I Peter 3:18-20 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
A question occasionally arises because of a misreading of I Pet. 3:18-20. “Where did Jesus go during the three days after he died on the cross? Did he go to hell to get the keys from Satan? And if so, why would it take three days?”
Because of the commonly held belief in mankind having an “immortal soul” a misunderstanding of I Peter 3:18-22 can occur. See the One Page Biblical study on the “Immortal Soul” at www.cscog7.org. Many people want to use this verse to say Jesus was alive for the three days and he was trying to convert the demons who had fallen. This verse says nothing of the sort.
So, what does the Bible have to say about where Jesus went for three days after he had died on the cross? According to the Bible He was dead- He went nowhere (John 19:38-42). Not alive, totally dead. Matthew 27:50. Mark 15:37 Luke 23:46-56. He was dead. This Biblically based answer may shock some folks but how is one resurrected if one is not dead? Without the resurrection we have no hope of salvation. I Pet.3:18 also says he was “put to death”. Jesus was NOT alive for the three days and three nights before His resurrection. I Pet.3:18: Christ suffered (The NIV says Christ DIED). So, we see Christ was dead. But by the Spirit of God he was made alive (resurrected). We know he was dead and in the belly of the earth for three days and three full nights (Matthew 12:40) as this was the ONLY sign he gave of himself.
When did Jesus preach to the spirits in prison? 1 Pet. 3:19-20 He went, while alive and preached to the spirits in prison. When did Christ do this? Verse 20, during the days of Noah. A very different time frame than during His death. We see the time frame again in II Peter 2:4-5, the time frame was Noah and the ark.
We all wait expectantly for the return of Jesus and the glorious resurrection to life eternal with God and Jesus. See the One Page Biblical study on “Our Destiny” at www.cscog7.org. Paul tells us in I Cor. 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.” Jesus was dead for the three days and nights. Jesus was resurrected and is our example of what will happen to His loyal and faithful saints at His return (I Thes. 4:13-17 and I Cor. 15:50-53).
We have seen 1) Jesus actually was dead. 2)He was resurrected to life. 3) He preached to the demons in prison at the time of Noah when God was destroying all mankind for our wicked ways. Jesus was OUR sacrifice for OUR sins. He replaced the yearly slain Passover lamb (Hebrews 9:12-15). Even the writer of the book of Hebrews says he died so we might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Heb. 9:15).
