Holy Saturday: He Descended Before He Ascended

We often overlook that Jesus was busy doing something between his death and resurrection. He wasn’t just lying in the tomb—his spirit never died; it just left his physical body.

“He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” — Ephesians 4:9-10 NKJV, italics added

After Jesus’ death, “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council who was also himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came acting courageously and went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus” (Mark 15:43). Joseph purchased a linen cloth to wrap Jesus’ body, put Jesus in his own newly hewn tomb, and rolled a stone over the entrance. The women knew where the tomb was but couldn’t bring their spices to anoint Jesus’ body because it was the Sabbath (Saturday evening). By the time they got to the tomb the next morning (Sunday), Jesus wasn’t there. He had already descended to the lower parts of the earth and resurrected (Ephesians 4:9-10). He had been busy doing something between his death and resurrection but what?

King David’s words give us insight, saying, “Therefore, because he [David] was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, by having foreseen this, he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay. (Acts 2:30-31 LEB, brackets and italics added) If his body was not abandoned in Hades (hell), it means his body must have gone to Hades at some point. And we know from Ephesians 4:9 that he descended into the lower parts of the earth.

Next, 1 Peter 3:18-19 NET says, “. . . by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. In it, he went and preached to the spirits in prison.” I hope your reaction is like mine—a big Wow! Why? This means Jesus was busy preaching—even after his death and before his resurrection. As he taught and preached the kingdom of God during his earthly ministry, he did so to those in the unseen realm after his body died. His spirit lived to preach some more. Preach on, Jesus!

His visit to Hades is why he could declare, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:18 NKJV, italics added).

By this, we know that no man took his life. No, no, no. He willingly laid it down. Our risen King descended before he ascended, taking the keys of death, hell, and the grave to give us victory over them. This is resurrection power, beginning in the descent before the ascent.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! – Luke 24:5-6 NIV

Lenita Reeves

Lenita is the senior pastor of Action Chapel Baltimore and Action Chapel North Carolina churches. She is an author of nine books, international speaker, founder of PrayerWatch with Pastor Lenita, and creator of the Purpose/full Institute, which helps people discover and hone their divine purpose. She is a former Accenture consultant with college teaching experience, professional instructional design experience, a member of the RAINN speaker’s bureau, a trained pastoral counselor, and a Christian International/Bishop Hamon authorized prophetic instructor. Sign up to connect, receive more blog posts, and updates on courses, books, and events.