Three days. Between the cross and the empty tomb, three days passed in silence.
The disciples were hiding.
The body was sealed in a borrowed tomb.
The guards were posted.
Everything looked finished.
But something was happening in those three days that Scripture does not leave entirely unexplained.
What the Text Establishes First
Before addressing the debate, the clear biblical facts need naming.
Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday afternoon.
His body was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea before sunset, when the Sabbath began.
On the first day of the week, Sunday morning, the tomb was empty, and Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to the disciples, and later to more than five hundred people in multiple documented encounters.
Three days separated the cross from the resurrection.
The question is what Scripture says was happening during those days.
What Happened to Jesus’ Body
The body stayed in the tomb.
This is not a minor detail. Matthew 12:40 records Jesus himself predicting it:
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” — ESV, Matthew 12:40
The heart of the earth was the tomb.
The body of Jesus lay there, guarded by soldiers, sealed with a stone, awaiting what the Father would do on the third day.
What Happened to Jesus’ Spirit
The Promise He Made From the Cross
The clearest statement Jesus made about where his spirit would go after death came not from a doctrinal discourse but from a conversation with a dying criminal.
“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.'” — ESV, Luke 23:43
The word “today” removes all ambiguity about timing. The word “paradise” describes a place of blessing, not torment.
Jesus was not going to a place of punishment. He was going to a place of peace, and he was taking someone with him.
What Paradise Meant in First-Century Jewish Understanding
In Jewish theology at the time of Jesus, the realm of the dead was divided.
Righteous souls who died before Christ waited in a section of Sheol sometimes called Abraham’s bosom, as described in Luke 16:22.
The wicked waited in a separate section, already experiencing suffering.
Paradise was the righteous side of this divided realm, a place of comfort and divine presence for those who had died in faith.
Jesus went there after his death, consistent with his promise to the thief on the cross.
The Passage That Has Generated the Most Debate
1 Peter 3:18–20
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah.” — ESV, 1 Peter 3:18–20
This verse has produced centuries of theological discussion. Three main interpretations exist.
Interpretation One: Jesus Proclaimed Victory After the Resurrection
Many scholars read the passage as describing what Christ did after his resurrection and before his ascension.
He proclaimed his victory over death to imprisoned spirits: fallen angels or wicked human souls who were already in judgment.
This was not a second chance for salvation. It was a declaration of triumph, an announcement that the cross had accomplished what it was sent to accomplish.
Interpretation Two: Jesus Preached Through Noah
Another interpretation, favored by some Reformed scholars, holds that Peter is describing something that happened before the cross.
In this reading, Christ in the Spirit preached through Noah to the people of his generation, who are now “spirits in prison” in the sense that they are in their current state of judgment.
This interpretation removes any need to place Jesus in a literal location between death and resurrection.
Interpretation Three: The Harrowing of Hell
A third view, held strongly in Catholic and Orthodox traditions, holds that Jesus descended to the realm of the dead between his death and resurrection.
There, he proclaimed liberty to the righteous dead who had been waiting for the Messiah, led them out, and brought them into the full presence of God.
Ephesians 4:8–9 is sometimes cited alongside this interpretation.
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?” — ESV, Ephesians 4:8–9
The phrase “lower regions, the earth” is disputed: some read it as the incarnation, some as the descent into Hades, and some as the burial.
What Can Be Said With Confidence
Jesus’ spirit went to paradise, consistent with his own promise in Luke 23:43.
He was not suffering in a place of torment. The debt of sin was paid at the cross, not in any intermediate state.
He made some kind of proclamation to imprisoned spirits, the exact nature of which remains debated.
He was raised bodily on the third day, which is the event that every appearance account confirms.
What the Disciples Experienced During Those Three Days
The disciples were not receiving revelation during those three days. They were in grief, hiding, and fear.
The gospel accounts are honest about this. Peter had denied Jesus. The disciples had scattered. The women came to the tomb on Sunday morning, not expecting a resurrection but intending to anoint a body they assumed was still there.
The three days were silent for them in the worst possible way: everything they had believed appeared to have ended on a Roman cross.
That is why the resurrection was not anticlimactic. It was the reversal of what looked like total defeat.
Lord, Let the Three Days Shape How I Face My Own Dark Seasons
Father, the disciples sat in grief for three days not knowing what Sunday was going to bring.
They had watched the one they believed in die publicly, shamefully, and without apparent rescue.
And you were working the entire time.
Remind me of that in my own dark seasons.
When the silence feels like abandonment and the evidence looks like defeat, something may be happening that I cannot see from inside the Friday afternoon I am living in.
Let the three days teach me to hold on.
And let the empty tomb give me the confidence that no story you are writing ends at the cross.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Questions People Ask About Jesus Between Death and Resurrection
Where was Jesus for three days between his death and resurrection?
His body was in the tomb. His spirit went to paradise, as he promised the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43. He made some proclamation to imprisoned spirits as described in 1 Peter 3:18–20, though whether this occurred before, during, or after the resurrection remains debated among scholars.
Did Jesus go to hell between his death and resurrection?
Not in the sense of eternal punishment. Acts 2:31 states his soul was in Hades, meaning the realm of the dead generally, not Gehenna, the place of final torment. Luke 23:43 confirms he was in paradise, a place of blessing, not suffering, during this period.
What does 1 Peter 3:18–20 mean when it says Jesus preached to spirits in prison?
Three main interpretations exist: Jesus proclaimed victory after his resurrection to imprisoned fallen angels or wicked souls; Christ preached through Noah before the cross to people who are now in prison; or Jesus descended to the realm of the righteous dead to announce liberation. None involves offering a second chance at salvation.
What is the Harrowing of Hell?
It is the traditional belief, held strongly in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, that Jesus descended to the realm of the dead between his death and resurrection, proclaimed victory over evil, and led the righteous who had died before Christ into the full presence of God. It is depicted in early Christian art and referenced in the Apostles’ Creed.
Why does the Apostles’ Creed say Jesus descended into hell?
The creed uses “hell” to translate the Latin infernum and Greek Hades, both of which mean the realm of the dead rather than the place of eternal punishment. Most traditional interpretations understand this as Christ entering the realm of the dead, not as him suffering punishment in the place of torment.
Key Sources and Scholarship
Grudem, W. (2009). Systematic theology: An introduction to biblical doctrine. Zondervan.
France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. Eerdmans.
Where was Jesus for three days between death and resurrection? (n.d.). GotQuestions.org.
Did Jesus descend into hell? (2024). Christianity.com.
Where did Jesus go for three days between death and resurrection? (2025). BibleWithLife.
Did Jesus go to hell between his death and resurrection? (n.d.). Compelling Truth.
What happened between the death and resurrection of Jesus? (2023). Unlocking the Bible Blog.
Three days in the tomb: What was Jesus doing? (2025). Ask the Pastor Blog.
