What did Jesus do when He was dead? This is a question that has been asked for hundreds of years. Most Christians, when asked about what Christ did during the time he was dead, would say that he descended into hell and preached to the spirits there.
The reasoning is simple enough to understand; had the spirits in hell already heard the gospel while they were alive they would have had an opportunity to get saved. As such, Christ would need to preach that gospel to them once again so they would have a second chance. But what does the Bible say about this? There are two verses that are commonly used to support this theory.
The first comes from Ephesians 4, where we are told that it says Jesus “led captivity captive,” which many interpreters believe indicates a descent into hell to free those who were held captive there.
The other verse is used as a reference point for that one–it comes from Psalm 68, and reads “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive.” While the second verse makes sense in light of the first, the first verse does not seem to be talking about hell at all
What Did Jesus Do When He Was Dead
1. What did Jesus do when He was dead? This is a question that has been asked for hundreds of years.
What did Jesus do when He was dead? This is a question that has been asked for hundreds of years. In fact, it’s such an important topic that we’re going to spend this whole chapter learning about what Jesus did when He was dead.
Before we get started, let’s make sure we understand what being dead means. Being dead isn’t just something that happens to people when they stop breathing or their heart stops beating; it also means they are not alive anymore and will never be alive again. People who are dead cannot move or talk or think or feel anything at all—they just lay there without any awareness of their surroundings (or anything else). So when someone asks “What did Jesus do while He was dead?”, they really mean: “What did Jesus do while His body lay motionless in the grave?”
2. Most Christians, when asked about what Christ did during the time he was dead, would say that he descended into hell and preached to the spirits there.
Most Christians, when asked about what Christ did during the time he was dead, would say that he descended into hell and preached to the spirits there.
However, this idea is not found anywhere in Scripture. The Bible clearly says that Jesus died and was buried (Romans 6:9), then rose again (1 Corinthians 15). However, nowhere does it say that Jesus descended into hell while he was dead.
There is one verse in Scripture where it sounds as if Jesus preached to someone while they were still alive on earth (John 12:44-50). Here’s how God explains the context of John 12:44-50: “I tell you this now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe.” He goes on to say that some people will hear his voice but won’t know who spoke because they weren’t ready for him yet—they would have rejected him if they had known who it was beforehand (John 12:45). This shows us that John 12:44-50 refers specifically back to John 3:16; many people heard God’s message through Christ but didn’t know what it meant until after his resurrection!
3. The reasoning is simple enough to understand; had the spirits in hell already heard the gospel while they were alive they would have had an opportunity to get saved.
The reasoning is simple enough to understand; had the spirits in hell already heard the gospel while they were alive, they would have had an opportunity to get saved. They would not have been held captive by Satan and therefore would not have needed Christ’s death on the cross for their salvation.
When Jesus was resurrected from death, he went straight to hell and preached a second chance for those who had lived before his crucifixion but were unable to hear about God’s plan of salvation until it was too late.
4. As such, Christ would need to preach that gospel to them once again so they would have a second chance.
As such, Christ would need to preach that gospel to them once again so they would have a second chance. The gospel is the good news of salvation. It’s what God sent Jesus Christ to earth for; it’s what He died on the cross for and rose again from death so that we could be forgiven our sins and be made right with God by faith in His name.
But even though these spirits had never heard the gospel before, there was no reason why they couldn’t receive it now. After all, these were once men who had not known God. They were lost without any hope until someone brought them into contact with his son for whom he died (1 Peter 3:18). And when Jesus did come into contact with them during his time in hell as a disembodied spirit, they were able to believe in Him as their Savior and Lord because they knew nothing else except sin!
