On Sunday (2/9) I preached on Mark 9 which deals with the place where “the worm does not die and the fire never goes out” – the place called Hell.
I got a question on the text line that results from the line in the Apostles Creed, posted below (appearing between the burial and resurrection) or from 1 Peter 3. Where did Jesus go during his “death?” The passage from which the Apostle’s Creed draws its conclusion is 1 Peter 3:18-20 which reads:
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water”
Did Jesus go to Hades and preach to the spirits of the dead?
Did He go to Hades and triumphantly proclaim His victory over sin and death?
Or, is this a reference to Jesus’ spirit being with Noah when he preached to the lost of His day?
I prefer the third interpretation, but it is textually the weakest of the three; the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). These words seem less subject to conjecture or misinterpretation. I do NOT think Jesus was in Hell (or Hades) for those 3 days. And on those rare occasions I’m called on to recite or sing the Creed, I stay silent during those moments.
I understand why it’s there and I’m not going to go on a crusade to get it changed, I just think there is a better interpretation.
Pastor Scott (with thanks to William for reminding me of Luke 23:43)On Sunday (2/9) I preached on Mark 9 which deals with the place where “the worm does not die and the fire never goes out” – the place called Hell.
I got a question on the text line that results from the line in the Apostles Creed, poster below (appearing between the burial and resurrection) or from 1 Peter 3. Where did Jesus go during his “death?” The passage from which the Apostle’s Creed draws its conclusion is 1 Peter 3:18-20 which reads:
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water”
Did Jesus go to Hades and preach to the spirits of the dead?
Did He go to Hades and triumphantly proclaim His victory over sin and death?
Or, is this a reference to Jesus’ spirit being with Noah when he preached to the lost of His day?
I prefer the third interpretation, but it is textually the weakest of the three; the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). These words seem less subject to conjecture or misinterpretation. I do NOT think Jesus was in Hell (or Hades) for those 3 days. And on those rare occasions I’m called on to recite or sing the Creed, I stay silent during those moments.
I understand why it’s there and I’m not going to go on a crusade to get it changed, I just think there is a better interpretation.
Pastor Scott (with thanks to William for reminding me of Luke 23:43)
Grace Notes 