Confusion abounds regarding the Apostles creed, which (in English) says Jesus “…descended to hell.” The concept of Jesus suffering after the cross is incongruous with the rest of Scripture.
We get this false idea because the English language does not have a direct word translation for what the original manuscripts of the Bible say, and what the original language of the creed says.
There are some Scripture passages that, depending on how they are translated, describe Jesus going to the place of the dead. Studying this issue offers important clarity. Modern English defines the concept of hell as a singular place of torment in the afterlife. But the Bible does not give us that understanding. So, we need to understand what the Bible teaches about the realm of the dead – and most importantly, what Jesus reveals about that place.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to describe the realm of the dead is Sheol. It simply means “the place of the dead” or “the abode of departed souls/spirits.” Some modern Jewish scholars, following the Sadducees of the first century, claim it simply means “the grave”. As in the ground a person is buried in. But that can’t be – because the Bible describes that all people go to a singular place called Sheol, whereas each individual person may go to any number of graves (plural). This term Sheol is always singular and occurs 66 times in the Old Testament; and in more than one place it tells us that God has the power to raise people out of it! So there is a resurrection described in the Old Testament, despite what the Sadducees claimed.
The New Testament Greek equivalent of Sheol is “Hades”, which also refers to “the place of the dead.” The New Testament indicates that Sheol/Hades is a temporary place, where souls are kept as they await the resurrection and judgment. Jesus taught, in Luke 16:19-30, that the realm of the dead has two separate areas: the place of suffering and the place of comfort. The place of comfort he called Abraham’s bosom, and also paradise. The place of suffering is what most people think of when we use the word “hell” or “Hades”. And the Bible indicates to use in several places that these are temporary.
Revelation 20:11–15 makes a clear distinction between Hades and the ultimate destination of judgment – the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the permanent and final place of judgment for the unrepentant lost souls. So, Hades, by its very nature, is then a temporary place. Many people refer to both Hades and the lake of fire as “hell,” and this causes confusion. Jesus did not go to a place of torment after His death, but He did go to Hades! As the creator of all things, when He went there, He was Lord and Master of it – not subject to the torments of it.
So, if Hades, or hell, is a temporary place, a holding cell of sorts, then what about paradise? The place of the departed souls who were justified by faith is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (KJV) or “Abraham’s side” (NIV) in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The word in the Greek original manuscript is “kolpos” which means bay, bosom, or ‘between the arms’. Wow!
The place of the saved souls, the departed ones who had believed and obeyed God, was literally called “Abraham’s bosom”. But the word used has an insight that is staggering in it’s implication because it means that it’s the place Abraham welcomes the departed souls who were justified by faith. The idea being conveyed is that the father of faith, whom God called his friend, was the Lord of a place to welcome the departed faithful with open arms! Imagine that: every generation of saints were welcomed by Abraham himself until Jesus arrived!
So, it makes sense that Jesus would go there, when His mortal body died. When Jesus died, it seems scripture is saying that He went to the blessed side of Sheol, or Abraham’s bay to be welcomed by Abraham himself. Some believe that Ephesians 4:8–10 is also indicating that Jesus took the departed saints with Him from Sheol to Heaven. Either way, the believing dead are comforted while mankind awaits the resurrection.
What cannot be ignored is that all the unbelieving dead go to the cursed side of Hades to await the final judgment. So did Jesus go to hell (Sheol/Hades)? Yes, according to Jesus’ own words, He went to the blessed region of Sheol. This is what he meant when He said that the believing-confessing thief would be with Him in paradise!
Why do some say Jesus suffered in Hell?
Some religious teachers and leaders have a mistaken viewpoint that Jesus went to “hell” or the suffering side of Sheol/Hades in order to further be punished for our sins. This idea is completely unbiblical and reveals a lack of basic biblical scholarship. It was the death of Jesus on the cross that sufficiently provided for our redemption. This is both the testimony of the New Testament, but also of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. It was His shed blood that effected our own cleansing from sin (1 John 1:7–9). As He hung there on the cross, He took the sin burden of the whole human race, of all times, upon Himself.
Many theologians say that sin was merely imputed to Jesus, as if accused or indicted in a judicial sense. But the Bible says something much deeper. It says He became sin for us: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In 1st Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” When it says He “bore” our sins, the original Greek term used there means to fully embrace it and carry it like a burden. So, it pleased God to cause Jesus to completely carry our burden by becoming the despised sin of all mankind. Recognizing that this application of sin to His soul at Calvary (the cross) helps us understand Christ’s struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane with the cup of sin that He asked to pass from Him (Matthew 26:39).
As Jesus neared death, He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). His suffering in our place was completed. This statement of Jesus echoes what Isaiah said God would determine upon seeing the completion of His suffering – that He would be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). Thus Jesus’ soul went to Hades (the place of the dead) in victory. Therefore, Jesus did not go to the suffering side of Hades; He went to “Abraham’s side” or the blessed side of Hades. Jesus’ suffering ended the moment He died. In the flesh, man saw only loss and bitterness; but in the Spirit realm, Jesus was completely victorious! The payment for sin was paid! Jesus then joined Abraham and all the saints, awaiting the resurrection of His body and His return to glory in His ascension. See the biblical affirmations of the Apostles Creed.
Did Jesus go to hell? No, not as some think. Did Jesus go to Sheol/Hades? Yes, victoriously!