The Harrowing of Hell

*BORING ALERT!!!*

(this is just something that has fascinated me from recent readings)

My good buddy Ben Schmidt once asked me (and everyone else he came in contact with), "Where did Jesus go after he died?" Well, guess what?!? I just found out...

He was harrowing hell! According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary harrow means "to plunder or pillage". Jesus wasn't so innocent after all, he was a viking. The doctrine of the Harrowing of Hell is found in the Apostles creed where it says, "was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell." Upon his death, Jesus broke into hell, Hades, Sheol, and liberated the righteous ones who had died before him.


Here are some interesting verses that might just refer to it:

Matthew 27:50-53

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

So according to this passage this is the order of events:
1. Jesus dies
2. The curtain rips
3. There is an earthquake
4. Tombs open up
5. The bodies of many saints were raised
6. TWO DAYS LATER (after Jesus' resurrection) the saints leave the tombs and appear to people.

So basically, they just hung out in their tombs for a couple days, but didn't leave until after Jesus' resurrection...hmmm??!? Could this be Matthew's way of explaining the harrowing of hell into his narrative? Think about it...after Jesus' death he broke into hell and freed the saints. But they couldn't be resurrected yet, because Jesus had to be the first. So symbolically Matthew has them waiting in their tombs until Jesus rises first.


And how does Matthew describes these saints? As those who have fallen asleep. This was the standard way of describing those righteous ones who had died before Jesus. They were not really dead, only fast asleep waiting for Jesus to awaken them. Look at what Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:20: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep."

1 Peter 4:6

For the gospel has for this purpose been preached (proclaimed) even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Could this be a reference to Jesus descending into hell to let the saints (who had been judged in flesh) freed so they could finally live in the spirit?

But I know what you're thinking, if Jesus did actually go into hell and free the saints on the Saturday before his resurrection, why isn't it explicitly in the gospels? Well, think about it, if that story was put in, it would steal the thunder from Jesus' commision to spread the gospel. Here we would have Jesus bursting out of the tomb leading a procession of resurrected saints up to heaven, and then he comes back down again and briefly sends his disciples out, then he goes back up to heaven again. All that stuff happened behind the scenes so it doesn't really fit in with the narrative as the disciples experienced it.

And what about the guy on the cross? "Today you will be with me in Paradise." I don't know how the whole day thing works in the afterlife, but couldn't this just mean, "I'm actually on my way to hell now to set people free, so you don't even have to wait that long."


So what is the benefit of knowing about the harrowing of hell? Well...it shows us that the bodily resurrection has already started. This isn't a future event, this is something that Jesus started the moment he died and continues to do. Those who give up everything to follow him, will be raised to new life! This isn't just a future event, it has already begun!