The Sin of Achan

Israel just conquered Jericho in a military campaign when they crossed the Jordan River. They were instructed by Joshua not to take in any of the accursed things from Jericho for it was appointed for destruction (Joshua 6:18). One of the soldiers named Achan decided to disobey the Lord's command and steal a little spoil for himself which provoked the Lord to anger against Israel (Joshua 7:2). The result of this blatant disobedience is that Israel was defeated by men in a town by the name of Ai. Even worse, about thirty-six men were killed in battle as the troops fled from their much smaller foes. 

Joshua and all the leaders tore their clothes (in distress) and fell on their face before the Lord. Joshua inquired of the Lord as to why this happened to them. Joshua is afraid that all of their enemies will hear how they were defeated and wipe them out. Joshua asks the Lord, "What will you do for your great name (Joshua 7:9)?" The Lord told Joshua to get up! Israel has sinned by taking those things that were accursed. God was so angry that He told Joshua that I will not be with you anymore unless  you destroy the things under the ban from your midst (Joshua 7:12). 

The next day it is discovered that Achan is the perpetrator. He admits to stealing a Babylonian coat, a gold bar and some silver. The gold and silver was supposed to be for the Lord's treasury. The tragic result of Achan's sin is that he and his family are stoned to death and cremated (Joshua 7:25-26).

Some perhaps many will read this story and wonder if God's judgment on Achan was too severe. After all he did confess his sin. Why did he and his family have to die? I want to analyze a few things.

1. Achan disobeyed a direct command from the Lord through Joshua - 7:1

2.He stole from the Lord; the silver, gold, that was for the Lord's treasury - 7:21

3.His disobedience led to the death of about thirty-six innocent soldiers when they were defeated and fled in the battle at Ai. This defeat also caused the people hearts to melt with fear. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) - 7:5

4. Achan was never going to confess his sin until he was confronted about it. Meaning had he got away with it, he would not have said anything at all - 7:21

5. Achan's disobedience got he and his family killed - 7:25-26

Fortunately for the nation Israel  God revealed who the traitor was. It was the only way God would turn away His anger and fight for them again. Afterward, they were able to defeat the city of Ai (Joshua 8). But they had to remove the sin first.

We clearly see how one person's sin can be the ruin of so many others. Although one man committed the sin, God was angry with the entire nation. Why? Because God was in covenant relationship to them all. One man's sin broke that covenant which brought about defeat, fear, death of about thirty-six innocent soldiers and ultimately Achan's death along with his family who some commentators believe were complicit in Achan's rebellion.

The Tale of Two Sons - Repentance vs. Righteousness

I

n the gospel of Luke Jesus teaches three parables. Parables is one of the main teaching methods of Jesus. The word parable comes from the Greek word parabolē. It means to place things side by side for the purpose of comparison. So, when Jesus spoke in parables he was creating stories using natural things like seeds, people, talents, kings, etc to convey a spiritual truth about the kingdom of God. His most personal parable is the one of what is commonly called The Parable of the Prodigal Son. There are three main characters in the parable. The writer will identify who the characters represent. Before I do that, I need to present the entire chapter of  Luke 15.

           

 

The Lost Sheep

 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[c]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The audience present were the lowlifes of society, tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, adulterers. The Pharisees and Scribes, the aristocracy of the day were appalled that Jesus who was a Rabbi would associate with people of such low degree. The final parable in this chapter is the one that is by far the most compelling.

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. ¹⁷ But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

For those that were Jesus’ live audience, this parable was very vivid. But for us in this western culture, this story Is very remote.  The main issue believe it or not is not the prodigal son, but rather the main issue in this parable along with the previous two is the joy heaven experiences when one sinner repents. The younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners. The Father represents Christ. The older son represents the Scribes and Pharisees.

