Did Jesus Really Go to Hell?

On Good Friday we remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and on Easter Sunday we celebrate his Resurrection from the dead – but what happened during the time between them? What happened on Holy Saturday?

During the Easter Triduum, the highest point in the Church’s liturgical year, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, Christ’s death on Good Friday, and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. But, notice it seems like nothing happens on Saturday. We have Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday – but it seems like we never talk about Holy Saturday.

On Holy Saturday, we celebrate Christ’s descent into hell. Now, this might sound strange to some of us. Jesus went to hell? Perhaps you are familiar with this idea but unsure what it means. When we say the Rosary we recite the Apostles’ Creed. In that creed we proclaim this truth, we express our belief that “Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, he rose again.”

How many times have we said those words? Have you ever thought to yourself, “What does it mean that Jesus descended into hell?”

Notice that the line about Jesus’ descent into hell is sandwiched in between the lines about Jesus’ death and Resurrection. These are things we are more familiar with. We know Jesus was crucified, that he died and he was buried, and we know that three days later he rose from the dead. But, we rarely talk about what happened in between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. We say that Christ was dead and in the tomb for three days. On Day 1 Jesus dies and is laid in the tomb, on Day 3 he is raised from the dead and exits the tomb… what happened on Day 2?

To understand Christ’s descent into hell, we must recognize that Jesus truly died. It is only because of Good Friday that Jesus could truly descend into hell. When we speak of Jesus rising from the dead, we often just imagine it in connection with the empty tomb. We might think of the Resurrection as Jesus’ grand exit from the tomb. But, we do not celebrate the Resurrection from the tomb, we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. The realm of the dead is what the Jews called “Sheol”, what the Greeks called “Hades”, and what we call “Hell”. So, when we say that Jesus descended into hell, we are saying that Jesus descended into the realm of the dead.

Since Jesus really died on the cross, his soul really left his body and descended into the realm of the dead, or hell. Jesus descended into hell not as a prisoner to death, but as the conqueror of death. He went to the realm of the dead to complete his mission of salvation, to rescue the just and righteous who had died before him.

We have to remember that the gates of heaven had been closed since the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were created in union with God, God walked in their midst in the Garden. But, because of their disobedience, their relationship with God was damaged, they separated themselves from God. So, the entire human race was born into a family that is not unified with God – this is what we call Original Sin. One Catholic writer named Frank Sheed explains it like this, because of Adam and Eve’s sin, “the human race became a fallen race, a race no longer at one with God; a race to which heaven was closed.” So, all the just and righteous people who died before the sacrifice of Christ could not enter heaven because its gates were closed to humanity.

At the time of death, the human soul descended into hell, the abode of the dead. However, Jesus shows us that not all people suffered the same fate when they died. Remember Jesus’ story in the Gospel of Luke about the rich man and Lazarus, where Jesus compares the fates of the feasting rich man and the starving Lazarus. Both men received different lots upon their death. Although both were in Hades or hell, Jesus clarifies that only the rich man suffered anguish while Lazarus was comforted in Abraham’s bosom, and there was a great chasm between the two. Here is a description of the two different fates that souls had in hell prior to the sacrifice of Jesus. The unrighteous or damned suffered anguish in fire – the image that today we associate with hell – while the just and righteous were comforted in the bosom of Abraham (CCC 633).

Abraham’s bosom is simply a reference to the resting place of the righteous dead. It is because the gates of heaven were closed, that the righteous could not enter the presence of God in heaven, but they also weren’t condemned to eternal separation from God. So, those who died before Christ’s sacrifice, who were faithful to God, rested in Abraham’s bosom, awaiting their redeemer.

The Redeemer, Jesus Christ, came to them in the descent into hell. With his great sacrifice, Christ came to the abode of the dead, to preach to the righteous who were awaiting the opening of heaven. Jesus did not descend into hell as a prisoner of death, rather, he descended into hell as the conqueror of death. St. Peter says in the Bible that Jesus “went and preached to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19). Jesus proclaimed the Good News to the dead. They were free! Christ’s sacrifice would open up the gates of Heaven which had been closed since the time of Adam and Eve. The great chasm that existed between God and humanity was finally healed through Jesus Christ. As Christ descended into their death, they would ascend with him to heaven, where they could finally enter the presence of God.

Notice that Jesus proclaims this Good News himself. Because he is truly human, Jesus died and descended into hell, because he is truly God, Jesus descended as the Savior, proclaiming liberty to the captives of sin and death. The descent into hell is not simply a messenger explaining that heaven is now open, rather, Jesus Christ, God himself, visited his beloved in prison and proclaimed his great victory. This amazing event deserves much time spent in wonder and imagination.

There is an ancient homily for Holy Saturday that can help us envision this beautiful event. The homily begins by saying, “Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep” (CCC 635). As his body lies in the tomb, his soul descends into hell. Jesus Christ has gone in search of Adam and Eve; he who is both their son and their God goes in search for them. Jesus Christ has come to hell, but he has not come to destroy it or deliver the damned, he has come to free the faithful, to save those who died in friendship with God (CCC 633). As he enters the realm of the dead, Abraham’s bosom, there can be seen a multitude of souls, many men, and women who remained faithful to God in their lives.

There is King David and Samuel. Joshua and Rahab, Moses and Aaron. Jacob and Isaac, Abraham and Sarah. There is Noah and his wife, and there is Abel. But Jesus Christ comes first for Adam and Eve. This ancient homily describes Christ coming before Adam and Eve proclaiming, “I am your God, who for your sake have become your son… I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead” (CCC 635).

Can you see what a momentous and beautiful event this is? Adam and Eve broke the union of God and humanity. Through Christ’s death, through his Resurrection, through his descent into hell, he has reestablished that unity. The descent into hell is a beautiful image of how far Christ will go to save his people. His mission existed not only for his followers 2,000 years ago, his mission extends to “all times and all places” for he is God and he desires the salvation of all (CCC 634; 1 Timothy 2:4).

So, what does it mean when we say that Christ descended into hell? It means that Jesus Christ died. When he was crucified he really died. When he breathed his last breath on the cross, his soul departed his body, and united to his divine person, descended into the realm of the dead (CCC 637; Sheed 265). This place is called Sheol, Hades, and hell. This is the place that all of humanity went to upon their deaths, but there were those who died in friendship with God. There were those who were just and righteous, faithful to God. It was to these people, who rested in what we call Abraham’s bosom, that Jesus descended to set free. He came to them not as a vanquished soul to join their numbers, but as the living God who had conquered death and came to rescue them. He did not come to destroy hell or release the damned, he came to free the just who had died before him (CCC 633). The Good News that Christ preached on earth, he now came to preach to those who had died. Those just and righteous souls would finally receive their reward, heaven, unity with God – something that was lost with Adam and Eve’s first sin.

This is important to our Catholic Faith because it shows the great reach of Christ’s mission. His salvation was not only for his immediate followers, it wasn’t only for early Christians and medieval monks. Christ’s redemptive work is for men and women of all times and all places. This includes our most ancient ancestors whose abode was in hell for thousands of years as they awaited Christ’s advent. This includes you and me today. There is no chasm too deep that can separate us from the love of Christ. God himself went to hell to save his beloved. There is no breach too wide, no pit too deep, and no obstacle too large to separate us from the love of God.

When we recite the Apostles’ Creed, we can now pray with faith and understanding the section of Christ’s Passion:

“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, he rose again.” When we say those words, we can imagine Jesus breathing his last breath on the cross. We can imagine his soul leaving his body, united to his divine person, descending to the realm of the dead. We can imagine him proclaiming to the great souls there, “I am your God. Arise, O sleeper. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead” (CCC 635).

Do not be afraid to invite God into your life. Do not be afraid to invite God into all of your life. No matter your sins, your shortcomings, your failures – Jesus Christ desires to come to you. No matter how distant you are, no matter how alone, ashamed, and afraid, Jesus Christ can reach you. Not even death can separate God from his children. When you feel overwhelmed with life, with work, school, family, and friends. When you feel despair for your sins and fear for your future – call out to Jesus, the conqueror of sin and death, the liberator of hell, and the salvation of souls. If death could not separate God’s children from Him, then nothing can.

During Holy Saturday, when there is that deafening silence between Christ’s sacrifice and Christ’s Resurrection, remember his descent into hell. There is a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence and stillness because the King is asleep. But, even while asleep, our King is working.