“For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Matthew 12:40 (HCSB)

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Jesus spent three days in hell. He spent three days in hell in order to bring us home with him.

He spent three days in hell because he loved you more than the human mind will ever be able to comprehend.

We often talk about the crucifixion, and we often talk about the resurrection – but it’s rare that we talk about how Jesus was “in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” (Matthew 12:40, HCSB)

Gary Wills, in his book, What Jesus Meant, writes about a time when his young son woke up from a violent nightmare. Wills held the boy and asked why the nightmare had been so frightening. His son said, “I dreamed I was in hell.” Then he asked, “Do you think I’m going to hell?”

Wills said, “If you go to hell, I’m going there with you.”

Wills admits this was a gut-response, never meant to convey salvation theology. Yet, it does convey the depth of a father’s heart, telling his son that he loved him so much that even the pits of hell could not cause him to leave the boy isolated and abandoned.

And this is a picture of God, the Father, who sent his Son, Jesus, into the pits of hell, so we would not be left isolated and abandoned. Instead, Jesus faced the fires of hell to bring us home with him for eternity.

Wills said the incident reminded him of the time Jesus said: “What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11, HCSB)

What does this mean?

· God’s love knows no depth – There is nothing you can do to take you beyond God’s love. God will never love you less, and he cannot love you more than he already does.

· Jesus spent three days in hell – Jesus spent three days in hell so you do not have to spend one second there – so you do not have to spend an eternity there. The blood of Jesus covers your sins; the power of the resurrection defeats the fear of death. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6, HCSB)