Lutheran View on Jesus' Descent into Abraham's Bosom
The Lutheran understanding of Jesus' descent into Abraham's bosom is closely tied to their broader Christology and their interpretation of the intermediate state between death and resurrection. While the phrase "Abraham's bosom" itself originates from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:22-23 [1], its theological implications for Christ's post-death activity are distinct in Lutheran thought compared to other traditions.
In the parable, Abraham's bosom is depicted as a place of comfort and rest for the righteous dead, contrasting with the torment experienced by the unrighteous [1, 2]. Early Church Fathers like Tertullian and Augustine discussed this concept, with Augustine noting that it was "agreed by almost the entire Church that the Lord loosed him [Adam] from that prison" [4]. He also clarified that Abraham's bosom was not a corporeal place that could literally hold many bodies, but rather a state of repose [9]. Thomas Aquinas, a scholastic theologian, connected Abraham's bosom with the "limbo of hell," defining it as a place of rest for souls who died in faith before Christ's coming, particularly those who followed Abraham's example of faith [6].
Lutheran theology, however, emphasizes Christ's descent into hell as a triumphant act, not merely a passive journey to a holding place. While the Apostles' one tradition states that Christ "descended into hell," the precise meaning of this phrase has been a point of theological discussion. For Lutherans, this descent is understood as Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil, proclaiming His triumph to the spirits in Hades [7]. This is distinct from the idea of Christ suffering in hell or merely visiting a place of the righteous dead.
The Lutheran perspective on the efficacy of sacraments also highlights a difference from Reformed theology, with Lutherans holding that sacraments possess an inherent power, independent of the recipient's faith, though faith is necessary for their saving effect [3]. This emphasis on the objective power of Christ's work extends to His descent.
Regarding the Lord's Supper, Lutherans believe in the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the elements, a doctrine Luther himself strongly affirmed, stating that "the bread in the Lord’s Supper is the body of Christ" [5]. This contrasts with interpretations that view the presence as purely spiritual or symbolic [8]. While this specific doctrine doesn't directly address Abraham's bosom, it underscores the Lutheran commitment to a literal understanding of Christ's physical actions and presence in theological matters.
Therefore, while "Abraham's bosom" in the parable signifies a state of blessed repose for the righteous dead before Christ's advent, the Lutheran understanding of Christ's descent into hell focuses on His active proclamation of victory, rather than merely entering a waiting area for the Old Testament saints. This triumphant descent is seen as a crucial aspect of Christ's completed work of redemption.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Abraham's bosom — (Luke 16:22, 23) refers to the custom of reclining on couches at table, which was prevalent among the Jews, an arrangement which brought the head of one person almost into the bosom of the one who sat or reclined above him. To "be in Abraham's bosom" thus meant to enjoy happiness and rest (Matt. 8:11; Luke 16:23) at the banquet in Paradise. (See [8]banquet; [9]MEALS.)”
- Luke “Elevans autem oculos suos, cum esset in tormentis, vidit Abraham a longe, et Lazarum in sinu ejus : -- Luke 16:23”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 57: doctrine of Lutherans in regard to the efficacy of the sacraments is one in which they differ from the Reformed, and as Guerike, himself a strenuous Lutheran, correctly says, approximate to the Romanists. They hold that the efficacy of the sacraments is due to their own inherent virtue or power; a power independent, on the one hand, of the attendant influences of the Spirit ( extrinsecus accidens ), and, on the other hand, of the faith of the recipient. Faith, indeed, is necessary to any saving or sanctifying effect, but that is only a su”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. III. 6. As to the first man, the father of mankind, it is agreed by almost the entire Church that the Lord loosed him from that prison; a tenet which must be believed to have been accepted not w (part 1): 517 ham, into whose bosom also the pious beggar in the parable was received, can be understood to have been in these pains; those who are able can perhaps explain this. But I suppose every one must see it to be absurd to imagine that only two, namely, Abraham and Lazarus, were in that bosom of wondrous repose before the Lord descended into”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 71: taken and broken; and therefore it was the bread which He affirmed was, either literally or figuratively, his body. Lutherans themselves cannot avoid saying and admitting that the bread in the Lord’s Supper is the body of Christ. Thus Luther ( Larger Catechism , v. 12, 13; Hase, Libri Symbolici , p. 554) tells his catechumen to say, “Though infinite myriads of devils and all fanatics should impudently demand, How bread and wine can be the body and blood of Christ? I know that all spirits and all learned men put together have not as much i”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of Matters Concerning the Resurrection, and First of the Place Where Souls Are after Death, Art. 4: Article: Whether the limbo of hell is the same as Abraham's bosom? I answer that, After death men's souls cannot find rest save by the merit of faith, because "he that cometh to God must believe" (Heb. 11:6). Now the first example of faith was given to men in the person of Abraham, who was the first to sever himself from the body of unbelievers, and to receive a special sign of faith: for which reason "the place of rest given to men after dea”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 130: p. 570. The majority of modern interpreters adopt the old interpretation. Bretschneider 469 469 Bretschneider, Dogmatik, 3d edit., Leipzig, 1828, vol. ii. p. 219. expresses the sense of the passage thus: “As God once through Noah exhorted men to repentance, and threatened to bring upon them the flood, as a punishment, so Jesus preached redemption, or announced the completion of the work of atonement, to the souls of men in Hades.” According to others the souls to whom Christ preached were those who in the days of Noah had rejected the of”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 71: faith of both Churches. But under the Old Testament there could be no other eating of the flesh of Christ, than believing on Him as the passover, or, lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. (4.) Any corporal eating of the flesh of Christ’s body and drinking of his blood, as He sat at table with his disciples, would seem to be inconceivable. (5.) Our Lord Himself, in opposition to the sense put upon his words by the people of Capernaum, said: “It 669 is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I s”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 24.--ABRAHAM'S BOSOM--WHAT IT MEANS.: As to your supposing that "the Abraham's bosom referred to is corporeal," and your further assertion, that "by it is meant his whole body," I fear that you must be regarded (even in such a subject) as trying to joke and raise a laugh, instead of acting gravely and seriously. For you could not else be so foolish as to think that the material bosom of one person could receive so many souls; nay, to use your own words, "bear the bodies of as many meritorious men as the angels carry thither, as they did Lazarus." ”