Introduction: Understanding the Three-Part Man
Before we can understand what happened when Jesus died, we first need to understand what a person is made of.
Most people go through life thinking they’re just a body with a personality. But the Bible teaches something deeper—you are not one part or even two. You are three parts.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Did you catch that? Spirit. Soul. Body. That’s the full picture of who you are.
1. The Body – What People See
- Your body is the outer shell—the flesh, the bones, the physical frame.
- It’s what goes into the grave when you die.
- It’s temporary. It returns to the dust.
Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
2. The Soul – Who You Are
- Your soul is the real you—your mind, will, emotions, and desires.
- It’s what makes you a living being.
- It continues after death and can go to Heaven or Hell.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
3. The Spirit – The Part That Connects to God
- Your spirit is your life—it’s what gives you breath and consciousness.
- It’s what returns to God at death.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
For the saved, the spirit is brought back to life spiritually. Physically, the spirit gives you life. When you get saved, the spirit is revived from a spiritual death and becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:10
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Most People Don’t Know This
This is why people get so confused about what happened to Jesus on the cross. Now you know this.
Jesus laid down His body. His spirit returned to the Father. And His soul went into the heart of the earth.
Just like you, Jesus had a body, a soul, and a spirit. And when He died for our sins, each part went somewhere with purpose and power. And every one of those movements was a fulfillment of Scripture.
So today, we’re going to walk through where His body went, where His soul went, and where His spirit went—and why it changes everything for you and me. Jesus became flesh. He wasn’t always flesh and blood like us.
Romans 8:3
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
From Gethsemane to Glory
I want to walk through a quick timeline of what happened to Jesus Christ from the night before He went to the cross to the day He was resurrected. Please listen closely as most people in churches today do not know this. I want you to know this today.
So, look, on Sunday morning I’ve been going over more sermons about how to improve your life. On Sunday evening, we go over deeper things. One Thursday night, we go over deeper things. Nathan has been going verse by verse through the Book of Matthew for Sunday School. All of these things will help you so please don’t miss them. This is going to take some attention to understand today, and this is important.
You should always be learning and trying to get better and do better in your life. So, let’s see what happened to Jesus Christ.
Night Before The 14th — Garden Of Gethsemane
“His sweat was as it were great drops of blood…”
- Jesus prays in the garden
- Betrayed by Judas
- Arrested by soldiers with lanterns, torches, and weapons (John 18:3)
Jesus’ Crucifixion (Passover Day)
Early Morning – Trials
- Tried before Annas, Caiaphas, Sanhedrin
- Delivered to Pilate and Herod
- Condemned and scourged
So far we see that Jesus was seized in the Garden and bound like a criminal. He was struck in the face at the house of Annas. He was spit on, blindfolded, punched, and mocked at Caiaphas’s house. He’s brought to Pilate and is accused falsely. Pilate sends him to Herod. He’s mocked there and dressed up. Then he’s scourged and whipped at Pilate’s order.
They put a crown of thorns on his head. They took a reed and smote him on the head. They mocked Jesus some more. They spit on Jesus. They plucked the hair off his face. He’s rejected by His own people again after He’s beaten badly. They want Him dead.
He carries His cross but was so physically beaten he needed help.
Around 9:00 AM – Crucified
“And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.”
They put nails through his hands and feet. They nailed him to a wooden cross. He hung there for three hours until the world went dark.
Noon – Darkness Falls
“From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.” Three hours of darkness in the middle of the day.
Around 3:00 PM – Jesus Dies
He was hanging on the cross for about six hours until He died. He suffered there on the cross.
Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
And that’s where I want to stop for a little while. Jesus has a body, a spirit, and a soul that there on the cross. This is what happens when people die. He was made just like us. He felt the pain. He suffered through the pain.
Think of this. Jesus has a body. Jesus has a spirit. Jesus has a soul. What happens to his body, his spirit, and his soul right here at his death?
