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Christ In Hell Part 9 of 9
By Bro. Cheek | November 12, 2007
Table of contents for Christ in Hell
Christ in Hell
Part Nine
Why Did Jesus Christ Go to Hell?
By Pastor Robert L. Cheek Jr.
Victory Baptist Church
In our final lesson we will plainly state what we have alluded to throughout this book. We want to complete our treatment of the subject by answering the above question. A general answer to the question, “Why did He go?” is found in the most famous verse in the Bible.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Simply stated, we deserved hell but Christ made the payment in our place. Specifically, I want to mention two reasons why Christ went to hell.
1. He went to hell to complete the Passover typology.
Let us compare Exodus 12:6-11 with 1 Corinthians 5:7.
Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Exodus 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Exodus 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Exodus 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
The Passover lamb had to be roast with fire to be eaten by the Hebrews. Christ, THE Passover Lamb was roast with fire spiritually in hell so that we could partake of His salvation. The roasting of the lamb in the O.T. is the typology of Christ suffering in hell. They killed the Passover and sprinkled the blood. Then, they roast the Passover lamb. Christ was nailed to the cross and shed His blood. Then, His soul was roast with fire in hell.
2. He went to hell to fulfill all righteousness in His death. This included taking our sins upon Himself and paying the price for sin in hell.
Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
In His life, Christ fulfilled all righteousness.
John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
In His death, Christ fulfilled all righteousness as well. The substitutionary death of Christ was a spiritual death. He died the second death for us in our place.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Spiritual separation from God in hell and eventually the lake of fire is the second death. Christians will never have to taste of that death because Jesus Christ has already tasted that death for us.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
So Christ went to hell to fulfill all righteousness in His death. As we have stated previously, the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Without Christ suffering in hell, there is no meaning to His burial. But when we see what Jesus did while His body was in the tomb (going to hell to be the burnt offering for sin), then we understand the meaning of His burial. Let me conclude this study by saying that we cannot hope to fully understand all that Jesus did for us. In fact, neither could many of His disciples. Notice carefully this passage from the Gospel of John. We can read it through the discerning influence of the Holy Ghost, but many of the disciples of Christ’s day could not handle these direct statements.
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
John 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
John 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
John 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
John 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Some of the Lord’s disciples left Him when He began to teach them some of the deeper things of God concerning Him being the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. If some of the disciples who walked with Him in His earthly ministry had trouble understanding Him, so can we. But praise God, He has given us His Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). We may not understand all the intricate details, but we can believe His Word and what it teaches about Christ in hell.
Why did He go? Because He loves us. In fact, the Trinity loves us. God the Father loved us so much that He poured out His wrath for sin on His Son in order that we might have forgiveness of sin and fellowship with God. God the Son loved us so much that He was willing to be the burnt offering for sin that the Father required. God the Holy Ghost loved us so much that He transported Christ from the Father’s room, to a virgin’s womb, to a rich man’s tomb, then to a sinner’s doom. But praise the Lord, He didn’t stay dead! He arose by the Spirit’s power never to die again, and He’s coming soon! As John testified in the Revelation:
Revelation 22:20 …Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Topics: Studies |
December 11th, 2009 at 1:36 am
Pastor, A very interesting subject- I have had questions about this subject for some time and have prayed for the Lord to reveal truth concerning the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. Thank you for this eye opening study. Abundant Grace, Blessings and Peace to you in your service to Christ and his Church,
Sincerely, Tim Anderson