What Really Happened When Christ Was On the Cross and When He Was Buried?

The only sign that the Lord Jesus gave to the Jews was the sign of Jonah (see Matt. 12:38-41). Christ’s death, His burial, and His resurrection are the greatest sign that we as Christians can tell others about – they are the greatest miracle.

The Bible actually displays a step-by-step movie of what happened when Christ was hanging on the cross, when He died, when He was buried, and when He was resurrected.

Today I was impressed with this film, this movie – scene by scene of what Christ did when He was dying on the cross and when He was buried!

Christ destroyed the devil, stripped off the evil angelic rules and authorities, made a display of them openly, and led them into a triumphant procession! Even when He was buried and was in Hades, Christ proclaimed His victory to the evil spirits imprisoned there. Wow…

Step By Step Movie of What Happened At The Cross

We can never imagine the pain, the suffering, and the shame the Lord Jesus endured as a man on the cross, and there are several chapters in the Bible that describe this.

But on the other hand, we can see a scene by scene – step by step – movie of what Christ did in relation to Satan and his kingdom when He was on the cross.

Just as there is, The Ammunition Hill Museum in Israel, where you can see the scene-by-scene movie/remaking of the 6-day war – where the Israelites defeated the much more superior armies and regained Jerusalem – so the Bible has many portions where we can see what happened at the cross when Christ was buried, and in Christ’s resurrection scene by scene, step by step.

Christ Stripped Them Off and Made a Display of Them Openly!

According to Col. 2:15, Christ caused the rules and the authorities of Satan to be stripped off, to be made a display of openly, and to be triumphed over in the cross by God.

When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, all the evil angelic beings and the authorities were around Him like flies, hanging on to Him to put Him to death. But He simply stripped them off, putting them off as you would put off a jacket.

Christ simply disengaged them, neutralized them, dislodged them, and disarmed them! And then, He made a display openly of them!

Christ stripped off all the authorities and rulers and took them on a triumphant procession! The enemy and his armies were cut off little by little until Satan was fully destroyed!

Satan and his armies, with all the evil angelic powers, were stripped off by the Lord and they were made a public display – He made a show of them openly – and then Christ took them into a triumphant procession!

The Effectiveness of the Lord’s Devil-Destroying Crucifixion

In Matthew 27:51-53 we see many physical pieces of evidence of the Lord’s devil-destroying crucifixion. When Christ was crucified, many things happened outwardly which have a deeper spiritual significance.

• The Veil in the Temple Was Rent From Top to Bottom – the eternal universal separation between God and man has been abolished, torn apart, and removed! Christ took on the likeness of the flesh of sin (which is the veil) and crucified it, terminating it (Heb. 10:20; Rom. 8:3), opening a new and living way for man to come into God!
• The Earth Was Shaken – the base of Satan’s rebellion, the place where Satan still has his kingdom, was shaken! When Christ said on the cross, IT IS DONE! there was not only a physical earthquake but also a spiritual earthquake, where Satan’s base of rebellion was shaken!
• The Rocks Were Split – the stronghold of Satan’s earthly kingdom were split and broken once for all! This is a fact, and when we go to preach the gospel, we need to tell people that Satan is defeated, the kingdom of the enemy is gone! When people hear this, when the enemy hears the truth, he is defeated and the people are released to believe into God!
• The Tombs Were Opened – the power of death and Hades was conquered and subdued! Through His death on the cross Christ “stormed into Hades” and broke its power, shaking its authority and its grip, and He took the keys of death and Hades with Himself when He left the tomb!
• Many Bodies of the Saints Who Died were Raised – this shows that in His death on the cross Christ not only terminated and dealt with Satan and his power, but He also released life into the saints that were dead. What happened between the time they were raised and the time the Lord resurrected (when they got out of their tombs and walked into the city) we don’t know, but the Bible says that life came into them! Wow… When Christ died, the gates of Hades were so shaken up and cut off that some those who were inside Hades escaped and came out! When He died, He shook off the gates and shattered the bars, and some escaped. Wow, what a death!

What Did Christ Do As He Was Buried for 3 Days?

For all of us, when we die, that’s it! People don’t even want to talk about others’ death, and the burial is many times very sad. Worst of all, once someone is dead and buried, it’s all gone – that person is gone, and that’s it!

But when Christ died, He destroyed him who has the might of death, stripped his authorities and rulers, made a display of them openly, and He shook the gates of Hades!

Have you ever wondered, what happened when He was buried? Was there a “blackout” or “a great pause” for 3 whole days?

If we read the Bible and the writings of the saints who opened up this matter we will see that Acts 2 says clearly, the Lord’s flesh was at rest, His spirit was rejoicing, and His heart was exulting. He had the Lord before Himself continually!

Christ took a tour of Hades for 3 days and 3 nights. In Jonah 2 we see that Hades is in the depth, the heart of the sea (v.2) – also in Matt 12 and Eph. 4:9.

This place is not a nice place, but a place of judgement, where floods surround you, water encompasses the soul, and seaweeds are wrapped around the head… But as Psalm 16 prophesies, Christ’s spirit, His glory, His tongue, exulted!

What did He do? He called on God! He turned to God! He remembered Jehovah! He offered sacrifice with a voice of thanksgiving! He consecrated Himself to God (see Psa. 16 and Jonah 2).

Christ Was Not Idle in Hades

Even though we cannot humanly understand what death is and what Hades means, the Bible gives us hints here and there of what happened when the Lord died on the cross and when He was in Hades for 3 days.

While He was on the cross, on the one hand, Christ was being put to death, and at the same time, He was made alive in Spirit (see 1 Pet. 3:18). His death triggered off His being made alive!

Christ’s flesh was dying, and His Spirit (the essence of His divinity) was being made alive! In His burial, while being in Hades, Christ went and proclaimed the gospel to the spirits in prison in Hades (1 Pet. 3:19).

He didn’t proclaim the glad tidings but His victory and His triumph over Satan! He preached to the spirits in rebellion and the fallen angels who formerly disobeyed!

Christ was not idle while in Hades – He was the first gospel preacher, the announcer of the glad tidings, even before He resurrected! Hallelujah!

Lord, we praise You for Your death and Your burial! What a death! You tore the veil, You shook the base of Satan’s rebellion, and You broke the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom! Praise You for Your accomplishments in Your crucifixion! Your death destroyed the devil, stripped his rulers from their power, and made a display of them openly! Lord, cause us to see and appreciate Your death and burial more! We praise You for all You have done!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from brother A. Yu’s sharing in this message and portions in, Life-study of 1 Peter (msg. 24), and Life-study of Matthew (pages 812-813), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of the Minor Prophets, week 8 (entitled, The Greater Jonah).
• Further reading: Matt 27:51-53 with footnotes, Col. 2:15 and notes, 1 Pet. 3:18-19 and notes;
• Hymns on this topic:
  # On Calvary’s brow my Savior died / ‘Twas there my Lord was crucified;
  # Jesus from the tomb has come, / Death to Him could do no harm;
  # O Golgotha! Good Golgotha! / My Lord was slain for me; / His precious blood in mercy flowed / That I from sins be free.
• Picture credit: road over mountains wallpaper.