While His body was in the tomb?

Lorrie,

Excellent question! I have commonly heard Baptist preachers say that Jesus went to hell in our place. This is WRONG. The following is a little study I did on this question.

Did Jesus Go to ""hell"" after He died on the cross? Yes.

Did He go to ""torments""? NO! And that is an emphatic NO!!!

What did He tell the thief who asked to be ""remembered""? ""Today thou shalt be with me..."", where, in hell? NO! ""In paradise"".

Jesus did not go to ""torments"" to finish atoning for our sins after He died on the cross. He did not suffer the pains of ""hell fire"" in our place for three days and three nights! If He did then what is the meaning of the words (rather word, it is one word in Greek, tetelestai) ""IT IS FINISHED!"".

Did Jesus lie to the thief? Did Jesus lie when He said ""It is finished"" knowing that He still had to suffer in ""hell"" for three more days? This idea that Jesus went to hell to suffer for our sins is NOT in the Bible!

The Bible teaches that Jesus went to the cross to suffer for our sins, not that He went to hell to suffer for our sins!

So, what about Acts 2:27?

In his sermon at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2:14-36. Peter introduces the subject of the resurrection by referring to a prophecy by David.
Psalm 16:8-10.
8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Though the statement is made in reference to the suffering that David was experiencing, it is only applicable to David in part. David did die and his body was still in the ground 1000 years later when Peter quoted the passage. The full meaning of verse ten can only be understood if it is applied to Jesus Christ. This is precisely what Peter does. He points out that David is dead and buried. Peter even goes so far as to remind them that David''s tomb could still be visited at that time. In fact, it is still possible to visit the site. In this way he rules out the idea that the passage has as its main focal point the suffering and deliverance of David.

In this passage, it remains to be determined which of the three places the Psalmist referred, the grave, torments, or paradise. There are two factors in making such a determination: 1) How is the statement in Psalm 16:10 interpreted by the New Testament writers?, and 2) What do other passages have to say about where Christ went during the three days between His death and Resurrection?

Let us first examine Peter's interpretation of the passage. In verse 26 Peter refers to David's flesh resting in hope. Verse 27 says, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Concerning the first phrase, which does apply to David, R.C.H. Lenski notes:

“"Jehovah, who has ever been at David's right to keep him from being shaken by doubt and fear, will never forsake him at the time of death. His hope is sure: "Because thou wilt not abandon my soul unto hades." When David comes to die Yahweh will not abandon his soul, or permit it to sink into hell, the place of the damned. . . . The abandonment here denied is not merely one which leaves a person in a terrible place after he has fallen there, but one which never even permits him to get into such a place.""

Peter asserts that David is still dead and buried. While it is true that God did not abandon David's soul to torments, it is also true that he had been dead and buried for about 1000 years now. Since David has been dead for this time it is not possible to say that David's flesh did not see corruption.

Notice carefully the words of verse 27, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." It seems that David is expressing his hope of being in a place of comfort in the first phrase and uttering a prediction about the Messiah in the latter portion of the verse. In the application of Psalm 16:10 Peter states that both phrases relate to the Christ, verse 31, "He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption." It is wholly within the scope of the context to understand that David was referring to death and the grave. There is nothing within this passage which indicates that Christ was in the place of torments.

Psalm 16:10 is also quoted and interpreted later by the Apostle Paul in his sermon in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:35-37). Paul quotes the passage in verse 35 and then says that David " fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:" Thus, Paul also indicates that the passage cannot have primary reference to the psalmist. Paul goes on in verse 37 to apply the passage to Jesus, "but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption." David used the word to refer to the grave, the place where the body returns to dust.

In the two instances in which this passage is mentioned in the New Testament there is no indication that the psalmist had reference to torments. There are a few more passages which need to be considered in determining where Christ spent the hours between His death and resurrection. Christ, in his second statement from the cross announced to the repentant thief, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). If Christ had gone to suffer the pains of eternal Hell during the interim period, He could not have made this statement. Another consideration concerning the suffering of Christ is what Christ himself said about the completion of His suffering while still on the cross.

John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

A further consideration is that in the first and last sayings on the cross, Christ addressed God as "Father". In the fourth statement He cried out "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" As Christ became the sin bearer and the full weight of the sins of all mankind were placed upon Him, he literally became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). In His position as sin bearer, Christ had no right to address God as Father; in fact, since God could not look upon iniquity, He had no choice but to abandon His Son to the full suffering of Calvary. After the bitter cup of God's wrath had been drained, after the awful debt had been paid, and after the atonement had been accomplished, fellowship was again restored between the Father and the Son. The fact that Christ was able to say, "Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit" (Luke 23:46) is ample evidence that the debt had already been paid in full.

Yes, Jesus was laid in the grave. Yes, he went to ""Abraham''s bosom"" or ""Paradise"". No, Jesus did not spend three days and nights in the torment of hell fire.

 

RSR,

Thanks. Thought I had posted that one somewhere, but could not find it.

 

Lorrie, you will seldom find a better explanation of this topic than you have just had from rj.

I might add that paradise is now in heaven, apparently taken there when Jesus ascended.
You remember that Paul said he was caught up to heaven and paradise was there.

{2 Cor. 12 2-4}

This ascension of paradise seems to be what is spoken of in Ephesians 4:8.

MR

 

Thanks MR. I hold to the same view of Eph 4:8, but it is by no means conclusive as there are other "more natural" interpretations of "led captivity captive". I need to add 2Cor 12 to my discussion of this! Great Point, Thanks.

 

The location of paradise can also be crosschecked by the location of the tree of life.
Revelation 2:7 locates it in "the paradise of God."
Rev. 22:2 further locates the tree on either side of the river which flows from the throne of God in the heavenly city.

MR

 

I believe he descended to Sheol (in koine Greek, "Hades").