Where did Jesus go after He died? In Acts 2:27 Peter quotes a prophecy from David’s writing that says of the Messiah, “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Elsewhere, in 1 Pet. 3:19 he says this when describing the significance of the gospel, “by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.” So, in Jesus’ 3 day interim from the earth did He descend into Hell and preach to the “formerly disobedient?”

According to Scripture:

1. Jesus died physically on the cross (Lk. 23:46).
2. His body was placed in a tomb (Lk. 23:53).
3. His spirit went to Hades, the realm of the dead (Acts 2:31). While in Hades, He was in Paradise, not a place of torment (Lk 23:43).
4. On the third day His spirit returned to His resurrected body (Lk 24:6).
5. His resurrected body walked about this earth for 40 days appearing to many including over 500 at one time (1 Cor. 15:6)
6. He ascended to heaven and sits on His throne at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9; Col. 3:1)

What About Jesus Preaching to the Spirits in Prison?

Many claim that Jesus descended into the depths of hell (tartarus) in order to either preach repentance to the sinful people before the flood or to proclaim victory to sinful people before the flood. But what merits the pre-flood generations a second chance at repentance over the sinful people between the flood and the cross? Or, why would Jesus need to descend into the place of torment to proclaim His victory over sin and death? His resurrection does that in far greater fashion.

1 Pet. 3:19 needs to be read in its context. In verse 18 Peter is emphasizing the universal atonement of the cross for all people for all time. In verse 20 he explains who the “spirits in prison” of reference include, namely, those who were disobedient in the days of Noah. This is what is known as a metonymy, a figure of speech consisting of the use of one name to represent another with which it is associated. We see this in Eph. 2:17-18 where Jesus is described as going to preach to people afar off, even though He never stepped out of the region of Judea. How did He do this? Through other christians, His agents of the Spirit, namely the Apostles and disciples.

So how about those from Noah’s day? Did Jesus preach to them after He died, as it is often interpreted? Or, did Jesus preach through His special agents, namely Noah?

Some claim that the term “spirits” is an indication that these are spirits separated from the body, and though their imprisonment is certainly so, their time of repentance occurred during the preaching they received while in the flesh. The Bible often uses the term “spirits” when referring to those not yet separated from their earthly body (Heb. 12:9,23). Most convincingly is Numbers 16:22 which states, “... the God of the spirits of all flesh …”

In his commentary Adam Clarke states, “There is no ground to believe that the text speaks of Christ's going to hell to preach the gospel to the damned, or of His going to some feigned place where the souls of the patriarchs were detained, to whom He preached, and whom He delivered from that place and took with Him to paradise.”