sixth hour

Pastor Matt mentioned in his sermon Sunday “The Sixth Hour,” explaining that while he would have liked to have been able to go into the subject in greater detail than he did, time would not allow. You may have also heard him say that he had asked me to write this week’s blog to kind of make up for the understandable shortcoming. Following is my study on John 19:14 and “The Sixth Hour.”

NAS John 19:14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”

The excellent note from the NET (New English Translation) Bible is helpful in providing information about “the day of preparation”:

The term day of preparationt (παρασκευή, paraskeueÒ) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

The term day of preparationt (παρασκευή, paraskeueÒ) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

Here are the verses mentioned above

NAS Matthew 27:62 Now on the next day, which is the one after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,

NAS Mark 15:42 And when evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

NAS Luke 23:54 And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

NAS John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

The first thing I would like to say here at the start is that the question of the “sixth hour” is far from being easily answered. The main reason for this difficulty has to do with the complexities and uncertainties involved in attempting to determine exact times in the New Testament. Notice the text itself says “it was about the sixth hour,” not that it precisely was the sixth hour. John MacArthur offers a comprehensive paragraph from his commentary on John’s gospel that sheds light on this reality:

The time “was about the sixth hour”; or late morning, approaching noon. This statement presents an apparent difficulty, because according to Mark’s account (see immediately below – TAR [Thomas A. Rohm]), Jesus was crucified at the third hour (9:00A.M.). But as Andres Kostenberger (whose commentary on John’s gospel is certainly among the best and most insightful – TAR) writes, “Since people related the estimated time to the closest three-hour mark, any time between 9:00 A.M. and noon may have led one person to say an event occurred at the third (9:00 A.M.) or the sixth hour (12:00 noon).” D.A. Carson (another top commentator on John’s gospel – TAR) cautions against “insisting on a degree of precision in both Mark and John which, in days before watches, could not have been achieved.”

NAS Mark 15:25 And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.

Not only would this reference to time have been most probably approximate, but could also be referring to only the beginning of the process, sometime before Jesus was even lifted on the cross.

In noting the first instance in John’s gospel where time is mentioned, 1:39, Kostenberger offers this germane information on how the ancients viewed time: “The preponderance of evidence suggests that in the first century of Jesus’ Palestine, time was counted from sunrise to sunset(i.e., from about 6 A.M. until about 6 P.M.; cf. John 11:9). Moreover, the day was divided into three-hour intervals, with people approximating the estimated time to the next full three-hour segment.”

When most people read “the sixth hour” in John and “the third hour” in Mark, it is probably fair to say that their first reaction is negative: “Hey, what’s going on here?” “This is nothing less than an example of a contradiction in the Bible!” If these people had a couple of relatively inexpensive, elementary resources, Bible dictionary and a single volume commentary, they could learn that seeming problems in the Bible are not contradictions but simply differences. In the case of “the sixth hour” and “the third hour,” they would find that two gospel writers are almost certainly making different points about the same event for purposes particular to their gospels.

At Southern California Seminary I have been teaching the gospel of John for nine consecutive years, one to two chapters each year. I’m just finishing chapter 12 this month. During the first class of each course I illustrate how and why the gospels can differ. I do this by bringing a bag of quilting squares; you know, little three-to-four inch squares of colorful cloth normally used to make quilts with. I have previously selected four stacks – one for each of the gospels – of the same multi-colored squares, about a dozen different patterns, and I spread the stacks out beside one another on a table, and I say, “Let’s say the yellow swatch is the birth of Jesus, the blue striped square is for Jesus’ baptism, the red diamond-patterned one for the feeding of the five-thousand, the black one for the crucifixion, etc. I say for my students to imagine each gospel writer had access to the same pile of squares but arranged them differently and used different colored thread to sew them together according to each writer’s purpose. Most of the same

quilting squares are included in each writer’s “quilt,” but some squares are left out of some writer’s “quilt.” John, for example, doesn’t have the yellow one; not because the yellow one isn’t pretty or important, but simply because it doesn’t fit the pattern John is constructing. Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not have the orange polka-dot squares that stand for the Upper Room Discourse that John has, because their purposes are different than John’s. Well, I think you get the point. I’m simplifying, sure, but the point is valid. Each writer’s quilt is made from essentially the same squares and generally look the same, but each is different.

Another important relevant point to keep in mind when evaluating so-called “problems” with the biblical text is that we are simply not going to be able always to give satisfactory answers for each question that may arise. I sometimes pose blunt and provocative questions to my students when the occasion arises, such as, “Who are you that you think God owes you a clear, satisfying answer for each question your suspicious mind comes up with?” Surely we are to ask questions of the text, and certainly an inquisitive mind can lead to valuable comprehension. I for one thrive on this dimension of my relationship with God. But oftentimes ceaseless questions posing as a sincere desire to learn more about God, can in reality be a subterfuge masking doubt or disbelief.

Arthur W. Pink, the great Reformed theologian of past years who wrote a memorable expansive commentary on the gospel of John, was quite dogmatic in his position on John 19:14. He strongly believed that an in-depth study of the verse that included research into the Jewish customs of the day clearly revealed there was no substantial problem in reconciling the gospel writers’ differing accounts. I refer to Pink’s commentary in this blog instead of others’ simply because of its brevity and communicable simplicity.

