2. The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.
3. He descended to the dead (into hell)
• Joseph took [Jesus’] body, wrapped
it in a clean linen shroud, and laid
it in his own new tomb, which he
had hewn in the rock.
Matthew 27:59
• Jesus, a real person, who suffered a real
death.
• To conquer death Jesus had to experience
death.
4. He descended to the dead (into hell)
• Not a literal descent, like walking
downhill, but a move to a “lower” place
– The eternal Son of God descends to earth through
birth and at his death he descends even further
from his heavenly kingdom.
5. He descended to the dead (into hell)
What does this mean? Why did he do this?
• For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
righteous for the unrighteous, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh
but made alive in the spirit, in which he went
and proclaimed to the spirits in prison .
1 Peter 3:18
• That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of
others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones.
He went through it all—was put to death and then made
alive—to bring us to God. 19-22He went and proclaimed
God's salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the
prison of judgment because they wouldn't listen. -The MSG
6. He descended to the dead (into hell)
• Two commonly held views:
– To preach to those who lived before him.
– To claim victory over the powers of evil.
• Jesus descends to the very headquarters of
evil, Hell, and there he defeats it.
7. • “In the incarnation God entered a world and a
humanity where evil held sway, at the cross
the devil seemed to have conquered, took
home a neatly wrapped package that seemed
his greatest prize, and smugly locked it in his
safe. But the package was a time bomb.
And on the third day......” J. Gonzalez
8. What does this mean for us...
• Jesus has literally been to “hell and back”
– Whatever “hell” you are going through, Jesus
understands, is with you in it, and has victory over.
• Death no longer has victory over those who are in
Christ.
– More on this to come next week.
• Jesus calls us to follow him into the “hellish”
places on earth, where suffering and torment are
real and present, where darkness abounds.
9. Review
• Jesus “descended” to hell. Explain.
• Why did Jesus descend to the dead?
• What does Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and
evil mean to us?
