WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.439 What if I told you that Jesus Christ's greatest victory 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:06.440 didn't happen on the cross, but in the depths of 3 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:12.080 Hell itself. For three mysterious days after his crucifixion, while 4 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:15.759 his body lay lifeless in the tomb, Jesus embarked on 5 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:20.239 the most incredible journey in human history. He descended into 6 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:25.399 the very heart of darkness, confronted Satan on his own territory, 7 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:30.000 and liberated countless souls who had been waiting centuries for 8 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.960 their messiah. This isn't fiction. It's hidden right there in 9 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.159 your Bible. The Apostles Creed declares it, Peter preached about it, 10 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.479 and Paul celebrated it. Yet most Christians have never heard 11 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:45.439 the full story of what Jesus accomplished in those three 12 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:50.000 days that changed eternity forever. Prepare to discover the untold 13 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:54.399 chapter of the greatest story ever told. The Roman soldiers 14 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:58.280 had done their work with brutal efficiency. Jesus hung on 15 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.200 the cross, his body born and bleeding from the savage 16 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.959 beating he had endured, the nails pierced through his hands 17 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.959 and feet, holding him against the rough wood as he 18 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.680 bore the weight of humanity's sin. Every breath was agony, 19 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:16.640 Every movement sent waves of pain through his broken body. 20 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:21.200 But this physical suffering was nothing compared to the spiritual 21 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:24.799 anguish he was experiencing as he carried the sins of 22 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.519 the world. The hours passed slowly as Jesus suffered in 23 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:32.840 ways that went far beyond what any human could understand. 24 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.560 The weight of every lie, every murder, every act of 25 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:40.319 hatred and rebellion against God was crushing down upon him. 26 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.560 He who had never known sin was becoming sin itself, 27 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:48.359 experiencing the full separation from the Father that sin brings. 28 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.159 The sky grew dark, as if creation itself was mourning 29 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.079 what was taking place. Then, in what would become one 30 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.719 of the most powerful moments in human history, Jesus spoke 31 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:04.120 word words that would echo through eternity. His voice, though 32 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:09.400 weakened by hours of suffering, carried authority and purpose. As 33 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:13.599 recorded in John's Gospel, Chapter nineteen, verse thirty, Jesus said, 34 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:16.919 it is finished. These weren't the words of a defeated 35 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.919 man giving up in despair. They were the triumphant declaration 36 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:26.360 of a mission completed, a victory achieved. The Greek word 37 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:31.240 used here is tetalstye a term that merchants would stamp 38 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:33.879 on bills when they were paid in full. When a 39 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:38.159 debt was completely satisfied, when every penny had been accounted for, 40 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:43.639 they would write tetalistye across the document. Jesus was announcing 41 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.560 to the universe that the debt of sin had been 42 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:51.960 completely paid, not partially paid, not mostly paid, but paid 43 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:55.719 in full. The perfect sacrifice had been offered, and God's 44 00:02:55.919 --> 00:03:00.360 justice was completely satisfied. But something even more profit found 45 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.879 was happening in that moment. Jesus wasn't simply dying. He 46 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:09.000 was making a conscious choice to release his spirit. This 47 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:13.199 wasn't a helpless victim succumbing to his injuries. As Luke 48 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:16.879 records in chapter twenty three, verse forty six, Jesus called 49 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.439 out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands, I 50 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:24.560 commit my spirit. This was the Son of God voluntarily 51 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:27.240 laying down his life, just as he had promised he 52 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.360 would do. He had told his disciples that no one 53 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:33.039 could take his life from him. He would lay it 54 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:37.159 down of his own accord. The instant Jesus died, the 55 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.280 very fabric of creation responded to what had just taken place. 56 00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:44.680 Matthew tells us in Chapter twenty seven, Verses forty five 57 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:48.840 through fifty one, that darkness had covered the entire land 58 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:54.159 from noon until three in the afternoon. This wasn't a 59 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:58.199 natural eclipse. The passover always occurred during a full moon, 60 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.560 making an eclipse in possible. This was a supernatural sign 61 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.240 that something cosmic was taking place. The Earth itself seemed 62 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.719 to mourn as its creator hung lifeless on the cross. 63 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.800 Then came the moment that shook the religious establishment to 64 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:18.639 its very core. The massive curtain in the Temple, which 65 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.639 separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple, 66 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:25.720 was torn in two from top to bottom. This curtain 67 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:29.480 was no ordinary piece of fabric. It was sixty feet 68 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:33.000 high and thirty feet wide, woven with threads so thick 69 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:35.759 that it would take three hundred men to move it. 70 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.800 Yet it was ripped apart in an instant, torn from 71 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:44.040 top to bottom, showing that this wasn't human hands tearing fabric. 