Where Was Jesus Between His Death And The Resurrection? Series

"I Want The Truth!” January 10, 2010

This morning I am going to start a new sermon series entitled “I want the truth!” This series will last as long as you want it to. Let me explain.

This series will be to answer spiritual questions that you may have concerning right from wrong, good or bad, should we or shouldn’t we, and we will consult God’s Word to find the answers.

The first question is: Where was Jesus at during the time between His death and His resurrection?

Turn to Acts 2:29-33 and I am going to be reading from the King James Version. I like the NIV but there are scriptures that are misguided.

Acts 2:29-33 29Men 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. 30Therefore 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; 31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Now notice in verse 31 Luke says that Jesus was in hell. I don’t understand why the NIV omitted this but they did so let’s look at what Luke meant.

Other translations refer to it as Hades. Now hell and Hades are not the same place.

You actually have to go back to the original Greek where the word hell referred to Hades.

The word "Hades" refers to the realm of the dead, a temporary place where they await the resurrection. When Jesus spoke of a final place for the unbeliever He referred to it as a place of final punishment.

The book of Revelation clearly instructs us that the two are not the same place.

Revelation 20:11-15 11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And 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. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The lake of fire is the final punishment which we know as hell and in verse 14 it states that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This proves that they are different places.

So if Hades is the place for the mode of the dead to await final punishment why did Christ go there?

If we look at 1st Peter, he will explain why Jesus went to Hades.

I Peter 3:18-22 18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Only Peter gives specific information about what happened between these two events.

The word "preached" in verse 19 is not the usual word in the New Testament to describe the preaching of the gospel. It literally means to take a message.

Jesus suffered and died on the Cross, His body being put to death, and His spirit died when He was made sin. But His spirit was made alive and He yielded it to the Father.

Do you remember what Jesus said just before He died? Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.