IN WHAT HOUR?

by

Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

A skeptic argued the following: Mark 15:25 says that Jesus
was crucified at “the third hour,” but John 19:14 says
that Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews at “about the
sixth hour.” Thus it appears that Jesus was on the
cross three hours before His trial. How do we resolve
this alleged biblical discrepancy?

The Jews and the Romans used different standards for
reckoning the hours of the day, although both systems split
the day into two periods of 12 hours. A new day for the Romans
began at midnight (as it does for us today), whereas a new day
for the Jews began in the evening at what we would call 6
p.m.

Various clues within the fourth gospel indicate that John
was using the Roman system (Geisler and Howe, 1992, p. 376).
This makes sense given that John was writing outside of
Palestine to a Hellenistic audience. That Mark used a Jewish
system makes sense in light of the strong tradition that his
gospel account follows sermons delivered by the apostle Peter
(Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3.39). As always, we
have to take into account the context, as well as cultural
differences between the Jewish and Gentile worlds.

Given this distinction, the problem disappears. John has
Pilate handing Jesus over for crucifixion at 6 a.m., and Mark
has Jesus on the cross three hours later at 9 a.m. (i.e., “
the third hour”). In fact, John begins his whole account of
Jesus’ audience with Pilate by noting that it was “early
morning” (18:28). This reference follows immediately after
Peter and the rooster crowing incident. Roosters, of course,
can crow at any time, but are most famous for signaling the
beginning of a new day.

This is perfectly consistent with Mark’s account. The
previous evening, Jesus and the disciples traveled from the
upper room to the Mount of Olives and then to Gethsemane. The
disciples fell asleep, and Jesus had to wake them in order to
meet the arresting mob. Mark records the rooster crowing
incident, and notes that the Jews delivered Jesus to Pilate
“in the morning” (15:1). A skeptic might doubt that the events
at the Prætorium took place at such an early hour (i.e.,
before 6 a.m.), but there is no evidence for this objection,
and there is no inconsistency in the Gospel accounts.

I would like to end with a word of warning. Skeptics are
notorious for raising a dozen objections in as many minutes.
As you can see, it takes a lot more time and work to answer an
objection than it does to raise it. And yet, if we do not
answer every objection, no matter how frivolous it may be, the
skeptic claims victory. We should recognize that most skeptics
have no interest in making sense out of Scripture. The powers
of comprehension and interpretation they would bring to an
average newspaper are left behind in the case of the Bible.
Perhaps this uneven treatment should not be surprising. After
all, the skeptic has much to lose if the Bible is right.

REFERENCES

Geisler, Norman and Thomas Howe (1992), When Critics
Ask (Wheaton: IL: Victor).

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