For the younger son to demand his inheritance while is father was still alive was extremely disrespectful and proved he had no love or regard for his father. In essence what he saying when he demanded his inheritance was, “dad I wish you were dead!” Because he was young, impatient and foolish, he wanted to take his assets and “live the good life” now. Surprisingly, his father granted his younger son’s request. Under normal circumstances a father would have at very least rejected his son’s stupid request and beat his son for his insolence.

In civil law this arrangement is known as usufruct; that means a person can profit from the property of someone else. The son enjoyed some of the benefits of the estate without owning it yet. The son goes far away and wastes his wealth with prodigal (extravagant, wasteful) living. After his money runs out, there arose a famine in that land so the lost son who was now in desperate need attached himself to a citizen of that land. The citizen sent to him to feed pigs which was the most humiliating position a Hebrew could be in. Pigs were despicable unclean animals according to Jewish law ( Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8). No one was willing to help him. It became so bad for him that he got to the point that he would have been happy to eat pig’s food.

Once he came to his senses, he realized that his father’s servants had plenty of food to eat and  he was starving to death so he decided he would return to his father, repent of his sins, implore his father’s forgiveness and ask to be one of his father’s hired servants. He was certain that he was no longer worthy to be called a son. When he returns home, his father ran to meet him, embrace him although he was a mal-nourished pig foul smelling mess. Before the son could completely confess his sins to his father, the father commanded that a robe be placed on him, put shoes on his feet, and a ring on his finger, “Let’s kill the fatted calf and have a party. My son was as dead has returned to me alive!”  

When the firstborn realizes what the music and dancing is for, he refuses to go in to celebrate. He is furious that his father is rejoicing over the fact that his brother has returned safe and sound. The father explains to the firstborn that all I own is yours and it is right that we celebrate the return of your brother. Why? Because he is back from the dead.

What do we learn from this parable? That God loves sinners and desires they repent. When they do, heaven rejoices. Once again, the prodigal in this parable are the tax collectors and sinners the pharisees and scribes hated because they are the lowlifes of society. The Father represents Jesus, the one who forgives penitent broken sinners and saves them. The older son represents the religious leaders who insist that strict adherence to the law – meritorious works would justify them in the sight of God.

In comparing the two sons, neither had love for their father. The Prodigal was stupid in the beginning but had to realize through living his own life his way, he fell down miserably. Fortunately, he had sense enough to realize that under the care and provision of his father all was well. He did not see that at first because he thought he knew better than his father and perhaps thought his father was preventing him from living “the good life.” Everything he needed was at home. He realized that once he returned home. His father ran to him in all his filth, hugged and kissed him repeatedly and immediately returned him to sonship. The son was as good as dead because of sins, was now made alive again because he returned home (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). The prodigal was exalted because he knew he was wrong, confessed his sins so that he could be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Now, let’s look at the firstborn son.

The firstborn was self-righteous and proud. Once he learned that his brother returned, he was angry. Truth be told, he would have been happy had his brother died and never returned. He hated his brother and his father. He hated his brother because he squandered his father’s wealth with prostitutes. Also, he obviously did not want his brother to ever to return. As a matter of fact, he never acknowledged his brother. He referred to his brother, as “this son of yours” to his father when he was arguing with him (Luke 15:30). Remember the firstborn represents the religious leaders who thought they were elite and better than the tax collectors and prostitutes. The idea that Jesus would eat and associate with them was disgusting to them. Remember what Jesus in Matthew 9:12b-13, “They that are whole do not need a physician, but they that are sick. But go and learn what this means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

These verses carry a lot weight. They explain it all. The religious leaders were so hung up on keeping their version of the law, that it made them legalistic. They neglected mercy which God prefers over sacrifice. When people did not measure up in their eyes to their law requirements, they were outcast as hopeless sinners. Their self-righteousness deeds were more important than extending mercy to the tax collectors and other vile sinners. When Jesus showed the lowlifes this love and compassion that the religious elite were never willing to provide, this made Him public enemy number one. Associating with sinners of this sort was beneath the Pharisees and Scribes.

