Going to Hell for All the Right Reasons

I went home knowing the "who"—who the winner of the game was. I didn’t know the "how"—how it happened. I watched the game in its entirety to see how it happened. When the Bulls got behind because of errant passes, missed shots and missed dunks, I did not sweat. When they threw passes away, I was calm. I knew the game would turn out in my favor.

When Jesus went to the prison to preach to the spirits, He was giving us the "what." He was saying, "I’ve already won for you." He was saying that, "I’m already victorious." In John 19:30, Jesus said, "It is finished." According to Revelation 13:8, in the mind of God Jesus was already slain from before the foundation of the world. So when Jesus went to preach to the spirits, He did not go there to preach an evangelistic sermon. Like a herald, He went there to make an announcement. Jesus didn’t go there to preach the gospel. It’s not the gospel of a second chance.

When the seasoned black preacher used to imaginatively articulate what happened when Jesus went to hell to preach to the spirits, the black preacher would paint the picture and say: "Jesus put His shoes of dignity under the hall trees of time, and leapt into the womb of a virgin Mary. He took the train of nature, rode it for nine long months, and got off at a little town called Bethlehem. He was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and was wrapped in swaddling clothes.

"He walked the dusty road of Galilee for 33 years. He faced an unjust court. One day they marshaled Him to a place called

Calvary. They hung Him high, stretched Him wide, and dropped Him low. When they dropped Him low, three worlds lost their equilibrium: heaven, earth and hell. The chickens went home to roost at high noon, and midday looked like midnight. One Friday, He died. He died and stayed in the grave for three long days. But early one Sunday morning He got up. Jesus walked around for 40 long days, and 500 or more witnesses saw Him. He got on a cloud and started making His way back to glory."

On the way back home the black preacher said that, "He saw death, hell and Satan having a conversation. About that time, there was a loud clap of thunder, and an announcement was made at the prison gates of Hades. The announcement was, ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates. And the King of Glory shall come in.’ The devil stood at the gates of Hades and asked the question, ‘Who is the King of Glory?’ And Jesus answered the question by saying, ‘The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, o ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.’ The devil asked the question again, ‘Who is the King of Glory?’ And Jesus said, ‘I told you before, and I’ll tell you again: the Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. He is the King of Glory.’

"The devil reinforced the gates to try and keep the King of Glory from coming in, but Jesus kicked in the gates, picked up the gates, and said, ‘Satan, I got an announcement to make: I am He who was dead. I’m alive forever more, and I have the keys to your house. I have the keys of death, the keys of hell, and the keys of the grave.’"

I’m so glad Jesus has the keys because when I die, death will not be a prison. He went to hell for all the right reasons. He went to vindicate Himself and to tell us we are victorious through His victory over death, hell and the grave!

In a hymn based on Psalm 46, titled "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," Martin Luther, the reformer, reminded the followers of the ascended Lord that they are victorious and Satan is defeated: "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us, the Prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him, his rage we can endure, for lo, below, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him."