Where Did Jesus Go When He Was In The Grave?

 Question:  During the time that Jesus was in the tomb, where was his soul or his spirit?

Answer: We are not actually told, but there is a reference in Acts chapter 2:27 to his soul not being left in Sheol or Hades; Peter quoting Psalm 16:10.

But in the OT, soul means the whole body, a person in their entirety and ‘Sheol’ in the OT and ‘Hades’ in the NT literally means the place of the dead and is often translated ‘the tomb’.

So, when David said, in Psalm 16, “You will not leave my soul in Hades”, he simply meant, “You will not leave me in the grave”; and that may have very well been what it meant in Peter’s mind.

It may be possible that Peter had more in mind and that Jesus’ soul went somewhere beyond the grave, but we can not be sure of it, because of what the words in Psalm 16:10 mean.

Follow-up question:  What did Jesus mean when he said to Mary Magdelene, ““Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father;” in John 20:17?

Answer: Jesus wasn’t saying, “Don’t touch me”, because later that day He encouraged others like Thomas to touch him.  He was saying to her that she can not hang on to (cling) to Him and keep him on earth, because he will be ascending to the Father.  He is not saying that she needs to let go of him because he needs to make a trip to see the Father before he would appear to and meet with the Apostles.  He is saying that his rising from the dead is not for him to stay on earth, but he will be ascending to His Father.

Follow-up question 2:  Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in paradise”.  Does this mean that Jesus went to heaven after he died or did he also go to Hades as described in the story of the Rich man and Lazarus?

Answer: Yes, Jesus told the truth to the thief on the cross.  Jesus’ story about the Rich man and Lazarus was inspired by material in the book of Enoch and popular Rabbinical teachings that came from the book of Enoch, that Hades (the place of the dead) had two compartments.  This may be true, but the OT tells us nothing about this and neither does the NT except for this one story, which I believe is a parable, which raises the question was Jesus was really teaching us about the afterlife, or was he making the point in this parable/story that even when God raises someone from the dead, hard hearted people will still not believe?

Many, many Christians believe that when Jesus told the thief on the cross that today he would be with him in paradise, that Jesus meant Abraham’s bosom, which is not a bad place; but the good side of the intermediate state before the final judgment.  This may be true.

But some other Christians believe that Jesus meant heaven when he said paradise.  Paul used the word paradise in 2 Corinthians 12 when he described the man who was caught up “into the third heaven, even paradise”.

Follow-up question 3:  The Apostle's Creed says, "He descended into Hell".  Why does they it say that?  Number one, this creed was developed in the second and third centuries and is not a part of inspired scripture.  Number two, the word 'hell' here again means death, the tomb, or the grave.

Some versions of The Apostolic Creed include "He descended into hell" (or "descended to the dead"/"descended into Hades"), while others omit it or render it differently. Traditions that commonly include it: Roman Catholic (in many English translations), Anglican (Book of Common Prayer), and many historic Protestant creeds. Some modern Protestant translations and ecumenical versions prefer "he descended to the dead" or omit the phrase for theological or translation reasons.