Jesus' descent into hell is often misunderstood by Christians. When people hear the word "hell," they immediately think of suffering. When they hear of the descent into hell, they think that Jesus went there to suffer. But He certainly didn't do this to suffer. Peter tells us what happened:
1 Peter 3:18-19 (NKJV) 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 by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.
Jesus preached to the spirits in prison in order to proclaim His complete and perfect victory over
Satan and all the powers of evil. The descent into hell is a proclamation of our salvation. Theologians have written about this with many words. But Johnny Hart, in his comic strip B.C., explains it so simply that anyone can understand it:
