Jesus Through Hell and Back

When the MVP of the Super Bowl is first interviewed, often times he will be asked, “You just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?” He will reply, “I’m going to Disneyland!” I’ve never been there, but it sounds like a magical (and expensive) place for families and kids to go. Where did Jesus go after He rose from the dead? Peter tells us. He . . . went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. That’s talking about souls in hell. It seems like a strange thing, doesn’t it? “You just conquered death! Where are you going Jesus? I’m going to hell!” But that’s what He did.

What did He do that for? To make “an announcement to the spirits in prison”. . . who “disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.” Some think that He was giving them a second chance, rescuing them from hell. We know that can’t be true because the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 that, “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Throughout the Bible God’s Word consistantly says that hell is eternal. Once you’re there, you’re there. There’s no getting out. Dante’s Inferno pictured hell with a sign above the entryway which said, “All who enter here abandon all hope.” You have one life to live. There are no second chances.

So what was Jesus doing in hell? In Colossians chapter 2:15, Paul wrote that after God disarmed the rulers and authorities, (which is referring to the powers of hell and their powerful followers on earth,) he “made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.” If this is referring to Jesus’ descent into hell, then the best we can speculate was that He was proclaiming His victory over hell, especially over those who were perhaps the most hardened of sinners, over those who resisted the most in Noah’s day.

Why does God especially mention these unbelievers in hell? God had given them plenty of years to repent while Noah was building the Ark, and they still refused to do so. We have no idea how much taunting and danger Noah and his family were in by the time the Flood finally came about. Imagine how evil people would become by giving them over 700 years of good health and prosperity. But when the waters of the Flood came, they were washed away and drowned while Noah and his family were lifted up and saved. These were the quintessential unbelievers who had hardened their hearts against Noah’s call to repentance. Jesus had a message for them, a triumphal display, and it doesn’t seem to have been good news for them.

Peter then uses this as a segue to talk about what this means for us today. We live in times that are becoming more and more dangerous and more and more evil. Christians are being pursued in court through lawsuits. It is getting more and more difficult to associate with our unbelieving world especially when it comes to our views of sex and marriage. But if God was able to conquer an evil world and save only 8 people through water and a boat back in Noah’s day, then God can do the same thing yet today for many more. It’s not like He’s gotten any less powerful. Peter writes that, “He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.”

There’s a thought progression throughout this section, a reason why Peter mentions Jesus’ descent into hell. He quickly goes from Jesus’ descent into hell, to the flood, to baptism, and it all is connected to the resurrection. Peter writes that “corresponding to that (how God saved Noah and his family through the Flood), baptism now saves you. How does baptism actually save? He writes what baptism ISN’T and what it IS. It is “not the removal of dirt from the body.” So this isn’t a physical thing. It doesn’t have anything to do with outward cleanliness. Then what does Peter say it is? It is “the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” How can being baptized guarantee you a good conscience? And what does it have to do with the resurrection of Jesus?