This was the same mindset of the older son. The fact that his father received his brother back repulsed him. Remember the older son’s acrimonious reply to his father: Look! Notice how he shows disrespect to his father by not even addressing him as father: these many years do I serve you and have never neglected a command of yours, and yet you have never given me a young goat so that I may celebrate with my friends (Luke 15:29-30a).

You see, the older son did not stay with his father because he loved him. He like the younger son wanted his inheritance now and tried to make his father feel guilty assuming he was being treated less loving than his prodigal brother.

The older son no doubt for a very long time had this internal seething hatred for his father. This party for his younger brother was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for him, so he decided to unload his frustration on his father.

The writer will submit to the reader that the older son was more wicked than his brother. How? Because of the fact that the older son refused to share in his father’s joy; the joy that his dead son returned home alive. Like the religious leaders the first born felt his faithful service should have given him preferential treatment over his brother who squandered his father’s wealth. In the legalists mind sacrifice is greater than genuine repentance. Keep in mind, materially speaking the older son would receive a double portion of his father’s estate because he was the firstborn, the beginning of his father’s strength (Deuteronomy 21:17). The division of their father’s wealth would not get split evenly. The firstborn would receive two thirds and his prodigal brother one third. At the time of the party – that was not for him, his future financial advantage did not matter. The elder hated the idea that his father was loving his wayward brother who he refused to claim. The younger son was a dirty, smelly rotten sinner who did not deserve the kind treatment he was receiving. The elder believed he deserved a party because he was good and never disobeyed his father’s commands (Luke 15:29a). As a matter of fact, in his eyes he was better than his brother (Luke 15:30).

This is the same mentality the religious leaders have toward tax collectors and prostitutes.

The elder son missed the entire point his father was trying to convey to him. The celebration party was not for no reason at all. The celebration was for rebirth, for the life of a son who in a sense died when he was gone, but now alive because he returned. He was lost but now he is found! If that is not a reason to rejoice and shout, then I do not know what is.

In the final analysis, the prodigal returned home justified by his father because he repented of his sins. Heaven and earth must rejoice when one sinner repents. Based on the abrupt ending of the parable the elder son remained impenitent toward his father and brother.

Because of the way Jesus ends this parable we do not know for certain what the elder son did after the conversation with his father. But if we follow this story to a logical conclusion, the elder son who represents the religious elite would have either conspired to have his father killed or killed him himself. Remember, it was the religious leaders who had Jesus killed.

The faith of a Prostitute

Joshua sends out two spies in the second chapter of the book of Joshua to travel to Jericho. They encounter a prostitute named Rahab. Word gets out to the king of Jericho that Israelites are in the land so he sends men to capture them; Rahab hide the men on her roof. When the pursuers inquire if the men had come to her. she lies and tells them they were here, but they left. Pursue them out of the city gate so that you can find them (Joshua 2:1-7).

Rahab goes to tell the Israelite spies that she knows that the Lord has given them the land and all of Jericho is in great fear because of them (Joshua 2:9). She goes on to declare that we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above on the earth beneath (vs 10-11).

I want to point out that this woman is a pagan. On top of that she is a hooker! So she is a no doubt a lowlife in society. But what is commendable about her is her faith in God. How did this faith develop? 1) She travels back in time and recounts when God delivered His people the Hebrews out of Egypt during the time of Moses during the Exodus. The Exodus from her time was 40 years ago. Although she was not an eyewitness, she no doubt believed in the word of the Lord. Romans 10:17 tells us, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." 2) She responded with reverence and fear for God. 3) She asked the spies to protect her and her family when they conquer Jericho since she treated them with kindness by hiding them and lying to their pursuers about their whereabouts. It is important that I point this out: although God generally hates lying, I believe out of fear for the God of Israel Rahab deceived the spies' pursuers so that God through the spies she concealed would deal favorably with her and save her family. For her righteous defiance of the authorities and faith in God who were the Lord's enemies, God would extend grace to her and her family.  Rahab believed she was under no obligation to reveal to the police the spies true whereabouts knowing that Jericho was facing divine judgment. Her fidelity was to God, not to them, or the king of Jericho. After the pursuers left, Rahab let them escape through her window by a rope (Joshua 2:15).

