Where did Jesus go between His crucifixion and His resurrection?
Luke 23:42-43: "Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.'"
So where is this place called Paradise that Jesus is talking about? We will find out shortly but let's first understand why Jesus had to go there. He had to fulfill prophesy.
Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us."
Hebrews 2:9: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
The Bible tells us that Jesus didn't just die for a group of people. He died specifically for each individual. If there was only you, He would have died for you. It's not just a group experience. That's why we have a personal relationship with Christ. Jesus came to earth in human form in total dependence on the Father. No life except through the Father. He never sinned so continual fellowship with God.
John 6:57: "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me."
When Jesus became our sacrifice on the cross, His union with God was broken by sin. Jesus died on the cross. Forsaken by His Father.
Matthew 27:46: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Abandoned. No answer from heaven. First time Jesus prayed and did not get an answer. Why was His prayer not answered? It was because He had taken on sin at the cross. The sins of all humanity. Thus, cannot be in His presence anymore. Sin separates the person from God. At that moment He was rejected on earth and not accepted in heaven.
Luke 23:46: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."
When the spirit of Jesus left His body on the cross, His physical body was taken down from the cross and wrapped in linen clothes. Placed in the tomb and lay their from Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning.
His spirit had much more to do. His spirit descended into Hades or Sheol. In the Old Testament, the word is Sheol. In the New testament, the word is Hades. It is exactly the same place. This is the realm below the earth referred to as the underworld. This is where the wicked are imprisoned awaiting the final judgment. Don't confuse Hades or Sheol with the lake of fire. The lake of fire is gehenna which is hell. No one will be sent there until after the Final Judgment which is for unbelievers. That is also where the souls and spirits of the righteous were waiting for the time when Jesus would come and declare deliverance to the captives.
Jesus, after His physical death, in spirit, descended into Sheol, or Hades.
Psalm 16:10: "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
These words spoken by David are quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost. He is talking about Jesus Christ. In regard to some of the Psalms of David, David speaks in the first person about many things that are not about him. For example,
Psalm 22:1: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Notice that "Me" is capitalized. (New King James Version).
Psalm 22:16-18: "For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."
This never happened to David. David is not talking about himself. He's talking about Jesus. Why would David do this? You need to know.
I Peter 1:10-11: "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified before hand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."
What this means is that the Spirit of Christ was in David. It is very possible that David may have wondered why he was speaking these prophesies himself. The Bible tells us that it was not really David the man speaking here, but rather David the anointed one was speaking in a prophetic way about what was to happen to the Messiah. So, when we read these words in some of the Psalms of David, although they are spoken in the first person, they really do not apply to David but rather to Jesus.
Psalm 16:10: "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
Here David is talking about the Holy One again which would be the Messiah. When David says, "nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption, what he is referring to is that Jesus' physical body resting in the tomb did not see corruption which would be a physical miracle.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter says these words as recorded in Acts.
Acts 2:25-32: "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to Him that of the fruit of His body, according to the flesh, He would raise Christ to sit on His throne, He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, for which we are all witnesses."
You can see this also in Ephesians 4:8-10: "Therefore he says, 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.' Now this, "He ascended" what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things."
We can see clearly that Jesus did not ascend into heaven until He first descended into the lower parts of the earth, Hades, Sheol; the underworld.
So we can see clearly that while the body of Jesus rested in the tomb, the soul, the spirit of Jesus descended into "Sheol, Hades."
So, where is this place called Paradise that Jesus is talking about?