Concerning “the day of preparation,” Pink writes, “Among the Jews “the preparation” was the common name for the day before the Sabbath, and it was used by all the Evangelists. Bearing this in mind, let the reader compare with John 19:14, vv. 31-42, and he will have no difficulty in rendering the words in question, ‘it was Passover Friday’ (meaning the day before the Passover Sabbath – TAR). Let the reader also compare Mark 15:42, which is even more conclusive.”

NAS Mark 15:42 And when evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Concerning the question over what the term “Passover” refers to, whether it should be understood to be referring to the supper or the entire feast, that is, the entire week, a question that has causes many commentaries to confess confusion, Pink comments, “That title was common to the supper and the feast, including both; but the intelligent Jew never confounded the two words can possibly express more clearly this distinction than those afforded by the Pentateuch in the final promulgation of the Law: ‘In the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord, and in the fifteenth day of this same month is the Feast’ (Num. 28:16-17).”

And finally, Pink has this to say about “the sixth hour”: “This expression has also occasioned much difficulty to many. It is supposed to conflict with Mark15:25, ‘and it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.’ But there is no discrepancy whatsoever. Mark gives the hour when our Lord was crucified; John is speaking of the Passover Friday, i.e., the day when preparations were made for the Sabbath (which began at Friday sunset) preparing food, etc., so that none would have to be cooked on the Sabbath. We believe the Holy Spirit has recorded this detail for the purpose of pointing to a comparison and a contrast. For six hours the Jews had been working in preparation for the Sabbath; during the next ‘six hours’ (compare Mark 15:25, 33-37), Christ finished His great work, which brings His people into that eternal rest of which the Sabbath was the emblem!”

It should also be included in this study of time, the imprecise or metaphorical way John frequently used the word “hour.” For example…

NAS John 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.”

NAS John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

John in such instances is obviously not speaking temporally of an exact or even close to exact hour of a specific day. Rather, he is referring to an ill-defined time. The point is not the time but the event. Only when Jesus’ “hour” did finally arrive did the temporal dimension become literal.

NAS John 17:1 These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee,

In comparison, Matthew uses the word “hour” in a more literal, specific way…

ESV Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

Significantly, please note Matthew’s temporal, not metaphoric usage of “hour” strongly supports the conclusion I will make below. “The ninth hour” here clearly means 3:00 P.M.

Whether or not this blog satisfies your questions (or maybe suspicions) about the reality of controversial passages in the Bible, I hope it has meaningfully demonstrated how studying into the alleged problem can clear up a great deal – if not all – of the uncertainties.

I humbly believe that even this brief blog has been sufficient to show that when the biblical text seems to be at odds with itself, reconciliation through study is usually accessible. Even when it appears this is not the case, doubting God’s Word does not have to be the only alternative. Patience, diligence in continued study, and prayer are the best responses to seemingly unfruitful study; seemingly because it is my experienced belief that the study of biblical things is never unrewarded. Sooner or later, indirectly or directly, seemingly unsuccessful study bears fruit, sometimes illuminatingly so.

In closing, some conclusive comments about “the sixth hour” in John 19:14. All scholars agree that John is a markedly different gospel from the synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). As we have said, each gospel writer had a different purpose, but that general observation only begins to tell the story. Staying with the main subject of this study, it should be especially noted that for John, the time held special importance. Again, the NET Bible notes are valuable. Following below is a paragraph of the NET notes for John 19:14. It focuses directly on the probable reason for John’s choice of words concerning the crucifixion. I believe it gives the best summary interpretation of “the sixth hour” and conveys the crux of the information Pastor Matt would have expounded upon given the time last Sunday.

When the note concerning the hour, about noon, is connected with the day, the day of preparation for the Passover, it becomes apparent that Jesus was going to die on the cross at the very time that the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple courts. Exod 12:6 required that the Passover lamb be kept alive until the 14th Nisan, the eve of the Passover, and then slaughtered by the head of the household at twilight (Grk “between the two evenings”). By this time the slaughtering was no longer done by the heads of households, but by the priests in the temple courts. But so many lambs were needed for the tens of thousands of pilgrims who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast (some estimates run in excess of 100,000 pilgrims) that the slaughter could not be completed during the evening, and so the rabbis redefined “between the two evenings” as beginning at noon, when the sun began to decline toward the horizon. Thus the priests had the entire afternoon of 14th Nisan in which to complete the slaughter of the Passover lambs. According to the Fourth Gospel, this is the time Jesus was dying on the cross.

When all the facts regarding the events surrounding Jesus’ final days on earth are carefully weighed, I believe the most scripturally supportable, logical, and Christ-exalting answer to the issue of “the sixth hour” in John 19:14 is that it purposefully shows that Jesus died on the cross on “the day of preparation,” which was Friday, the day before the Passover, which was also a Sabbath, at 3 P.M., the same time the Passover lamb was being sacrificed in the Temple by the Jewish priest. Major support for this interpretation is the prominent fact that it was John, alone among the four gospel writers who recorded the words of John the baptizer who declared when he saw Jesus coming to him for baptism…

NAS John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

I cannot leave out this final support for the conclusion I am making, that Jesus died on the cross the same hour that the Passover lamb was being slaughtered in the Temple, i.e., 3 P.M., or “the ninth hour.” While discussing the apparent disparities in the gospel accounts, it should be repeatedly emphasized the countless agreements. In Mark 15:34, for example, Mark agrees with John…

NAS Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm