Ephesians: Deeper Roots Where Did Jesus Go the day He died on the Cross? (Ephesians 4:7-10) Gloating? Everyone hates a gloater. Win at games, or win a bet. Sore losers...but worse is a sore winner!! Triumphal Procession: In the Old Testament, when a king and kingdom were defeated, the winning side would 1) Parade the fallen/conquered King: They cut off the thumbs and big toes of the captives/strip them down until naked/parade them around from place to place announcing their defeat (since they did not have thumbs they would never be able to hold a sword again & no toes = never to stand again to rebel). 2. They paraded the captives, their own army Prisoners of War In Victory that they had been rescued. 3) Last, the triumphant party gave gifts to the crowd, the spoils of war as a reminder of the Victory and conquered foes. Gifts were to be a constant reminder and encouragement of loyalty & not rebellion!! Psalm 68:18: When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious-- that you, LORD God, might dwell there. Context: Chapters 1-3: What Christ has accomplished for the Church (For all Believers) Chapter 4: Unity: T.J. reminded us to seek unity & In Christ we are all unified in worship & work for God s glory! So Paul then addresses the question of Jesus Ministry to the Church and renders this unique passage READ Eph. 4:7-10: But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why Scripture says: When he ascended on high, He took Captivity Captive (took many captives) and gave gifts to his people. [b] 9 (What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions [c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill [complete, make perfect] the whole universe.) What is Paul s Point here? Having just reminded the Church to be focused on UNITY because God is a God of Unity as displayed in His very person, and because God has called us to reflect His nature within the Church in Unity Paul reminds us that none of us deserve to be here. God gave us the gift of Salvation (unmerited, undeserved favor). The greatest gift of all!! That put us all on equal footing & we are to show our gratitude through being unified in worship, thankfulness, & USEFULNESS to the kingdom. THEN, God gave us gifts in order to help us be useful for the kingdom. Thus, here Paul emphasizes that Christ has given us the gift of unity and of grace and that He has apportioned grace to all in differing measures as He has given differing gifts to men to be used for the kingdom. The focus is on Christ giving the Church grace and spiritual gifts to be used to further the God s Kingdom on earth and for heaven. And then Paul demonstrates to what great length Christ accomplished this through His own Condescension and the Ascension back into heaven. CHRIST accomplished all this for us! But when Paul renders the phrase to remind us that Jesus alone accomplished this, he used a phrase that has caused great confusion in the Church: Vs. 9: What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions. SO, WHERE DID JESUS GO WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR THOSE THREE DAYS BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION?
A. The Bible is clear that Jesus did die on the cross. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:39 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40 B. The Bible also declares that three days later God raised Jesus from the dead. (11X in N.T.) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Cor. 15:3-4 For You will not abandon my soul to Hades (Sheol); Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. Acts 2:27 (Psalm 16:10) But God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. Acts 2:24 This truth is even a prerequisite to be saved = To believe that God raised Jesus from the dead: If you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved. Romans 10:9 BUT What happened during those three days before He was resurrected? The Apostles Creed: (150AD) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Theories About Jesus Whereabouts after death and Before Resurrection: 1) Jesus died and His Spirit went to Heaven immediately (the Throne room of Heaven where God s presence eternally dwells) Jesus said: Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me (rescue me), LORD, my faithful God. Luke 23:46 (Psalm 31:5) 2) Jesus died and His Spirit went to Hell (Hades and Jesus preached to those in Hell. Gave them a second chance to repent? in which also Jesus went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20who 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. 1 Peter 3:19-20 3) Jesus died and His Spirit went to Paradise (not the throne of Heaven where God s Presence dwells) but a place like heaven, where the spirits of the O.T. Saints were waiting (Abraham s Bosom) for the Messiah. And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise. Luke 23:43
*Interestingly Jesus could have just used the word Heaven which is used 102X in N.T. But word Paradise is only used three times in N.T. Designation as a beautiful Garden, an enclosure, boundary. Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. 27 And he said, Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father s house 28for I have five brothers in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. 29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. 30 But he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent! 31 But he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. Luke 16:19-31 Time out: Key words to help understand what is being discussed and debated: Descension: A. Christ s Coming from Heaven to Earth (Advent) B. Christ s Going from Earth to Hades at His Death C. Christ s Return (Second Coming) at the end of this age Ascension: A. Christ s Ascension to heaven after His death leading O.T. Saints to heaven B. Christ s Ascension to heaven 40 days after His resurrection on earth Heaven: (The Throne Room of God: Where God Eternally Dwells) = Never Changes Sheol: (The place of the Dead) In the Old Testament the word sheol occurs sixty-five times and is translated by words like grave, hell, pit, and sheol. (Job 17:13; Ps. 16:10; Isa. 38:10). It may refer to the place of the dead where both good and bad people go upon death (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; Num. 16:33; Job 14:13; Ps. 55:15; Prov. 9:18). Believers will be rescued from sheol (Ps. 16:9 11; 17:15; 49:15). The wicked go to sheol upon death (Job 21:13; 24:19; Ps. 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; 55:15). HELL: Hades (The place of the Dead. This is the same Greek word for Sheol) The New Testament term used to describe the afterlife is hades and is equivalent to the Hebrew term sheol. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word sheol is almost always translated by hades. Hades was originally a proper noun, the name of the god of the nether world who ruled over the dead. Hades -The Righteous Dead (Abraham s Bosom or Paradise -Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15; 16:23) Hades -The Unrighteous Dead (Hell -Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14). Hell: Gehenna (Final Hell) This term, occurring twelve times in the New Testament, is a designation for eternal punishment taken from the Hebrew gehinnom, referring to the Valley of Hinnom that runs on the south and east sides of Jerusalem. Gehenna became synonymous with eternal punishment, the fire of hell. It describes the punishment connected with the final judgment, a punishment that has eternal duration, not annihilation (Matt. 23:15, 33; 25:41, 46).
So, what does the Bible Indicate happens during the three day interval before physical resurrection? 1) Jesus perfect death as a sinless sacrifice was the ultimate (last) atonement for sin (Heb. 10:10) 2) Jesus actually conquered sin (will be eradicated in the future) (John 16:33; Ro. 6:8-11) 3) Jesus eternally conquered death (will be eradicated in the future) (1 Cor. 15:55-57; Rev. 1:18) 4) Jesus conquered satan and all demons (will be eradicated in the future) (Heb. 2:14) 5) Those who were in Paradise/Hades (O.T. Saints) were waiting to be led into God s Holy presence by Jesus (the Messiah) AS the perfect Mediator between sinful man and Holy God God alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. 1 Timothy 6:16 O.T. Saints were saved by Faith in God (in the Truth revealed; in the hope of future Messiah) And all these, having [y] gained approval through their faith, did not receive [z] what was promised, 40 because God had [aa] provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God [Reconcile us to God], having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Tim. 2:5 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:11-15 6) When Jesus died, He entered into A. Paradise (= B. Abraham s Bosom) which is also C. Hades (the place of the Righteous Dead) and released the captives (those waiting to go to God) leading them to Heaven: **Vs. 8: Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." = When Jesus ascended on high, He led a host of captives, He took (led) many (a crowd of) captives, He took prisoners into captivity He captured Captives, OR led away prisoners. -Ephesians 4:8 - He also, made His triumph of sin and death known to those in Prison (Hades the place of the Unrighteous Dead). And having disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Col 2:15 in which also Jesus went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20who once were disobedient,... through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. 1 Peter 3:19-22 = Hades has now been emptied of the righteous dead. They are now in Heaven (Throne room) 7) When Jesus was resurrected, Heaven was open to receive all who trusted in God by faith for salvation and NOW all those who would trust Jesus (as Messiah) by Faith for salvation.
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs after Jesus resurrection and e went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:50-53 TODAY: There is NO intermediate state. No Soul Sleep. It s Either Heaven or Hell (Hades abode of unrighteous)! Today: When we die, where do we go? To be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5:8 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment Heb. 9:27 Sadly, Today: Hades Is still full for the Unrighteous dead. And They wait for judgment & (Hell) The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Revelation 20:13 APPLICATION: We are to be most grateful that God has RESCUED you and me as CAPTIVES, slaves to sin, corruption and death. Slaves to satan and his demons. BUT God has saved us, redeemed us, rescued us and Jesus has paraded us as former prisoners of war throughout the universe to let all the world know WE are the REDEEDMED!! But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. 2 Cor. 2:14 1) We can have confidence to approach God s Holy Throne since Jesus has led us there by His blood. Since we are able now to sit with God in the heavenly places in Him [Eph. 2:6] 2) Triumphant Jesus NOW sits at the right Hand of the Father, and makes intercession for us. [Heb. 7:25; 9:11 12; Rom. 8:34] 3) Jesus in His Triumphal Procession in His accomplished work Gave GIFTS to us: - Salvation - Life Abundant - Purpose for living to use our spiritual gifts to bring others to Christ and Build God s kingdom - Hope - Peace as we look forward to our TRUE Homecoming