5. But what does the Bible say about this? There are two verses that are commonly used to support this theory.
But what does the Bible say about this? There are two verses that are commonly used to support this theory. The first is Ephesians 4:8-10, which says:
- “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (v. 8)
- “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (v. 10)
This has historically been interpreted as referring to Jesus’ ascension into heaven where he now leads all believers and gives them spiritual gifts (like apostleship). The second verse that is sometimes used is Psalm 68:18 which says:
- “You ascended on high; you took captives and received gifts from people.”
6. The first comes from Ephesians 4, where we are told that it says Jesus “led captivity captive,” which many interpreters believe indicates a descent into hell to free those who were held captive there.
The first comes from Ephesians 4, where we are told that it says Jesus “led captivity captive,” which many interpreters believe indicates a descent into hell to free those who were held captive there.
However, this is not what the verse says! The Greek word for “captivity” here is “douloo,” which can also mean prisoners. And the Greek word for “prisoners” here is “hilas.” Now, if you look up the definition of hilas in any dictionary, you’ll find that it means lower heavens—or in other words: outer space!
7. The other verse is used as a reference point for that one–it comes from Psalm 68, and reads “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive.”
In this case, the verse is used as a reference point for that one–it comes from Psalm 68. This is the same psalm that mentions David “going up into the mount of God,” which we see in Acts chapter two (verse 33). It reads: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts among men.”
The word “ascended” is a Greek word meaning “go up,” and it can be seen as referring to Christ’s ascension into heaven after his resurrection (Acts 2:33). However, other scholars believe that it means he actually took captive those who were not free in heaven but were held hostage by Satan and his angels (1 Peter 3:19). The Hebrew word used here can mean both “prisoners” or “lower heavens,” depending on its context.
8. While the second verse makes sense in light of the first, the first verse does not seem to be talking about hell at all.
The first verse doesn’t seem to be talking about hell at all. Instead, it’s talking about Jesus’ ascension into heaven, his victory over all the powers of darkness and sin, his triumph over the grave, and finally how he has overcome Satan.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
- The word “hell” in this verse is a translation of the Greek word Hades (meaning “the abode of departed spirits”) or Gehenna (a valley near Jerusalem used as an incineration dump). This was where ancient pagans believed their dead went after death because they didn’t know that there was an afterlife. In fact, if you read this scripture carefully you will notice that when Jesus died he did not go down into Hades/Gehenna but rather ascended up into heaven with his spirit body which means that he had already conquered death before his resurrection on Easter Sunday morning!
- So why would Paul use these terms when writing about what happened when Jesus died? Because this terminology accurately describes what happened during Christ’s time on earth: He came down from heaven and defeated evil powers through his ministry here on earth; then ascended back up with victory over them in hand—all so that we might share in those same blessings now (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).
9. The words “captivity” and “heaven” are Greek words that can also mean “prisoners” and “lower heavens,” respectively.
When we read in the Bible that Jesus ascended to heaven, it is a translation of a Greek word that can mean “prisoners” or “captivity.” When we read in the Bible that Jesus descended from heaven, it is a translation of another Greek word which can also mean “prisoners” or “captivity.” The phrase led captive appears twice: once in Ephesians 4:8 and once again in Colossians 1:13. In these two instances, one instance refers to Jesus descending from heaven while the other refers to him leading those who were held captive by sin on earth up into heaven with him. Both examples describe what happened at Christ’s ascension.
Closing
Jesus is famous for being resurrected, but what did he do when he was dead? Well, he certainly didn’t spend much time in the grave. When Jesus died on the cross and was buried in a tomb with a stone covering it, God sent an angel to tell Mary Magdalene that her Lord had risen from the dead. The disciples were also told of this news by another angel who appeared to them while they were eating together.
Afterward, they went to Jesus’ tomb where they found it empty, and saw two angels inside who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead! Later on, when Thomas doubted this story, Jesus appeared again before all of his apostles except for Thomas who was not there at the time, and convinced them once more by showing them his wounds! If you want to know more about what happened during each resurrection encounter then continue reading below where I’ll provide some details about each event (as well as some other interesting facts too!)
