Did Jesus Go to Hell?

“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, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” (I Peter 3:18-20)

After the crucifixion did Jesus descend into hell?

The question usually arises from the King James translation of Acts 2:27, 31 (quoting Ps. 16:8-11), that the soul of Christ “was not left in hell.” More popularly, the idea derives from the clause in the Apostles’ Creed: Christ “descended into hell” (descendit ad inferna). “Hell” in both cases refers not to the hell of eternal punishment (Gehenna), but to the realm of the dead, the underworld (OT Sheol, NT Hades). Hence modern translations of both the New Testament and the Creed read “Hades,” “dead,” or “death,” not hell.

That coupled with I Peter 3:18-20 causes some to be misinterpreting the concept. “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, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient….”

Regarding this I Peter 3 it means in the Old Testament time He, Jesus, by means of the Holy Spirit, went and preached to the people of Old Testament era, when Noah was building the ark, who were disobedient and didn’t repent and are now, that is at the time of the New Testament era, separate from God in hell forever. It was not that at the time of the writing of this text He preached to them in hell, but in the Old Testament era when Noah was building the ark, He preached to them.

Bottom line, He did not go to hell after His crucifixion and before His resurrection.

As an aside, why would Jesus have gone to hell after His crucifixion and preached to those there. It was too late for them to repent and be saved. Would it have been an “I told you so” message, or a “Na, na, na, na, goodbye” mocking? Neither are substantial reasons. Jesus died for our sins that we might not go to hell, where it is too late to be saved.

“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6: 23)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)