Sermon Tone Analysis

What Happened When Jesus Died And Went To Hades?

Now, what happened to Jesus when He died?

Jesus was a perfect man.

He too had spirit, soul and body.

And there’s a different statement... made about each of those three elements in Jesus’ personality.

In Luke 23:46... we find out what happened to the spirit of Jesus when He died.

Luke 23:46.

When Jesus had cried out with a loud voice...

And I believe what He cried out was ‘It is finished.’

He said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

And having said... this He breathed His last (He died, He expired).

So, His spirit was commended to the Father.

There are some things... that I can’t explain.

I can make these statements but there may be areas... in which I cannot give you a further explanation.

What happened to the soul of Jesus?

In Acts 2 when speaking on the Day of Pentecost... Peter quoted Psalm 16 as an experience of Jesus... and not of David the psalmist.

And he says: David spoke in Psalm 16 concerning Jesus these words: I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand... that I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue... was glad because moreover, my flesh will also rest in hope... because you will not leave my soul in Hades.

So the soul of Jesus went down into that realm of departed spirits.

It’s also stated... in 1 Peter 3:18-19.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust... that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh... but made alive by the Spirit (or in the Spirit) by whom also He went... and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient... when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.

So Jesus went down into Hades and there are details of this... which I cannot explain to you but I can tell you what the Bible says.

He made a proclamation.

This translation says He preached... but it’s the word ‘to proclaim.’

It does not mean necessarily... that He preached the gospel, but He made a proclamation.

My guess is He said, From now on I’m the ruler in this place.

I have the keys of death and of Hades.

And you are answerable to me... for everything that goes on from now on.

That’s just my theory.

It may not be right.

Now, meanwhile, Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb.

In John 19:40 and following... we read what happened after He died on the cross.

John 19:40 and 42: Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen... with spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

They would wrap a body... in strips of linen but they would include a great quantity of spices... because the body would be expected to decompose and give out a stench.

Now the place where he was crucified there was a garden.

In the garden... there was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

So there they laid Jesus.

And we don’t need to go any further with that.

We also read the account of how after the resurrection of Jesus... the apostles and the women went to the tomb, they all knew where His body... had been buried but they didn’t find Him there.

Praise God.

So, what happened to the total personality of Jesus?

He committed His spirit to the Father, His soul descended into Hades... and He made a proclamation there and probably did a lot of other things... and His body was laid in the tomb.

But when He rose... His total personality was again united, He was a complete person: Spirit, soul and body.