Why It Took Jesus Three Days To Rise From The Dead – Part 4 of 7

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being with us today. We are in the middle of an excellent sermon series called “The Resurrection, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.”

So, if you have not seen any of them, please check them out on this card here. It’s a playlist. If you want, you can also navigate to our website and search for that playlist by typing in “The Resurrection, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory” or “The Resurrection” or “Purgatory” or whatever, and it can drive up that on the search results.

You can also type it into Google or YouTube or wherever you want to find this sermon series. But if you have yet to see the other videos of the other sermons or listen to them, please check them out.

We’ve talked about Hell as a place, as an idea, and then we’ve also gone into Purgatory. Now we are talking about “Three Days to Rise.” So, Jesus went through this execution, which, uh, crucifixion. A lot of people think, “Oh my gosh, it was so much for Him to go through the crucifixion for us.”

Yes, it was. It was so much. But the crucifixion is not the focal point of this. Yes, He was crucified. We make the mistake of believing that it was so much for Jesus to go through this crucifixion for our sins.

But it wasn’t the crucifixion that He went through for our sins because any other thief, robber, or criminal was also crucified. Now, of course, Jesus committed no crime, so He went to the crucifixion undeservingly, but He did so with our sins on Him.

But that’s not why He was crucified, because the Romans crucified Him, and the Romans don’t crucify people for the sins of the world. Do you see what I’m saying here? Crucifixion of that day and age was exactly like the electric chair today, or the needle, euthanization, or a firing squad, or something like that. It was a means of executing criminals or executing people and individuals.

So, the crucifixion, although in that day and age, this crucifixion was horrible, it was a brutal way to execute someone. It was very inhumane, as the politically correct people would say; “It was a horrible method of execution.” It was very effective. Nobody survived a crucifixion. Not one. No one.

Most people struggled through it. There are recoveries of bones with nails that, instead of going through perfectly, went through at an angle or spliced through someone’s bone and joint in the ankles or something because these criminals, these people, were probably fighting and resisting. They have footage of what they used to do.

They would tie ropes on people and stretch them out. They’d probably pull on these ropes so hard that they would be dislocating people’s shoulders because you’d be trying to resist, and they’d probably finally get it, and then they’d pound your arm in or your legs.

They might have pulled them out of joint. I mean, people were resisting, and they had crews of people pulling, and maybe they pulled too hard, and your muscles were so weak, and whoops, they accidentally did a little bit more damage. No one survived a crucifixion.

It was a very effective means of executing people, but it was very brutal. But that’s the point. It’s an execution, and that’s it. Just like an electric chair, a firing squad, euthanization, you name it.

So, yes, Jesus was crucified, and it was horrible. But that’s not what He did for you and me. What He did was something so much more, so much worse really, than a crucifixion.

Yes, when Jesus was in the garden praying and sweating and sweating blood, He wasn’t worried about a crucifixion. He wasn’t saying, “God, take this cup away from me, Father,” talking about a crucifixion. He was saying this about what came after, “Father, take this cup away from me when I finally give up my spirit. I know what’s about to happen, and I don’t want to do it, but I’m willing.”

And that’s the Gethsemane prayer. We had a sermon on that. But what Jesus went through was so much more, and that’s why it took Him three days to rise. He’s God. He could have died and come back to life instantly. He could have come right down off that cross and been the one person to make it through crucifixion, and that would have been wonderful. We will always remember that Jesus, was the one guy to survive a crucifixion in all history.

That wasn’t what He came to do. Crucifixion was not the focal point, although sometimes that’s what we make it out to be because we say how brutal that was. The crucifixion was an execution, and that’s it. Jesus did far more than be crucified.

Why do you think it took Him three days to rise from the dead? God could have risen Him immediately. It was because Jesus had a job to do, an important mission to fulfill. And that’s why we want to be like Jesus. We want a job to do. We want a mission. God’s giving it to us. He’s giving us a calling and a purpose in our life.

We’ve talked about that many times in several sermons, that you have a purpose and you have a calling. Please check them out because they are very, very important. So, there will be a link in the card up here. Now, it took Jesus three days to complete this mission. Let’s go to Matthew 12:40.

A lot of verses today. I hope your fingers are nimble and your Bibles are ready because we have a lot of verses. Matthew 12:40 says, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth.”

