He Descended into Hell

Jon Brown

Words of Hope

Sat, Mar. 22 2008 06:59 AM ET

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Read: Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (v. 1)

Here is a question. "Why does the creed add, 'He descended into hell'?" It seems like a good question to me. The creed never intended to cover all the details of Jesus' life. It does not mention his baptism or any of his miracles, nor does it consider his teaching or bouts with the Pharisees. So why does the creed add, "He descended into hell"?

Here is an answer. "To assure me in times of personal crisis and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, especially on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell." That is the way the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism explain how Christ descended into hell.

When Jesus prays Psalm 22 on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" he gives voices to the "unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul" that would be ours if he did not suffer, if he was not crucified, if he had not descended into hell. He cries out so that we will not have to. He prays from the depths of despair so that despair will not consume us. He was forsaken so that we will not be. Thank God that "He descended into hell."

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for enduring the anguish. Amen.

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Gratus

Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:19 am
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Thank you, Jon Brown, for your article. Mk8:34 is one of those Christians who believe that these words (he descended into hell) point to what happened after Jesus' death. Personally I believe that when he died, Jesus went directly to heaven. He gave his spirit into the hands of his Father; he told the crucified convert next to him that 'today' he would be with Him in paradise; he declared that all things were fulfilled; the veil of the temple was torn, etc. The words 'he descended into hell' are about what our Lord suffered before he died: 'Especially on the cross, but also earlier' as Jon quoted from the H Catechism.

Mk8:34

Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:01 pm
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My understanding is that Jesus went to the paradise side of hell and not the torment side
.He did preach to the spirits who were disobedient before the flood, but He did that from the
paradise side.Jesus did not have to go to the torment side of hell because what He did was done in righteousness.He only had to die in the flesh and go to the paradise side of hell to identify with and take captive the righteous.

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