Did Jesus descend into hell?

The idea that Jesus descended into hell after his death on the cross comes from a document titled 'The Apostles Creed'. You have likely read it aloud before during a church service. Here is a Lutheran English translation:

The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

It is thought that the origins of the document are to the Apostles themselves. The idea is that this document summarized what the Apostles believed. And since the Apostles believed this, so should we.

And now, the rest of the story...

There are a number of reasons why we should be careful not to believe that Jesus descended into hell. First, is the appearance of this particular phrase 'He descended into hell.' It is not original. The first time it appears in this document, is in 390 (300+ years after the death of the apostles). And the second time it appears in a manuscript is in the year 650. So, if the Apostles Creed can be traced back to the Apostles, certainly the phrase in question was not part of their statement.

Second, we notice that the Apostles Creed is not part of the Bible. Those who decided which books were scripture and which books were not chose not to include this text. That doesn't mean the document isn't important. It can be a helpful summary of the beliefs of scripture if it correctly summarizes scripture. So does scripture teach that Jesus descended into hell?

Third 'it is finished' are famous words of scripture uttered by Christ on the cross. What is finished? The atonement. What Christ accomplishes dying on the cross as a sinless sacrifice we could not do. We would spend an eternity suffering and still not pay for our sins. Jesus' words 'it is finished' teach us that Jesus does not need to descend into hell and suffer some more because he is different than us - he is perfect. The point of the Bible studies I have been teaching recently are to show how the scriptures point continuously to the suffering and death on the cross to atone for sin. Nothing is mentioned about Jesus having to descend to hell to atone for sin. So if he isn't descending to hell to atone for sin, what is he doing there? Jesus came to suffer a vicarious death not for his sake, but for ours.