Jonah was a symbol, the sign of Jonah. “Three days and three nights.” This is why He rose after three days and not right away. Not only to fulfill a prophecy but to tie things together. God has a super detailed plan for everything. Everything had meaning. Three days. Jonah. Three days. Jesus.

Coincidence? No. What did Jesus do? Well, let’s look at day one. First, He suffered. Jesus took our sins. He took our punishment. What does that mean? Well, if you are a sinner, a sinful person, you, me, we all are, okay, what is our punishment?

Romans says the “Wages of sin is death.” Okay, the wages of sin is death. Does that mean we just die? No, it means Hell, the pit, the grave. We’ve talked about this: Sheol, Gehenna, Tartarus, this place reserved for eternal torment and torture. That’s where we are destined to go.

Jesus took our punishment. What does that mean? Jesus went to Hell. You say, “Wait a minute. Jesus didn’t commit any sin. He was perfect. Of course, He didn’t go to Hell. He didn’t commit any sin, but He took our sins.” Think about that for a moment. Just let it process in your brain for a second.

Jesus took your sin. That means that even though you weren’t born yet, God looked ahead and He saw every sin you were ever going to do. Whatever. Ten million, 200 sins, doesn’t matter. He saw all those sins. One—maybe you committed one sin in your whole life. Unlikely, but maybe. You’re still going to Hell.

He saw all those sins, and Jesus took them on. God said, “All right, you’re taking the sins of Spencer Coffman. You’re taking the sins of you. You’re taking the sins of every single person.” And Jesus said, “Yes.”

I don’t believe that Jesus simply said, “Yep, I’m taking all the sins of the world.” No. God knew every single person. He knew every single sin they would commit, and He asked Jesus, “Jesus, do you take the sins of Spencer Coffman?” And Jesus said, “Yes.” “Do you take the sins of John Smith?” “Yes.” “Do you take the sins of sons?” “Yes.”

And Jesus said “yes” every single time to every single one of them, and every single one of those punishments meant a trip to Hell. And Jesus knew that, and He said “Yes.” He died for us. He went to Hell for us. He took the punishment for us—for you. He did that. How do we know? Let’s go to Acts.

Acts 2:22-36, Says; “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death.”

What is the agony of death? “Hell.” Because death couldn’t keep its hold on Him. Hell could not hold Jesus because He was perfect. He only went there to take the punishment for our sins. So, guess what, if I put my faith in that and accept that Jesus did that for me, I don’t have to go to Hell.

He did it for me. He took that on for me. David said about Him: “I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave.”

Which is the pit or Sheol in the Old Testament in Hebrew. “You will not abandon me to the grave.” Jesus will not abandon us to Hell, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

David knew God would not abandon us to Hell, and He would not let Jesus’s body see decay. Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on the throne.

Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

For David did not ascend to Heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

When people heard this, they were cut to the heart, as you should be. What does it mean? This is saying that Jesus went through Hell for you, and died for you. He had a mission to fulfill. You do not have to go there. This isn’t David that we’re talking about. David was dead and buried.

He was talking about Jesus. What are we talking about here? When Jesus was on the cross, He knew what was going on, and He was potentially praying through the Psalms of David as He was on the cross. Nothing is a coincidence. David prophesied over this, or heard it, or had a vision, or something. God gave him that vision. David was dead and buried. What was he talking about? Jesus.

Jesus was pretty close. I mean, we’re pretty certain. If you think about it, what was He doing while He was on that cross in agony, knowing where He was going? Not just being physically tormented and tortured at that time, but knowing that He was going to end up in Hell for the sins of all of us, and He was doing it willingly.

No one willingly wants to go there. Jesus did it for you. He did it for me. What was He saying? He was going through the Psalms. I’m pretty certain, and it’s very, very sure that Psalm 16 would have been some of the words of Jesus while he was on the cross. Go through, and read that.

He was probably saying several of the Psalms, probably went through the whole book in His mind, but he was probably praying, “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge,” saying to his Father, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing,” going through all of this. And then in the end, when He said, “It is finished. Into your hands I commit my spirit,” it’s a Psalm.

And at that moment, He took upon all our sins. God turned his back to Jesus because He could not look at Him. He can’t look at you. God can’t look at me. Are you kidding? He looks at us, and He sees our sin. But the only way He can look at us now is because when He looks at us, He sees “paid in full.” The blood of Jesus washed our sins away.

