Saturday in Hell...the turning point

I was asked a question a few days ago. Did Jesus really go to hell?

We confess this in the Apostle's Creed.

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

There are complicated explanations of this doctrine. I'm not sure it matters that much what you believe about this. You weren't there when it happened and neither was I. It happened. We confess it by faith and by tradition.

What matters most is the Saturday Between Crucifixion and Resurrection was a turning point.

That turning point took place while his body lay in the tomb. Cold. Dead.

What was turning?

• Hell was plundered
• Sin's price was paid for all
  
• Demons were made a public spectacle
• A Thief was taken to paradise

The clock ticked. Ticked. Ticked. and as the sun rose the Son Rose..burst forth...exploded from the tomb. The Stone displaced. Not just rolled away. Terrifying the Roman Guards.

THEN DEATH WAS DEFEATED.

The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

To that point...no one was certain of resurrection. There were teachings that spoke of it. But not an actual demonstration. One that not only raised the body from the grave like Lazarus was who died. JESUS ROSE WITH A GLORIFIED BODY THAT IS ETERNAL, TRANSCENDENT, PERFECT.

42It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

Thats the turning point, the pivot this Saturday is. Because of the turning point we will be like Him.

Our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

51But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

54Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,^j this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.^k

55O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?^l”

Today can be YOUR turning point. Tomorrow we celebrate the Sun of Righteousness, the SON OF GOD, Jesus rose so we can all follow Him into eternity.