Posted on 03/21/2011 10:34:29 AM PDT by count-your-change
Where was Christ for the three days following his death? It seems a simple enough question and it is. The answer is simple too. One might turn to Matthew 27:59, 60, where it says a rich man, Joseph, took Jesus' body and had it put in Joseph's prepared tomb and then a large stone was rolled in place to close up the cave like tomb.
So why would there be a question? Well, before Jesus died he had been asked to be remembered by a criminal hanging nearby. Said this man:
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." By the request he shows he does expect, he has faith, that despite the present situation, that Jesus would indeed, 'come into his kingdom'.
But it is Jesus' answer that some find hard to understand or explain:
"He replied, "Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise". Notice that I left out the comma which does not appear in the Greek. It is the placement of that comma that brings the question of whether Jesus was saying either "today you will be with me" or "today I am saying to you", two very different things. Most translators place the comma before "today" in line their beliefs about Christ's condition during those three days, not according to any necessity occasioned by the Greek grammar. Is such placement, and the meaning it imparts, justified according to what the rest of the Scriptures say? No, not at all. How so?
Jesus said he, "the son of man" was to "be killed and on the third day raised up (resurrected)". (Luke 9:22) and Peter confirms that this is exactly what occurred at Acts 10:40,41 saying Christ 'rose from the dead'.
Earlier Peter had interpreted Psalm 16:10 as fitting the Christ, saying Christ had gone into Hades, or hell as some translations have it, as had David, to await God's resurrection of them. (Acts 2:29-36) David though, would have to wait until that much broader resurrection Paul spoke of at Acts 24:15, the "resurrection of both the righteous and unrighteous".
But what of the criminal and the promise made to him? Did he die and go to heaven, hell, where?
He had not been born again. He had not repented or been baptized or become a disciple and shown his faith by his works as had those Paul spoke of in Hebrews chapter 11. He, like David, would have to wait for that resurrection from the memorial tombs (John 5:28, 29) of the "righteous and unrighteous" sometime in the future.
Only then, when Christ was "in his kingdom", could this criminal expect to be in "paradise". Mean while he was dead, unconscious, (Eccl. 9:4-6), what Christ compared to sleep.(John 11:11)
“Where was Christ During the Three Days After His Death?”
Surfing in Waikiki.
“Surfing in Waikiki.”
Walking on water some more, you mean?
He was dead. He was “in the heart of the earth” a Jewish idiom meaning “to be at one with” or buried. He was dead. But, He had the power to take up His life again. Only God has that power.
Since in the original manuscripts there are no punctuation marks, I have the right to decide where the comma goes just as much as anyone else. The King James translators didn’t translate this - they interpreted this - and my interpretation is just as good as theirs(actually better than theirs). I agree with you, the comma goes before today. A Hebrew in a very serious and solemn situation talking to another Hebrew (both about to die is a very serious situation) would emphasize the seriousness by saying, “I tell you this today.” Like we would say, “I’m telling you this right here and now, i.e. today.
Stop me before I find another one!
Vacationing on the Riviera.
Do you have a magazine that you'd like to leave with me, before you move on?
He had not been born again. He had not repented or been baptized or become a disciple and shown his faith by his works as had those Paul spoke of in Hebrews chapter 11. He, like David, would have to wait for that resurrection from the memorial tombs (John 5:28, 29) of the "righteous and unrighteous" sometime in the future.
I would put him right where Christ promised he would be... in Paradise. Jesus is the King of His Kingdom and the Judge of all mankind. We enter by His Sacrifice and at His invitation. There is a Japanese proverb that tells us "Beginning is easy... continuing is hard." Christ told us how to live... the thief showed us how to die.
Where was Christ after His Death and before His Resurrection? I would put Him in the underworld, announcing the Messianic age to those who had fallen asleep. You have cited a couple of verses. I offer the fact that Christ said He would offer the sign of Jonah. Where was Jonah for three days? In a fish? What does Jonah say?
Jonah 2:1Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said,
"I called out of my distress to the LORD,Though his body was in the belly of the fish, Jonah had gone to the depth of Sheol. He was dead. When Christ references the sign of Jonah, it is a reference to rising to life after three days of death.
And He answered me
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
Ask Him when (if?) you get there!
bttt
Jesus can do whatever he wants. He is not bound to do what the bible says he must do. Any takers?
His body was in the grave.
His soul was in Hades, specifically at one time in Paradise, also known as Abraham’s Bosom.
His human spirit was with God the Father.
He laid down His life, His soul, to God the Holy Spirit in Hades, who then combined His Resurrection body with His human soul and human spirit at the grave, some 3 days later.
Good catch!
The real question is, “Where do you believe he was four days after his death?”. That is the one that matters.
Dismas was saved by a baptism of desire which is recognized by all main line Christian faiths. Dismas knew he was a sinner. He knew he deserved what he was suffering, but he also knew righteousness when in its presence and asked for at least the little bit of mercy he thought he could.
That's where the Lord went, why he went and who went with him. Any questions?
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