You as a person, me, Spencer Coffman, my soul, my spirit, have been paid for. I don’t need to go to Hell and pay for that because it’s already been done. That’s day one. Jesus went to Hell. He suffered for us in torment. Day two, what did He do?

Well, at that point, He proclaimed to the imprisoned spirits. How do we know this? Let’s go to 1 Peter 3:18. Jesus was in Hell for that one day, being tortured and tormented. Now, whether a day is 24 hours or 1000 years, you can argue about that another time.

But Jesus went to Hell for you. Then, while in Hell, He had to get out. Hell could not hold Him. We just read that Psalm. Hell cannot contain Him. Death, the pit, the grave cannot hold Jesus. So, guess what Jesus did? He proclaimed to the imprisoned spirits, and He took authority over everything.

1 Peter 3:18-20: “For Christ died for sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it, only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water.”

What is this talking about? God, the ark, Noah—no, it’s more. It’s talking about how Jesus proclaimed to all of those who were trapped. Where were they trapped? We talked about it last week right here in holding. Remember, we have Heaven, we have Paradise or Abraham’s side, Abraham’s bosom. We have Hades or torment. Then we have Hell. Hell sits empty.

All the unbelievers, the people that were mentioned in the days of Noah, were sent here. They died and went to this place of torment. That’s where Jesus ended up going for a while for our sins. The thief on the cross next to Jesus went to this place of Paradise. When Jesus went here on his first day in torment, then He said, “I take authority over this,” and He made a proclamation to all the spirits here.

How did He do that? He was in this place of torment, Hades. Remember, there was a bridge because of the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus.” Remember, Lazarus died, “The beggar,” and he went to Abraham’s side. The rich man went here. He said to Father Abraham, “Please,” because he looked up at Father Abraham and saw him.

So there was a connection there. They couldn’t pass between, but they could see, “Whoa, I’m missing out. I’m in this terrible place,” and they’re looking in here. He said, “Please have Lazarus have mercy on me. Put some drops of water on my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.”

So Jesus went here. Then He took authority, He took proclamation. He spoke over here and He said, “Hey, all you guys who are waiting in Paradise, we’re going to Heaven. We’re doing away with this part of the realm of the dead.” So He took authority, and He did that. He freed the saints, He freed the captives. And now, when we die as believers in Christ, we don’t need to go to this place of waiting. We go right into Heaven.

On the third day, what did He do? That was when He went from Paradise to Heaven, ferrying all of those saints, bringing them up. Remember Luke 23:43? Let’s go there and get some recap on this. Luke 23:43 says, “Jesus answered him,” This is the thief next to him on the cross, “Today, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Now, if Jesus died and went to Hell, and the thief died and went to Paradise, He said, “Today, you’ll be with me in Paradise.” Wait a minute, well, that means that that first day that Jesus was in torment, He also maybe at the end of the day or wherever, went into Paradise.

Because it didn’t say, “Tomorrow I will be with you in Paradise,” meaning, “Uh, okay, today I have to die and go to the place of Hades. You die, and you go to Paradise. Tomorrow I’ll join you, and then the next day we’ll all go to Heaven.”

No, today. Jesus didn’t screw up in his words. So that means He went into Hades, took authority, and then went into Paradise. So He wasn’t there for that long. A day, maybe a little less, probably, because then He was in the Paradise side of the afterlife or of the realm of the dead. At that point, He would ferry them into Heaven.

Let’s look at one more spot. The chapter about the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is Luke 16. Again, we’ve talked about all this before, but I’d like to bring it up because we’re talking about it. It’s a good illustration.

Luke 16:22-23 says: “The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.’”

So, on day one, Jesus died, went to the pit, suffered for your sins, suffered for my sins. Later on, He went to Abraham’s bosom. He took authority over the pit, took authority over death, freed the captives, and then ferried all those saints into Heaven. He died and paid the price. They no longer had to wait to be with God. Jesus went into the depths of the Earth to set the captives free.

Ephesians 4:8. Let’s go there. Ephesians 4:8 says, “This is why it says: ‘When He ascended on high, He took many captives and gave gifts to people.’” Let’s go to Psalm 68:18 because that’s a reference. It says, “This is why it says,” and it’s talking about a Psalm.

Psalm 68:18: “When You ascended on high, You led captives in Your train; You received gifts from men.” So Jesus received gifts even from the rebellious, that You, O God, might dwell there. He went and set the captives free. Jesus went into the realm of the dead and conquered. He took authority over it all.

Then He ferried the captives from Abraham’s side, from Paradise, into Heaven. Let’s go to Ephesians 4:9. “What does ‘He ascended’ mean except that He also descended to the lower Earthly regions?”

Wow. “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, to fill the whole universe.” What does “Ascended” mean except that He was also descended, meaning He went to Hell, to the pit, to Sheol, to Hades, to Gehenna, to Tartarus, the grave, whatever you choose to call it?

He went to the realm of the dead, the torture side. He went there and suffered for us. That’s why He said, “Lord, please take this cup from me. Father, take this cup from me.” That’s what He said when He said, “It is finished.” And when He cried out and said, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” because God sent Him to the pit.

Then later, He took authority over it, went into Paradise, freed all the saints, and they went into Heaven with Him. Look at when He ascended on high. The Old Testament saints were so excited, that they began shouting to the gates of Heaven.

They said in Psalm 24:7, said, “Lift your heads, you gates; be lifted, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.” Who are they talking about? They knew they had Jesus with them, and they were cheering and shouting because they no longer had to wait in the realm of the dead.

Now they’re going to Heaven. They’re cheering, they’re shouting to the gates of Heaven, “Lift your heads, O you gates; let us in! We have the King of Glory. Make way! Jesus and the saints were going home to Heaven.”

That’s why it took Him three days to rise. What happened? Day one: “Suffering and torment for you and me, taking the punishment for our sins.” Day two: “Taking authority over the pit and over the realm of the dead on both sides.”

Then, on day three: “Ferried the saints and ascended into Heaven, so that now He did away with that Paradise side.” When we die as believers in Christ, we go straight to Heaven to be with Him. Unbelievers die, but they still go to the realm of the dead, Hades, where they’re waiting for their impending doom.

Then eventually, they’ll go into the pit, to Tartarus, be sealed up, and be in eternal torment forever and ever. Do you want to be in Heaven? Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. “He is the way, the truth, and the light.”

All you need to do is say, “Jesus, thank You so much for all of this that You did for me, for taking my punishment, my torture, the payment, making the payment for my sins.” He took it on for you. Accept it, thank Him, and say, ‘I want to live my life for You.’

There’s nothing we can ever do to repay Him, but because of what He did for us, we’re surely going to try. We’re going to live every day for Jesus and try to love Him and be like Him more and more every single day. And when we die, we know we will go to Heaven.

Because when they say, “Spencer, when God says to me, ‘Why should I let you in? Look at you. You did this this year and on this day. You cheated, you stole, you lied, you did this, you did this, you did this. All these sins, look at you’re not worthy.’”

And I will say, “I know I’m not worthy, but Jesus died for me and made that sacrifice for my sins so that I could be with You.” And He’ll say, “Come in.” And His arms will be waiting wide open. “Welcome home. Well done, good and faithful servant.”

That is what we want to hear. That is what you want to hear, whether you know it or not, that is what you want to hear. So believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. Let’s pray. Thank You so much, Lord Jesus, for taking the punishment for our sins, for going through Hell for us, for dying for us.

Not only did You go through a horrible death, but You went through a horrible death tension. And then thank You for paving the way for us to go to Heaven and be with You. Death is the goal for us. We can’t wait to come home.

We have a mission to complete here, we have a life to live, and it is better for others that we stay and be like You and show them the way. But it’d be better for us if we go home. Lord, thank You for giving us this purpose and this mission.

I pray over every person that You would anoint those watching and listening to go out there and pave the way, to help more people find You, to come to You, and to go to Heaven. That they would be willing and able to share these messages with more people, to bring more people to Christ, and so that we would be fruitful and multiply and grow the body of Christ here on Earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, we’re not done. We’ve got more of this sermon series, so stay tuned because it’s going to be excellent. We’ve learned so much. If you haven’t seen them, watch them, re-watch them, listen to them, listen to them again, share them with friends, and talk about them, because this is probably the most powerful message in the whole Bible.

It is the message of salvation and what Jesus did for every other person out there, for you and me. This is what the Bible is all about. Dive into it, take hold of it, and learn everything you can about exactly what Jesus did for you. We’ll see you next week. God bless.