72 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.360 This was God himself ripping away the barrier that had 73 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:53.040 separated humanity from his presence for centuries. The way into 74 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.920 the Holy Place was now open to all who would 75 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:59.399 come through the sacrifice of his son. Long before Jesus 76 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:03.279 walked the dusty roads of Palestine. Long before his birth 77 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:07.160 in Bethlehem, God had been preparing his people for what 78 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.000 was to come. The Old Testament scriptures are filled with 79 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:14.560 prophecies that pointed to not just the Messiah's death, but 80 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:18.480 to his incredible journey through death itself. These weren't vague 81 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:23.160 hints or symbolic language. They were specific predictions about what 82 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:28.319 the coming Savior would accomplish. King David, writing under divine 83 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:32.839 inspiration nearly a thousand years before Christ's birth, penned words 84 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.680 in Psalm sixteen, verse ten that would prove to be 85 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:40.600 remarkably prophetic, because you will not abandon me to the 86 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:43.680 realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful 87 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:48.199 one see decay. At first glance, David might have been 88 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.839 speaking about his own life and protection from enemies. But 89 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.199 as we'll see, these words carried a much deeper meaning. 90 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:59.800 David was prophesying about the Messiah, who would conquer death itself, 91 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.399 who would enter the realm of the dead, but would 92 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.000 not be abandoned there. The prophet Isaiah painted an even 93 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.319 clearer picture of what was to come. In chapter fifty 94 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:13.199 three of his book, he described a suffering servant who 95 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.800 would bear the sins of many. This servant would be 96 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:22.040 pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. The 97 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:25.319 punishment that would bring us peace would fall on him, 98 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:29.399 and by his wounds we would be healed. But Isiah 99 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.800 didn't stop at describing the death of this servant. He 100 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.519 revealed that after his suffering, this servant would see the 101 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:40.600 light of life and would justify many. By his knowledge, 102 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.879 the Messiah would pass through the valley of the shadow 103 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:48.040 of death and emerge victorious on the other side. Isiah 104 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.839 also prophesied that this servant would divide the spoils with 105 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:55.120 the strong, because he poured out his life unto death 106 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:59.680 and was numbered with the transgresses. The language of dividing 107 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:04.319 spoils suggests a military victory, a conquest where the victor 108 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.839 claims the possessions of the defeated enemy. This wasn't just 109 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.800 about dying for sins. This was about conquering the very 110 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:16.600 forces that held humanity in bondage. Perhaps the most vivid 111 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.680 foreshadowing of Christ's Three day journey came through the dramatic 112 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:25.560 story of Jonah. When the great Fish swallowed the rebellious prophet, 113 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.399 Jonah found himself in the belly of the beast for 114 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:33.120 three days and three nights. In that dark, suffocating place, 115 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.879 Jonah cried out to God and was eventually spit out 116 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:40.519 alive on to dry land. This wasn't just an interesting 117 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:44.399 story about God's mercy to a disobedient prophet. It was 118 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:48.399 a prophetic picture of something far greater that was to come. 119 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.920 Jesus himself would later point to Jonah's experience as a 120 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.160 sign of his own journey. In Matthew twelve, verse forty, 121 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:00.759 Jesus said, for as Jonah was three days three nights 122 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.560 in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son 123 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.399 of Man will be three days and three nights in 124 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.560 the heart of the earth. Just as Jonah had descended 125 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.839 into the depths and emerged alive, Jesus would descend into 126 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.959 the heart of the earth, not just the physical tomb, 127 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:21.959 but the spiritual realm of the dead, and emerge victorious. 128 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:26.160 These weren't random stories scattered throughout the Old Testament, and 129 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:30.920 they weren't just poetic language meant to inspire hope. They 130 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.919 were God's way of preparing his people for the greatest 131 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.240 rescue mission in history, a mission that would take the 132 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.799 promised Messiah into the very depths of death itself, where 133 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:47.480 he would accomplish things that had never been done before. 