Examine the painting above. I'm not quite sure what to with it because we are so far removed from the ancient interpretation of what took place on the dark Saturday before the resurrection. Here we have Jesus busting through a door, stepping on the devil, and liberating all the individuals that have been held captive. And of course, Jesus keeps his boring expression on his face like Indiana Jones keeps his hat on his head.
But...there is quite a bit of truth in the painting; that is, depending on how we take the strange bit of creed that has Jesus descending into Hell. I'm not quite sure what happened on the second day. I know that Jesus died. As Martin Smith states, "the death of God-with-us." Jesus was not just sleeping and let us keep in mind the disciples anticipated nothing. Holy Saturday was silent.
Scripture tell us that by joining all the dead in their suffering, Jesus gave them access to new community of love that would spring into life with his resurrection. Ultimately, we cannot avoid the meaning of the Christ-event that proved that no one is beyond the reach of redemption. It is my opinion that when a believer takes this truth on, then it should dictate his perspective on war, the death penalty, revenge, love, forgiveness, and indifference. This entire joining the dead stuff is really strange and difficult to comprehend.
So the painter above and the writers of Scripture (1 Peter 3:18) describe a mythic image of "strangely moving power. Christ through his own death joins the dead (hear this now...even the dead) but as the herald of their liberation." In some way, our salvation will completed as a community. This will forever remain a mystery to me.
The death and resurrection possess life-giving power. We need not only think of Christ descending into Hell as a one time event. Because the death and resurrection prove that no present hell is too far out of reach for the life-giving power of God. Whether WWII, Iraq, or violence in Memphis TN; people can experience a hell in which love seems miles away. But there is no place in the world, in me, in you, or in death that God's love cannot reach.
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