Was Jesus crucified in the third hour or the sixth hour? Mark 15:25 (cf. John 19:14)
Even Luke's account includes this difference: Mark 15:25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him. Luke 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. English Standard Version of John 19:14-- Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
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Asked December 27 2021
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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John Appelt
Supporter
The details of the crucifixion of Jesus are recorded in different ways. One basic difference to note is that John uses a different reckoning of time. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke use Jewish time, John always uses Roman time. The difference between them is how they count the hours. Matthew, Mark, and Luke figure the hours from sunrise, but John counts the hours from either midnight or midday. Noting how John figures time will clarify some passages. In John 1:39, a couple of disciples meet Jesus at about the tenth hour. Roman time of 10 a.m. makes more sense than 4 p.m. Jewish time because the two disciples remained with Him that day, suggesting an earlier time. In John 4:6, Jesus and His disciples come to the well where a Samaritan woman was drawing water at the sixth hour. Most commentators see the ‘sixth hour’ as noon Jewish time. But the full heat of the day was not the time people went for water even if a woman was disreputable. Genesis 24:11 indicates the custom to draw water was in the evening. The Roman time of 6 p.m. would be better. As the distance is about 40 miles and perhaps traveling 20 miles in a day, Jesus and His disciples would have arrived at the end of the second days’ journey. This explains Jesus being weary and the disciples going to find food. When the nobleman (John 4) begged the Lord to come and heal his son, the timing of the healing was later determined to be the seventh hour, John 4:52. Jewish time would have made this at 1 p.m., but the Roman time of 7 p.m. makes better sense as the nobleman finds out the next day that the healing took place exactly at that time the day before. He likely left first thing in the morning and met his servants who relay the news of his son’s recovery. Without specifying a time, in John 20:19, John uses Roman reckoning of time. “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week…” John is using Roman reckoning, so it is after sundown on Sunday. If it were Jewish time, it would be Monday as Jews reckoned the day to begin the evening of the day before. So, in figuring the time of the crucifixion, Mark 15:25 gives the Jewish time, the third hour, that is, three hours after sunrise or 9 a.m. in the morning. Matthew 27:45 and Luke 23:44 say it was dark from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, understood as from noon until 3 p.m. Then at the ninth hour, 3 p.m., Jesus uttered His last words, Matthew 27:46. On the other hand, in the only mention of time during the day Jesus was crucified, John states that at the sixth hour, Jesus was before Pilate, John 19:14, which would be 6 a.m. This goes well with Mark 15:1. A few hours later, He was crucified. John’s reckoning is Roman time.
Daniel Veler
Supporter
Your question: Was Jesus crucified in the third hour or the sixth hour? Mark 15:25 (cf. John 19:14) Whenever you seek answers to the events described in the gospel, it’s important to remember that each writer was recounting the same events but not providing every detail. Therefore, you must examine all the writings to gain a comprehensive understanding of the event. You must understand that the Hebrews recognized the 24-hour day starting at 6 pm to 6 pm the following day. It is written that Christ went to the cross during the daylight hours. This would start at 6 am. So 6 am is the first hour of daylight. It is written in Mark that Christ went to the cross on the third hour of the day. Making it 9 am. It further says darkness covered the area at the 6th hour, making it 12 pm or noon as we call it. It further states that on the ninth hour Christ died, making it 3 pm. It’s important that when you read the gospels, you must look into them all. Mark 15:25: “And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.” Mark 15:33: “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” Mark 15:34: “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' Which is, being interpreted, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, 'Behold, he calleth Elias.' And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, 'Let him alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.' And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” This is the account of the crucifixion of Christ as told by Mark.
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