Because of Rahab's faith, she is mentioned in Hebrews 11:31, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along those who were disobedient (italics mine), after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

Also in James 2:25 Rahab is commended by her genuine faith accompanied with works when she received the spies and refused to turn them in to the authorities, but hid them and sent them out another way,

When Israel conquered Jericho Joshua told the two spies (their names are never given), "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her." So the young men who were spies went in and brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put in the treasury of the house of the Lord. However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho (Joshua 6:22-25).

 Rahab's legacy is that she is a physical ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Praise God for Rahab. Her faith in God saved her and her family (Luke 7:50).

Examining Deuteronomy 32

Deuteronomy 32 is called the Song Of Moses. This chapter discusses for Israel who God is; Creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the one that provided all their needs and fought all their battles. Because He (The Lord) loved them, He gave them the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey to possess it. Moses describes God's faithfulness against Israel's unfaithfulness. This song recounting Israel's past, present and future according to the time it was written by Moses around 1400 B.C. right before he died. Let's take a look at some passages to see what we can glean from them.

The past and present - Moses begins by commanding the whole earth to listen to his words for they are like rain that waters the earth. Dew upon the grass, and fresh rain drops on the grass (vs 1-2). Moses is commanding all to acknowledge the Lord and give Him praise because all His ways are righteous and true. There is never injustice with God (vs 3-4)! Despite God's faithfulness to His people, they have been unfaithful to Him - serving false gods and thus provoking the Lord to anger and retribution on them for their sins (vs 5-17). 

The future (according to the time of Moses) - Moses declares that foreigners will prevail against Israel and overtake them because of their hatred of the Lord. Anyone who does not faithfully obey the Lord hates Him (John 14:15). As a result, God must judge them severely bringing evil and misfortune against them - teach them harsh lessons for their disobedience. Israel's enemies will become arrogant and believe their own power has defeated Israel. This attitude will provoke the Lord against Israel's enemies. Once God sees that Israel has been humbled because they will have no more strength to rebel or fight, the Lord will fight for them and rescue them from their enemies (vs 18-38).

verse is 39, "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god beside Me. It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is none that can deliver from My hand."

This verse speaks obviously to the omnipotence of God Almighty. God will avenge Himself against all His enemies - those that hate Him. God is indeed a jealous God. For those that defy Him will utterly regret it.

Moses read these words in front of the entire congregation of Israel. He told them to take heed to all these words and teach them to your children. Why? So that later generations will learn to obey the words of the Lord. Moses declared to them that the words he spoke are not idle words, but they are LIFE WORDS (Proverbs 18:21). God is the of author life and the words He speaks generate life - life everlasting. This was the song Moses gave to the people before his death. They are a loving warning to the children of Israel and by extension a loving sober warning to all people.

In the final analysis the equation is simple: God is good to us and we have to be good to Him. That is the only way our lives will be fulfilled with blessing. A good life is never free from trouble and heartache, but a life that is in Jesus Christ is the richest most fulfilling life one can have. What can be better to know that the Lord loved you enough to suffer and die in your place for sins and bring you into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13)?

The great faith of the criminal on the cross

One of the criminals crucified with Christ to me is one of the most admirable people I have never met. Why? Because of his character. I want to take a few moments to carefully analyze his words. 1. He rebuked the other criminal for his insolence of the Lord and admitted that they were guilty and justly condemned for their crimes

When the other criminal demanded that Jesus save him because he wanted a get-out-of-hell-free-card, the contrite rightly rebuked telling him, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Rarely do we hear people taking responsibility for their sins. This shows tremendous character on the part of this justly condemned. I used the word sins on purpose because our society looks at it as an antiquated word that it would love to totally dismiss from our vocabulary forever. The problem that most do not realize is that sin is an infectious disease of the soul that most of the world will die from - not only physically, but eternally. Sin is worse than any disease that man has ever suffered and died from. Fortunately there is an only cure. Believing in what Christ did for your sins when he died on the cross - that his blood washed them away forever. 2. The criminal knew Jesus would rise from the dead

The reason why we know this is because he asked Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom (Luke 23:42). It would not have made any sense for him to ask Jesus about His kingdom unless He was going to rise from the dead. Dead men have no kingdoms! This was exhibiting tremendous faith by the criminal who knew he deserved to go straight to hell for his crimes. Jesus dying in agony having love and compassion for this man said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). What this means is that Jesus saved this man on the spot. Why? 1) He knew he deserved to die for a life of rebellion against God and man. 2) He cried for mercy from the Lord which tells the writer that He knew Christ was the only one who could forgive him which is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ power to pardon his sins. 3) This evil man believed in the power of resurrection which demonstrates his great faith - something not even the disciples believed initially when the women declared to them that Jesus was alive on the third day (Luke 24:10-11). I praise God that this account appears in scripture. We learn how all people should respond when they face the Lord Jesus Christ. The lesson comes from the most unlikeliest of sources - a condemned penitent criminal. We must defend the Lord’s honor by those who disrespect Him. Admit that we are being justly condemned for our sins. Beg for mercy from the Lord to save us and remember us when He comes in His kingdom.

The Importance of Godly Repentance

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish."    

                                  

                                                                                                                                    - Luke 13:1-6

Jesus was making the point that just because some die tragically and others do not, does not mean the deceased are worse than those who remain alive. The point Jesus is driving home is repentance. I brought this matter up because of the Coronavirus pandemic we are dealing with worldwide. As of this writing, 2,320,316 infected cases have been reported worldwide, 589,573 recoveries, and 158,781 deaths. 733,367 infected cases are in the US which make up 31.6% of all global cases provided the statistics are true.

Whether one is faithful church attendee, a volunteer at a homeless shelter or look after the sick and elderly in a nursing home, does not mean you go to heaven when you die. Many people believe their "righteous deeds" will earn them a trip to glory, no (Ephesians 2:8-9). While those things are humanly admirable and kind, unless one genuinely repents of their sins, they will perish (in hell). One CANNOT use their works as means to get right with God. It is an affront to God for one to assume that God must receive them into His heaven because they think they are good enough.

In Proverbs 15:8 we read,"the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the righteous is His delight." Proverbs 21:27 says, "the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, how much more when he brings it with evil intent?"

God is disgusted with the deeds of evil men because it does not proceed from a humble heart that is interested in giving God glory. Works righteousness are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Jesus was loving His audience (and by extension us in the present age) by warning them of the extreme importance of not having mis-perception about the death of others. In other words, no one is better than anyone else essentially. Why? Because we are all sinners and objects of God's holy wrath until we repent. We MUST feel the same way about our sin as God does - we must hate it! We should be guilty about it and sorrowful. We shouldn't just say, "Oh my bad!" As if our sin is no big deal since everyone sins. We need to understand that when we sin we offend the Lord Almighty which is the greatest offense of all (Psalm 51:4). That is why John said we are to confess our sins so that God can forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). 

In 2 Corinthians 2 Paul urged the members at the church of Corinth to repent. Paul had visited them and it did not go well. He in turn wrote them a letter which he had delivered to them by the hand of Titus (known historically as the severe letter) expressing his heart which caused the church sorrow. In the letter Paul was urging the Corinthians to repent which Titus reported that they did which was a joy to Titus and Paul (2 Corinthians 7:6-7). Although Paul was discouraged by the Corinthians, he had confidence that they would do the right thing - exhibit the the right attitude and receive Titus. Titus gave Paul the report that they had received him with love, and that they also expressed their love for Paul which no doubt invigorated Paul's heart (2 Corinthians 7:7). The aim of Paul was to produce godly sorrow in them for the purpose of repenting - not ungodly sorrow that leads only to ongoing impenitence and a hopeless death. Godly sorrow that leads to repentance and life is far better than the joy of the wicked which leads to death.

