Where did Jesus go and what did he do between His Death and Resurrection?

Question

Without going into the specifics of three days and three nights or some configuration, where and what did Jesus go and do between the time of His death/burial and His resurrection, if anything?

We know that Apostles Creed says "[He] descended into hell" (or sheol, Abraham's bosom, hades), although see here.

So, what happened?

I'm looking for any of the following denominational points of view: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, other Protestants.

Answer 1

Where and what did Jesus go and do between Death and Resurrection?

Normally when we speak of “hell” we mean “the fires of hell” or Gehenna. However the Greek word hades really refers to the interim state of the disembodied soul, while Gehenna is the ultimate state of the damned, the lake of fire. The Latin word infernum, as read in the Nicene Creed means simply the lower regions, which could signify Purgatory, the Limbo of the Fathers or the Limbo of Children. It does not signify the hell of the damned!

In English usage the word "Hades" first appears around 1600, as a transliteration of the Greek word "ᾅδης" in the line in the Apostles' Creed, "He descended into hell", the place of waiting (the place of "the spirits in prison" 1 Peter 3:19) into which Jesus is there affirmed to have gone after the Crucifixion. Because this descent, known in Old and Middle English as the Harrowing of Hell, needed to be distinguished from what had come to be more usually called "hell", i.e. the place or state of those finally damned, the word was transliterated and given a differentiated meaning.

This development whereby "hell" came to be used to mean only the "hell of the damned" affected also the Latin word infernum and the corresponding words in Latin-derived languages, as in the name "Inferno" given to the first part of Dante's Divina Commedia. Greek, on the other hand, has kept the original meaning of "ᾅδης" (Hades) and uses the word "κόλασις" (kólasis – literally, "punishment"; cf. Matthew 25:46, which speaks of "everlasting kolasis") to refer to what nowadays is usually meant by "hell" in English. - Christian views on Hades

When Christ died he freed those souls who had previously died and were not in the hell of the damned but were in Limbo awaiting the time of their liberation by Jesus Christ, himself.

The concept of limbo still remains a viable theological possibility within Catholic theology. Neither the Eastern Orthodox Church nor Protestantism accepts the concept of a limbo of infants; but, while not using the expression "Limbo of the Patriarchs", the Eastern Orthodox Church lays much stress on the resurrected Christ's action of liberating Adam and Eve and other righteous figures of the Old Testament, such as Abraham and David, from Hades!

Christ was without sin and he fully paid the price of our redemption on the cross. So if Christ’s suffering was finished on the cross, why did His human soul descend into hell?

First we must confer with Saint Thomas Aquinas and other saints and doctors who divide hell (infernus) into four abodes:

• Purgatory (abode of those being purified)

• Limbo of the Fathers (abode of the Old Testament faithful – now it’s empty)

• Limbo of the Children (abode for unbaptized children under the age of reason) Gehenna (abode of the damned)

• Usually when we speak of “hell” we mean “the fires of hell” or Gehenna.

At STh III, q. 52, a. 2, Saint Thomas Aquinas is clear that Christ did not descend into Gehenna. (For those interested in such things, Hans Urs Von Balthasar stands if full contradiction to Catholic tradition on this point.)

Christ’s soul descended to the Limbo of the Fathers, also known as Abraham’s Bosom:

“And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell.” (Luke 16:22, D-R)

In the Old Testament, the gates of Heaven were not open to human souls. So the faithful in the Old Testament remained in the Limbo of the Fathers until the passion and death of Christ – those from Adam till even the thief on the cross.

Now Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that since the Old Testament faithful did not have the sacraments, that Christ’s descent into the inferno was for them as the sacraments are to us:

Hence, as the power of the Passion is applied to the living through the sacraments which make us like unto Christ’s Passion, so likewise it is applied to the dead through His descent into hell. On which account it is written (Zechariah 9:11) that “He sent forth prisoners out of the pit, in the blood of His testament,” that is, by the power of His Passion.

So Abraham was not baptized, but he did receive the efficacy of baptism by the descent of Christ into the Limbo of the Fathers. Thus, the doctrine of Christ’s descent into Hell solves many theological difficulties: the lack of sacramental efficacy in the Old Law, the salvation of people before Christ, and the distinction of abodes in hell. - Why Did Christ Descend into Hell? The Salvation of the Old Testament Faithful

• Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? - Ephesians 4:9

• But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. - Acts 2:24

• Christ then preached to the spirits that were being kept in prison. - 1Peter 3:19

Christ’s decent into the lower regions between his death and Resurrection is known as the Harrowing of Hell!

Christ's descent into the world of the dead is referred to in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed (Quicumque vult), which state that he "descended into the underworld" (descendit ad inferos), although neither mention that he liberated the dead. His descent to the underworld is alluded to in the New Testament in 1 Peter 4 (1 Peter 4:6), which states that the "good tidings were proclaimed to the dead". The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes Ephesians 4 (Ephesians 4:9), which states that "[Christ] descended into the lower parts of the earth", as also supporting this interpretation. These passages in the New Testament have given rise to differing interpretations. The Harrowing of Hell is commemorated in the liturgical calendar on Holy Saturday.

The Harrowing of Hell was taught by theologians of the early church: St Melito of Sardis (died c. 180) in his Homily on the Passover and more explicitly in his Homily for Holy Saturday, Tertullian (A Treatise on the Soul, 55; though he himself disagrees with the idea), Hippolytus (Treatise on Christ and Anti-Christ) Origen (Against Celsus, 2:43), and, later, Ambrose (died 397) all wrote of the Harrowing of Hell. The early heretic Marcion and his followers also discussed the Harrowing of Hell, as mentioned by Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Epiphanius. The 6th-century sect called the Christolytes, as recorded by John of Damascus, believed that Jesus left his soul and body in Hell, and only rose with his divinity to Heaven.

The Gospel of Matthew relates that immediately after Christ died, the earth shook, there was darkness, the veil in the Second Temple was torn in two, and many people rose from the dead, and after the resurrection (Matthew 27:53) walked about in Jerusalem and were seen by many people there. Balthasar says this is a "visionary and imaginistic" description of Jesus vanquishing death itself.

Although the Harrowing of Hell is taught by the Lutheran, Catholic, Reformed, and Orthodox traditions, a number of Christians reject the doctrine of the "harrowing of hell", claiming that "there is scant scriptural evidence for [it], and that Jesus's own words contradict it". John Piper, for example, says "there is no textual basis for believing that Christ descended into hell", and, therefore, Piper does not recite the "he descended into hell" phrase when saying the Apostles' Creed. Wayne Grudem also skips the phrase when reciting the Creed; he says that the "single argument in ... favor [of the "harrowing of hell" clause in the Creed] seems to be that it has been around so long. ...But an old mistake is still a mistake". In his book Raised with Christ, Pentecostal Adrian Warnock agrees with Grudem, commenting, "Despite some translations of an ancient creed [i.e. the Apostles' Creed], which suggest that Jesus ... 'descended into hell', there is no biblical evidence to suggest that he actually did so." - Harrowing of Hell

Answer 2

Just to share a quote from Irenaeus who's quoting various scriptures here about this question.

But the case was, that for three days He dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the prophet says concerning Him: “And the Lord remembered His dead saints who slept formerly in the land of sepulture; and He descended to them, to rescue and save them.”4710 And the Lord Himself says, “As Jonas remained three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth.”4711 Then also the apostle says, “But when He ascended, what is it but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”4712 This, too, David says when prophesying of Him, “And thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell;”4713 and on His rising again the third day, He said to Mary, who was the first to see and to worship Him, “Touch Me not, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to the disciples, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and unto your Father.”4714

I suppose Irenaeus may not be considered strictly in a denomination, but he is Trinitarian. His is an ancient view of what happened. Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp who was taught by Apostles John and Philip.

TO ADD about my comment on Irenaeus and Trinity (the basic idea being the Son and Spirit have always existed and were not created), but to be clear this is getting afield:

3. I have also largely demonstrated, that the Word, namely the Son, was always with the Father; and that Wisdom also, which is the Spirit, was present with Him, anterior to all creation, Against Heresies Book IV Chapter XX

Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter XXXI

Answer 3

Jesus descended onto Hades to proclaim victory over death to the souls of the saints that had been imprisoned(death held them prisoners there due to the original sin) there. They were waiting for Jesus to break through curse of death through his suffering, death and resurrection, and Jesus being the first born son from the dead appeared to them and proclaimed this awaited victory onto them. The souls that Jesus proclaimed victory to are the same people that rose from the dead and appeared to many in Jerusalem according to the gospel of Saint Mathew.

Matthew 27:52-53

The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints (God's people) who had fallen asleep [in death] were raised [to life]; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people.

These people are the same ones Jesus descended onto Hades to declare victory over death for, for after he declared victory over death onto them they were justified to be raised from the dead and that is why they rose from the dead. This is the exact reason why Jesus went to the heart of the earth for three days, he also preached onto the souls of these saints about his second coming and the kingdom of God

Answer 4

Protestant Point of View Two scriptures must first be considered when dealing with the journeys of Jesus between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection:

1. Luke 23:43 - Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'

This was spoken during Friday afternoon, just before His death. He then expired on Friday, and ascended to Paradise with the new convert. He did not say they were going to Sheol, or Hades, nor Abraham's bosom at first. Other references to Paradise in the N.T. all point to the heavens and the 'paradise of God, where the Tree of Life was. (Revelation 2:7) This could not hardly be any part of the underworld.

So, why would Jesus need to go to the Presence of God right away? According to the fulfillment of O.T. typology, the blood of the slain Lamb had to be placed on the Altar (Ark) by the high priest. This is confirmed by Hebrews 9. (See Ephesians 1:7, In Him we have redemption through His blood.)

2. Secondly, Matthew 28:18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. The Victim had to be recognized as the Victor. The Prince of Life had to be crowned as the King of Kings. Jesus went to the Father to be coronated!

We know that He was not coronated after His physical Ascension, when He finally sat down at the Father's right hand, because before His Ascension, Jesus declared that All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me! (Matthew 28:18). That this is possible is underscored by the fact that Jesus spent 40 days before His Ascension teaching about the "Kingdom of God". He was well qualified to do this because He was its enthroned Coronated King!

3. Thirdly Then follows all the verses that describe the newly coronated King Jesus going to sheol to proclaim His victory to those saints already dead! No doubt, the main part of His proclamation was the announcement of His Kingship, and His newly acquired Authority over all, including life and death!

For David spoke concerning Him, "I foresaw the LORD always before my face, for He is on my right hand so that I should not be moved.
Therefore my heart did rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope.
Because thou will not leave my soul in hell neither will you allow thy Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16 quoted by Peter in Acts 2:25-27; Notice that there are two distinct events mentioned by David, (a) David's resurrection, and (b) Jesus's not staying in hell.)

For Christ also has 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 He also went and preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient... (1 Peter 3:18-20)

These other events of Jesus during this time period are dealt with by the commentators and biblical scholars (e.g. "Who were the imprisoned souls?")

Note: The Creeds do not have the same weight as scripture, and can be misleading. What is meant by O.T. and N.T. verses which mention "Hades, hell, sheol" is open to several interpretations.---Also the conversation between Mary and Jesus in the Garden about the "future Ascension" to happen later are dealt with in other questions. (John 20:17, Acts 1:9)