The disciples heard the words of Jesus that he would be resurrected from the dead but could not comprehend such a miraculous event. Instead, they huddled together in hiding. Some retreated to their homes or former jobs. None expected that the words of Jesus would come true.
We must emphasize that the life of Jesus was not taken from him. While hanging at the cross, his last act was to say, “It is finished.” The Bible says he gave up his ghost. However, the text in its original Greek form offers the most specific explanation. He dismissed his spirit as a teacher would dismiss her students.
Recall a story of Jesus that he earlier shared with his disciples about Lazarus and the rich man. Jesus explained that there were two compartments in the bowels of the earth separated by what he called a great gulf fixed. On the one side were the unbelievers who had died. On the other side were the true believers that trusted in God. Jesus went to the Paradise compartment at his death with the penitent thief at his side.
The Bible says that he preached to those that died in Noah’s flood. The Greek language has several words that has been translated into English meaning preach. In this case, the preaching Jesus did was more of an announcement to tell the unbelievers that he was the ultimate ark of safety through salvation and the death he experienced on the cross. There was no offer for repentance after death.
He remained in that area that was also called Abraham’s bosom. When he was resurrected, Jesus took all those who were in paradise as captives to heaven. Prior to the resurrection of Christ, everyone, believers and unbelievers were said in Scripture to have gone “down” to the place of the departed. At the resurrection of Christ, the Bible changes the terms using the word “up” to signify where God’s righteous would abide after death.
The spirit of Jesus was not in some state of limbo. He went to the same place of Paradise that other righteous people went fulfilling the complete circle of life from birth to after death. Jesus experienced the reality that all departed persons experienced. He already knew about these two compartments. However, after his resurrection, Abraham’s bosom remained empty. This is why we say people go down to hell since that is the only other compartment available to them if they do not know God.
The body of Jesus lay in the tomb partially prepared with spices and a napkin over his face. Just three days after his murder, Jesus would reenter his body. He is called the firstfruits because all others who are believers in him would have a rapture experience with their spirits joining their glorified bodies.
While all these things were happening, the disciples trembled in fear for their belief that they also be arrested and killed. Jesus made promises to them before his crucifixion, but they could not assimilate the meaning of those promises until later. In a similar way, there are many biblical promises that we might discover in Scripture, but it could be difficult for a faithful reader to understand the depth and volume of those promises.
Jesus was not just dead. He was busy informing those of Noah’s time of their poor decision and the ramifications centuries later in him. His intention was to take all the righteous from Adam to Christ’s time up into heaven. We might think that death is the end, but it is just a staging platform for our eternal future.
Christian Writer 