Genuine sorrow for sin will always result in a penitent, contrite heart that longs for God to forgive their wickedness and save them from His just wrath. That is the point that Jesus was addressing in Luke 13:1-6. All must repent or you will ultimately perish, forever separated from God.

Did Jesus preach the Gospel to the spirits in prison?

In 1 Peter 3:18-20 we read these words, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who were formerly disobedient, when once the Divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls were saved through water” (NKJV).

The phrase He went and preached to the spirits in prison, is a subject of debate. Some, perhaps many that are aware of this account in the church believe this means Jesus between His death and resurrection went to an area in the underworld called paradise and preached the gospel to Old Testament saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel, Isaiah, etc. Jesus had to reveal to them that He was the Messiah they must believe in order to receive salvation so they could be taken to heaven when he led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8).

The word preached in 1 Peter 3:19 is the Greek word kerusso. It means to proclaim or herald. It seems strange to me that OT saints’ spirits would be in prison in the underworld for Jesus to have to release. Jesus proclaimed victory over the rulers of darkness when He died on the cross. The spirits that are bound in prison are evil angels and demonic spirits, not the spirits of OT saints. These are the evil spirits that scholars believe (and I) are those spirits that did not keep their estate or original abode (Gen 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). Remember there were angels in Genesis 6 that co-habited with women and produced a hybrid offspring – giants some believe. This was prohibited by God. As a result of their sin, God cast them down to Hell – (Greek word Tartarus) in chains and of darkness to await judgment (2 Peter 2:4).

What does the phrase He led captivity captive mean?

In Ephesians 4:8-9 we read the following, “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying He ascended, what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”

A common interpretation of these two verses is that Jesus went into Hades or Hell – the non-tormented part and led the OT saints out of captivity from their “prisons” and took them to heaven. Since they had not heard the gospel and Jesus hadn’t died yet, in order for them to be released, they had to believe in Jesus first, then He would take their spirits to heaven. This of course they believed happened between His death and resurrection. I see no proof of that account in scripture.

Where many get tripped up is when reading the phrase, “He descended in the lower regions of the earth. The word lower is the Greek word katōteros. In context the apostle Paul is making reference to two things. 1) Jesus descended from heaven to earth in His incarnation. 2) Jesus death and His resurrection from the dead.  The second reason is most likely more accepted than the first.

Now, the meaning of He (Jesus) leading captivity captive is making reference to delivering all of us who were captives and prisoners of sin. Jesus has freed us from the sin slavery market. Jesus was victorious over His archenemy Satan and his demonic host. Jesus crushed the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15). If one insists on the more popular view, then you have to believe that only the OT saints were captive to sin which is of course is not true. The Bible declares to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So as soon as a believer dies, they are in the presence of the Lord – that would include OT saints (2 Corinthians 5:8). We see a clear example of this when Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:2; Mark 9:2).

So, the preaching mentioned in the 1 Peter 3:19 is not evangelism to OT saints.

When they died their spirits immediately went to heaven because they were already redeemed. Remember what Genesis 15:6 declares, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Meaning when Abraham took God at His word, the Lord justified him on the spot. His spirit did not have to go the underworld and wait 2,000 years later for Jesus as a spirit preach the gospel to him so he could believe. When Abraham walked the earth he already was a believer in God because the gospel had already been preached to him (Galatians 3:4).

Jesus’ preaching in 1 Peter 3:19 was a proclamation of victory over the forces of darkness bound in the blackness of hell for their sin. Colossians 2:15 declares that He defeated them openly, triumphing over them in it. Jesus publicly defeated and embarrassed them when He died on the cross. Jesus’ human humiliation was also His greatest triumph by crushing Satan and liberating all His captives.