JOE ALWARD
John's account of the time of Jesus' crucifixion apparently contradicts Mark's account. Here is the evidence:
Jesus Is Crucified at 9:00 AM:
In the Jewish system of marking time in the first century, hours were measured relative to sunrise. Thus, in the passage below, the author of Mark's gospel tells his readers that Jesus was crucified in the third hour past sunrise, or at about 9:00 AM: And it was the third hour when they crucified Him. ( Mark 15:25 ) Jesus Wasn't Even Sentenced Until 12:00 PM:
The author of John's gospel says that Jesus was not even sentenced to crucifixion until the sixth hour, or about 12:00 PM noon, which means that Jesus could not have been put on the cross until sometime after 12:00 PM, at least three hours after the time of crucifixion claimed by Mark:
About the sixth hour (hektos hora)...they shouted..."Crucify him!" ( John 19:14-15 NIV)
The translators of at least seven different Bible version all agree that [ i]hektos hora[/i] means six hours past sunrise, or about noontime. Here is how they translated the relevant verse: 1. The hour was noon. (The Message) 2. About twelve o'clock noon. (Amplified Bible) 3. It was now about noon of the day (New Living Translation) 4. It was about noon (Contemporary English Version) 5. It was about the middle of the day (Worldwide English)6. It was about noon. (New English Translation) 7. It was about noon. (New American Bible)[/i] I won't display the ten other versions on Bible Gateway (http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible) which just show "the sixth hour" without clarification, but not one of them contradicts the conclusions of the other seven translators who say it was "noon" when Jesus was sentenced to be crucified. Thus, out of eighteen Bible translations, seven of them have Jesus being sentenced at the noon hour, while the other ten have the sentencing being given at "the sixth hour," which according to the Jewish system of reckoning hours, is six hours past sunrise, or about noon. Unless someone can show why the opinions of the seven different translators should be rejected, it would seem that John's account of the crucifixion clearly contradicts Mark's account. Was John Counting Hours Relative to Midnight?Some apologists argue that the translations listed above are all wrong, and that John really was measuring time relative to midnight. This would make "the sixth hour" 6:00 AM, and a sentencing time of 6:00 AM would easily leave enough time for the 9:00 AM crucifixion alleged in Mark's gospel. However, where is the evidence that John ever used the midnight reference? Further Evidence That John Counted Hours from Sunrise To those who would attempt to translate "the sixth hour (hektos hora)" as "sunrise," I offer additional evidence below which shows that when John uses the phrase, "the sixth hour," he does not mean sunrise—he means noon. The evidence is found in the story in John 4:5-7 of a travel-weary Jesus arriving at "the sixth hour" at Jacob's well. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour (hektos hora). (John 4:5-7 NIV)
What did John mean by "the sixth hour (hektos hora)"? Does it mean "sunrise," as some apologists believe, or does it mean "noon"? Readers can decide for themselves whether it makes more sense for Jesus to be arriving tired at the well at 6:00 AM following an apparently long nighttime journey, or for Jesus to be arriving at the well at noon following a long daylight journey. Does not common sense point to a daylight journey? The translators of at least six Bible versions think so. Here they are: 1. It was then about the sixth hour (about noon). (Amplified Bible)
2. Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. (New Living Testament)
3. It was noon (Contemporary English Version)
4. It was about midday. (Worldwide English New Testament)
5. It was about noon. (New English Translation)
6. It was about noon. (New American Bible) Twelve other translations translate hektos hora only as "the sixth hour," without clarifying information. Thus, out of eighteen different translations of hektos hora in John 4:5-7, six of them have noon, noontime, or midday, while not one of the remaining twelve contradicts this translation. Common sense shows that the translators are probably correct. Does it not seem eminently sensible that Jesus would not take a long and tiring journey at night and end up at the well at six o'clock in the morning, but rather he would take the journey in the daytime and arrive at the well at noon? Thus, in the face of so many translations, as well as common sense, which support the view that John reported the Jesus had not even been sentenced until noon, we must conclude that John contradicts Mark, and the Bible is in error.