The spirit within is also called a ghost. Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are equal. Spirit is equal to ghost. When the spirit leaves the body, the body dies. Look closely at what Jesus says right there.
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
When the spirit leaves his body, his body dies. The life is in the blood. The physical blood of Jesus was shed for us. He lost his blood. He lost his life right there on the cross.
His spirit returned to the Father in heaven at death. His body was dead there on the cross. But what happened to his soul at the moment of death?
Acts 2:31
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
We know Jesus died, was buried, and arose from the dead. We must believe that Jesus died on the cross for all our sins, he was buried, and he arose from the dead to be saved. We must believe that. But now we’re going to increase our faith even further.
Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Hell is in the heart of the earth which is down there, and it’s way down there. Jesus said He would be there three days and three nights. We know His body wasn’t in hell. We know His spirit wasn’t in hell because he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” When someone dies, the spirit or the life goes back to the Father in heaven. That doesn’t mean the person goes to heaven. This simply means the spirit or life returns to God who gave it.
We know His body is dead on the cross. His spirit went to the Father. And his soul went to hell. The Bible clearly teaches this doctrine. I didn’t make it up. It’s written in the Bible in many different Scriptures.
Jonah 2:2
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Ephesians 4:9-10
(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
The soul of Jesus descended into hell just as He says in Matthew 12 and Acts 2. And your soul is who you are. His body was on the cross at His death, His spirit went to the Father in heaven, and His soul went to hell.
Now, what happened next? We know what happened to his body.
Jesus Is Buried Before Passover Sabbath Begins
“That day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.”
“…for that sabbath day was an high day…”
- Jesus is buried before the Passover begins (that same evening)
- Passover Sabbath starts at even — the night portion of the 14th
- Jesus is the Passover Lamb without sin and without leaven
Joseph of Arimathaea takes the body of Jesus from Pilate.
Jesus is now:
- Body in the tomb (Matt. 27:60)
- Soul in hell (Acts 2:31)
- Spirit with the Father (Luke 23:46)
Three Days And Three Nights
“As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly…”
Jesus was dead three days and three nights. Thursday, Thursday night, Friday, Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night. Jesus arose from the dead on Sunday morning—the first day of the week. And that is why we worship Jesus on the first day of the week, Sunday morning.
Jesus is our Sabbath. He is our rest. He says to come to me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. HE IS OUR REST.
This is what I want you to know today. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is deeper than you think.
First Day Of The Week — Jesus Rises
“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week…”
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning…”
- Jesus rises before sunrise
- His body is glorified and leaves the tomb
- His soul comes up out of hell (Acts 2:31)
- His Spirit is reunited
The Death, Burial, and Resurrection is Physical and Spiritual
Please hear this. You are spiritual because you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. His body physically died. His body was physically buried in a tomb beneath the earth. His body physically arose from the dead on the third day.
But, the death, burial, and resurrection is more than just His physical body. His spirit or life returned to the Father. Jesus died. His soul went to hell. His soul died. His soul was buried in hell.
Psalm 86:13
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
Jesus took the sins of the whole world onto Himself and was sent to the lowest hell. His body and soul died. His body and soul was buried. If you don’t believe me, please be here for the Sunday evening and Thursday night Bible studies. We will go over the Scriptures in great detail.
Many people want to make out His death, burial, and resurrection to only be physical. His death, burial, and resurrection is also spiritual. His body didn’t stay in the grave. His soul was not left in hell.
He arose from the dead. That’s not just a physical death but a spiritual death as well.
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus took the sins of the whole world onto Himself. Because of this, His body died. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Because of this, His soul was sent to hell.
He said, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?” Our sin killed the body of Jesus. Our sin sent His soul to hell. But thank God Jesus didn’t stay dead.
Revelation 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus not only conquered death, but He conquered hell as well. Complete death is equal to a dead body and a soul in hell. Jesus says, “I am he that liveth and was dead.” Body and soul. This should now give you a far deeper understanding of what Jesus Christ did for you.
Let’s pray.
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