He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he
opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a
sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By
oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who
considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the
transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a
rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no
deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put
him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his
offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his
knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted
righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a
portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because
he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he
bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:7-12 ESV).
People have found it puzzling that the Apostles’ Creed says Jesus “descended to hell.” Appearing in some versions of the creed from the fourth century, this phrase may be based partly on some statements by the apostle Peter, who wrote that Jesus “went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits” (cf. 1 Peter 3:19-20; 4:6). Some people have taken this to mean that after he died, Jesus descended to hell to free ancient sinners. Others have said that “descended to hell” refers to the depths of Christ’s anguished suffering throughout his life, crucifixion, death, and burial for our sake.
Whichever of those views are correct, the
Scripture clearly teaches about a place called “hell” that is reserved for
God’s enemies. The New Testament mentions hell 162 times, and Jesus himself
mentions it over 70 times. This phrase should not distract from the bedrock
teachings about Jesus and the Christian faith. At the very least, the phrase
captures in a condensed way Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant—our
Savior, Jesus, who suffered and died for us. This teaching assures us in our
own moments of fear and temptation that Jesus, through his sacrifice for us,
suffered in a way that we, by grace, will never have to suffer.
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