What happened between the cross and the resurrection?
Jesus died a real death, was buried, and descended into the realm of the dead; and in that hidden interval He was already Lord. The tomb was the proof of a finished work, and the resurrection morning was its announcement: death itself no longer had the keys.
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
1
The work was finished on the cross
Jesus' last word from the cross was not defeat; it was completion: 'It is finished.' In the same hour the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, the earth shook, and the centurion confessed, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!' And to the thief beside Him came the immediate promise: 'Today you will be with me in Paradise.'
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
The earliest confession says it plainly: 'that he was buried.' Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the body down, wrapped it in linen with spices, and laid it in a new tomb. This was not an apparent death; the soldiers found Him already dead and did not break His legs, and the tomb was sealed and guarded. Whatever happened next, it began from a real grave.
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body. Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds. So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid. Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead;’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
Paul reasons from the ascension to the descent: 'He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens.' Peter preached at Pentecost that Christ's soul was not left in Hades. Between Friday and Sunday the crucified Lord was active where death reigns, and 1 Peter says He went and preached to the spirits in prison. The exact scope of that proclamation is debated, but the direction is unmistakable: Christ went into the realm of the dead, and He was not its prisoner.
Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison,
The risen Christ could say of that weekend: 'I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.' And Paul draws the conclusion for everyone who ever asked where death leads: 'To this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.' Between the cross and the resurrection, death did not win a victory; it met its master.
and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
Matthew records that at the death of Jesus the tombs were opened, and after His resurrection many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and appeared to many. The resurrection did not happen in spite of what came before; it was the firstfruits of the harvest for which everything before had been prepared. The cross to the tomb was the planting; Easter morning was the first harvest.
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many.
Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.