134 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.960 The early Christians didn't just believe in Jesus's death and 135 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:56.080 resurrection as historical events. They had a clear and detailed 136 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:01.039 understanding of what happened between those two pivotal mensments. This 137 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:05.000 understanding was so fundamental to their faith that it made 138 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.000 its way into the Apostles Creed, one of the most 139 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.840 important statements of Christian belief that has been confessed by 140 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:16.279 believers for nearly two thousand years. The Creed includes the 141 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:20.559 phrase he descended into Hell, which might sound shocking to 142 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.919 modern ears, but it represents a core belief of the 143 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:28.960 early Church. This wasn't about Jesus being punished or tormented. 144 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:33.240 It was about his victorious mission into the realm of 145 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:37.399 the dead. The early Christians understood that Jesus didn't just 146 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.720 die and wait passively in the tomb for three days. 147 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.320 He had important work to do, and that work required 148 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.240 him to go where no living person had ever gone before. 149 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:51.039 When the early Christians used the word hell in this context, 150 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.919 they weren't always talking about the place of eternal punishment 151 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:58.480 that we think of today, They were often referring to 152 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.720 the general realm of the day, the place where all 153 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.759 spirits went when they left their physical bodies. The Hebrew 154 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:10.360 word shaol and the Greek word hades both described this realm, 155 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.840 though the early Church understood that it had different sections 156 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:17.039 for the righteous and the wicked. The early church fathers, 157 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:19.639 men who had been taught by the apostles or by 158 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:24.120 those who knew the apostles, taught that Jesus's descent was 159 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:29.320 fundamentally a rescue mission. He went to the place where 160 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:33.120 the righteous dead had been waiting since the beginning of time, 161 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:36.480 and he brought them the good news that their salvation 162 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:41.519 was now complete. This wasn't speculation or wishful thinking. It 163 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:46.320 was based on clear biblical passages that described Jesus's activities 164 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:52.360 during those three crucial days. Church fathers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, 165 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:56.240 and Tertullian all wrote about Christ's descent into the realm 166 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.399 of the dead. They understood it as the completion of 167 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:03.960 his saying work, not just dying for sins, but actually 168 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.720 going to where the effects of sin had held people 169 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.440 captive and setting them free. They saw it as the 170 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:15.279 ultimate demonstration of Christ's victory over death, hell, and the grave. 171 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:19.519 The early Church made a clear distinction between different concepts 172 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.519 of the after life. They understood that there was a 173 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.759 place of torment for the wicked dead, but also a 174 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:29.720 place of comfort and rest for the righteous dead who 175 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:33.039 had died in faith before Christ's coming. It was to 176 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:36.759 this place of comfort that Christ descended, not to suffer, 177 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:41.519 but to announce his victory and to lead captives free. 178 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:46.200 On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus's resurrection, 179 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.559 when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples with the 180 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.240 sound of a rushing wind and tongues of fire, Peter 181 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:56.240 stood up before a crowd of thousands to explain what 182 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.200 was happening. His sermon that day, recorded in Acts chapter two, 183 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.080 included a powerful and detailed explanation of what Jesus had 184 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.799 accomplished through his death and resurrection, and it gives us 185 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:14.679 crucial insight into how the apostles understood Christ's three day journey. 186 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.720 Peter began by quoting from the prophet Joel about the 187 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:21.679 pouring out of God's spirit, but then he turned his 188 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:25.679 attention to Jesus of Nazareth. He reminded the crowd that 189 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:30.720 they had witnessed Jesus's miracles, wonders, and signs, and that 190 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:34.720 they had also been responsible for his crucifixion. But Peter 191 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.720 didn't stop with the death. He went on to explain 192 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.840 the deeper meaning of what had happened. Peter quoted from 193 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:46.039 Psalm sixteen, the same passage where David had prophesied about 194 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.840 the Messiah not being abandoned to the realm of the dead. 195 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.320 But Peter went deeper than just quoting the scripture. He 196 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:58.720 provided inspired interpretation of what it meant. In verses twenty 197 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:02.399 nine through thirty one, Peter explained that David wasn't talking 198 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:06.519 about himself when he wrote those words. David had died 199 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.440 and been buried, and his tomb was still there for 200 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:13.159 everyone to see. David was prophesying about some one else, 201 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:16.799 the Christ, who was to come. Seeing what was to come, 202 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.960 Peter explained, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, 203 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.840 that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, 204 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:29.240 nor did his body see decay. Peter understood that Jesus 205 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.240 had actually been in the realm of the dead. He 206 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.879 hadn't been abandoned there, but he had been there This 207 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:39.799 was a crucial point that Peter wanted his listeners to understand. 208 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:44.480 The resurrection wasn't just about Jesus coming back to life. 209 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.440 It was about him conquering the very place where death 210 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:53.200 held its prisoners. Peter's explanation reveals that the Apostles had 211 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:57.000 a clear understanding of what had happened during those three days. 212 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:01.120 They knew that while Jesus's body lay in the tomb, 213 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.399 his spirit had been active in the realm of the dead. 214 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:08.759 They understood that this wasn't a time of waiting or unconsciousness. 215 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.519 It was a time of divine activity and cosmic victory. 216 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:18.000 The Apostles didn't see Jesus's death as the end of 217 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.480 the story, but as the beginning of his greatest victory. 218 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.120 They understood that the cross was just the first part 219 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.879 of a larger mission that would take Jesus into territories 220 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:33.240 that no human had ever conquered. Peter's sermon shows us 221 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.320 that the early Church had been taught to see the 222 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:40.960 three days between death and resurrection as days of decisive 223 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:46.799 spiritual warfare and ultimate triumph. When Peter declared that God 224 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.679 had raised Jesus up and freed him from the agony 225 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:53.840 of death. He was describing more than just a return 226 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:58.080 to physical life. He was describing liberation from the realm 227 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:01.840 where death held its power, a breaking of chains that 228 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.720 had bound humanity since the fall in the Garden of Eden. 229 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.879 The Apostle Paul had a unique and profound understanding of 230 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:15.399 the cosmic scope of Christ's victory. His letters reveal insights 231 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:20.159 into the spiritual dimensions of what Jesus accomplished that go 232 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:23.399 far beyond what most people imagine when they think about 233 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:29.480 the Crucifixion and resurrection. Paul saw Christ's work as affecting 234 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:34.440 not just individual human lives, but the entire structure of 235 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:38.240 the spiritual realm. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter four, 236 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.720 verses eight through ten, Paul quotes from Psalm sixty eight 237 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:46.200 and applies it directly to Jesus. When he ascended on high, 238 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:49.600 he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. 239 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:55.360 This reference to taking captives wasn't metaphorical language. Paul was 240 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:59.559 describing an actual liberation that had taken place. But then 241 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:02.960 Paul adds a crucial detail that helps us understand the 242 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:07.080 full scope of what happened. What does he ascended mean? 243 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.320 Except that he also descended to the lower earthly regions. 244 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:16.120 Paul's logic here is crystal clear. You can't ascend unless 245 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:19.759 you first descend. And the ascension Paul is talking about 246 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.919 isn't just Jesus's return to Heaven after the resurrection. It's 247 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:28.639 his triumphant ascension with captives in tow. But first there 248 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:31.480 had to be a descent to the lower earthly regions 249 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:36.200 where these captives were being held. Paul understood that Jesus's 250 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.000 journey took him not just to the cross, not just 251 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:41.679 to the tomb, but to the very depths where the 252 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:46.759 righteous dead had been waiting. The phrase took many captives 253 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:52.120 uses military language that describes a victorious general leading prisoners 254 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.759 of war in a triumphal procession. But in this case 255 00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:01.320 the captives weren't enemies being humiliated. They were prisoners being liberated. 256 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.559 Jesus had gone into enemy territory, broken down the prison doors, 257 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:11.440 and led the captives out to freedom. In his Letter 258 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:16.440 to the Colossians, chapter two, verse fifteen, Paul described the 259 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.720 cosmic scope of Christ's victory in even more dramatic terms, 260 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:24.960 and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a 261 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:28.920 public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the Cross. 262 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.759 This wasn't just about the Cross as a single event, 263 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:38.000 but about the complete work Christ accomplished through his death, dissent, 264 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:44.720 and resurrection. The powers and authorities Paul refers to weren't 265 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:50.000 human governments or earthly rulers. They were the demonic forces 266 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:54.119 that had held humanity in spiritual bondage since the fall. 267 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:58.640 The spiritual beings had certain legal claims over humanity because 268 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:03.920 of sin, but Christ's perfect sacrifice had completely disarmed them. 269 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:08.079 Their weapons were taken away, their authority was stripped from them, 270 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:12.359 and they were publicly humiliated for all the spiritual realm 271 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:16.759 to see. Paul saw Christ's victory as something that had 272 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:20.880 fundamentally altered the balance of power in the spiritual realm. 273 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.640 The forces of darkness that had ruled over humanity for 274 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:29.200 thousands of years were completely defeated. Their ability to hold 275 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:31.880 the righteous dead in the realm of the dead was broken. 276 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:36.160 Their claims of ownership over human souls were nullified by 277 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:40.240 the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God. When Paul 278 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:44.240 wrote about Christ triumphing over them, he used language that 279 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:48.519 described a Roman victory parade when a Roman general won 280 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.880 a great victory. He would return to Rome and parade 281 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:55.359 through the streets with his soldiers, his spoils of war, 282 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:59.400 and his captives. Everyone could see the evidence of his victory. 283 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.599 All understood that Christ's victory was even more complete and 284 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:07.920 public than any earthly conquest. It was a cosmic triumph 285 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:11.680 that had been witnessed by every spiritual being in existence. 286 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:16.160 One of the most intriguing and mysterious passages in the 287 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.400 entire New Testament comes from Peter's First Letter, Chapter three, 288 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.720 verses eighteen through twenty. This passage has puzzled scholars and 289 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:28.640 theologians for centuries, but it provides one of the clearest 290 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:33.279 pictures we have of Jesus's activities during those three days 291 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:38.640 between his death and resurrection. Peter writes, for Christ also 292 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:43.680 suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous, to 293 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:46.519 bring you to God. He was put to death in 294 00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:50.160 the body, but made alive in the spirit. After being 295 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:54.599 made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, 296 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:58.680 to those who were disobedient long ago, when God waited 297 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:02.119 patiently in the days of while the ark was being built. 298 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:06.240 The first part of this passage is straightforward, enough, Christ 299 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.200 suffered for sins, dying in his physical body to bring 300 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:14.279 us to God. But then Peter described something that happened 301 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:19.039 after Jesus died. He was made alive in the spirit. 302 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:24.000 This isn't talking about the physical resurrection that would happen 303 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:29.680 three days later. This is describing Jesus's spiritual activity while 304 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:34.279 his body remained in the tomb. In this spiritually alive state, 305 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.240 Peter tells us that Jesus went and made proclamation to 306 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.839 the imprisoned spirits. This wasn't a vision or a dream. 307 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:46.039 This was actual travel to an actual place where actual 308 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:51.559 spiritual beings were imprisoned. Jesus didn't send a message or 309 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.119 communicate from a distance. He personally went to where these 310 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.960 spirits were held captive. These imprisoned spirits are specifically I 311 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:03.680 identified as those who had been disobedient during the time 312 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.480 of Noah, when God waited patiently while the ark was 313 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.440 being built. These were spiritual beings who had rebelled against 314 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.279 God in the days before the flood, and they had 315 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:18.400 been imprisoned ever since, waiting in the spiritual realm for 316 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:23.359 final judgment. But what kind of proclamation did Jesus make 317 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:28.039 to these imprisoned spirits. The Greek word used here doesn't 318 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.440 necessarily mean that he preached the gospel to them or 319 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.160 offered them salvation. It means that he made an announcement, 320 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:39.119 a declaration of something that had happened. Jesus was proclaiming 321 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:43.359 his victory to these rebellious spirits who had been imprisoned 322 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:48.960 for thousands of years. Peter's description gives us a remarkable 323 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:52.799 glimpse into the spiritual activity that was taking place. While 324 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:56.480 Jesus's body lay in the tomb, his spirit was not 325 00:21:56.599 --> 00:22:00.720 dormant or inactive. He was traveling through the spirititual realm, 326 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:05.160 making proclamations and asserting his authority over beings that had 327 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:10.200 been in rebellion against God since ancient times. This passage 328 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:14.839 also shows us the comprehensive nature of Christ's victory. It 329 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.839 wasn't just about redeeming human beings. It was about dealing 330 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:24.359 with every aspect of rebellion against God throughout history. Even 331 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:28.240 the most ancient spiritual rebels, those who had been imprisoned 332 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:32.640 since the days of Noah, heard the proclamation of Christ's triumph. 333 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.079 The fact that Jesus personally went to make this proclamation 334 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:40.599 shows the thoroughness of his victory. He didn't delegate this 335 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.720 task to angels or send a message through intermediaries. He 336 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:49.160 personally confronted these imprisoned spirits and announced that their rebellion 337 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:53.200 had been definitively defeated by his sacrifice on the cross. 338 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:58.400 To understand what Jesus accomplished during those three crucial days, 339 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.480 we need to understand and how the ancient world viewed 340 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:06.440 the geography of the after life. This isn't just academic knowledge. 341 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:11.480 It's essential for grasping the magnitude of what Christ achieved 342 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:14.759 when he descended into the realm of the dead. The 343 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:18.359 Hebrew scriptures spoke of a place called Sheol, the realm 344 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.640 of the dead, where all spirits went when they left 345 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:24.839 their physical bodies. This wasn't the same as the modern 346 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:29.279 concept of Hell as a place of eternal punishment. Sheol 347 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:32.759 was more like a great underground city with different districts 348 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:36.480 for different types of people. Every person who died, whether 349 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.480 righteous or wicked, went to Sheol, but their experience there 350 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.599 was very different, depending on their relationship with God. Sheol 351 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:49.440 had distinct sections, almost like neighborhoods in a city, separated 352 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:52.640 by great chasms. The righteous dead went to a place 353 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:55.759 of comfort and rest, while the wicked went to a 354 00:23:55.799 --> 00:24:00.359 place of torment and anguish. This wasn't arbitrary. It was 355 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:04.039 based on God's perfect justice and the choices people had 356 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:09.000 made during their earthly lives. Jesus himself described this division 357 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:11.839 in the story of the rich Man and Lazarus in 358 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:16.400 Luke chapter sixteen. When both men died, Lazarus was carried 359 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:21.200 by angels to Abraham's side or Abraham's bosom, a place 360 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:24.519 of comfort and peace, where he was consoled after a 361 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:28.160 lifetime of suffering and poverty. The rich man, who had 362 00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:32.839 ignored Lazarus's needs and lived selfishly, found himself in torment, 363 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:36.319 able to see across a great chasm to where Lazarus 364 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:39.720 was at peace, but unable to cross over to him. 365 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:43.359 This place of comfort for the righteous dead was also 366 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:47.640 called paradise. It was where the faithful servants of God 367 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:51.000 waited for the coming of the Messiah. These were people 368 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:54.759 who had died in faith, believing in God's promises, but 369 00:24:54.839 --> 00:24:58.799 they couldn't enter Heaven itself until the perfect sacrifice was 370 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:01.720 made that would own and the way for all believers. 371 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:09.680 The righteous dead in Paradise included Old Testament saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, 372 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:13.319 David Daniel, and countless others who had lived and died 373 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.240 in faith. They had been promised that God would send 374 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.839 a savior, and they had believed that promise, even though 375 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:24.440 they died before seeing its fulfillment. Paradise was their place 376 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.759 of rest and comfort while they waited for the Messiah 377 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:31.559 to complete his work. The Greek concept of Hades was 378 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:35.880 similar to the Hebrew shiel, but with its own cultural understanding. 379 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:40.039 When the New Testament writers used the word Hades, they 380 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:43.880 were describing this same general realm of the dead, with 381 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:47.599 its different sections for the righteous and the wicked. The 382 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.680 Greeks had their own stories about heroes who had descended 383 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.839 into Hades and returned, but none of their myths came 384 00:25:54.920 --> 00:26:00.599 close to describing what Jesus would actually accomplish. The wicked 385 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:04.839 section of Sheol or Hades was a place of conscious torment, 386 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:10.559 where those who had rejected God experienced the consequences of 387 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:14.799 their choices. They were separated from God's presence and from 388 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:18.200 the comfort that the righteous enjoyed. This was a place 389 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:23.759 of regret, anguish, and hopeless, waiting for final judgment. Between 390 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:27.480 these two sections was a great chasm or gulf. As 391 00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:32.279 Jesus described in the Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 392 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:36.279 This wasn't just a physical barrier. It was a spiritual 393 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:40.799 separation that couldn't be crossed. The righteous couldn't go to 394 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:44.319 the place of torment, and the wicked couldn't cross over 395 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:49.759 to Paradise. The separation was absolute and permanent. This understanding 396 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:53.240 of the afterlife helps us see what Jesus was doing 397 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:56.519 during those three days. He wasn't going to a place 398 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:59.799 of punishment. He was entering the realm where the righteous 399 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:03.599 day had been waiting for centuries for their messiah to come. 400 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:08.079 He was going to Paradise, to Abraham's Bosom, to the 401 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:11.279