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At what hour of the day was he crucified?
Mark: “It was the third hour [nine o’clock in the morning]” ([xv, 25]).
Luke: “It was about the sixth hour [noon]” ([xxiii, 44]).
John: At the sixth hour he had not been sentenced and delivered to the executioners; hence he was not crucified until the afternoon ([xix, 14–16]).
Dr. Geikie admits that three hours may have elapsed between the termination of his trial and his crucifixion. Hence, according to John, the crucifixion may have occurred as late as three o’clock in the afternoon.
It has been attempted to explain the discrepancy between Mark and John by supposing that John used a different method of reckoning time. Concerning this, Prof. Sanday, one of England’s highest orthodox authorities, says: “The writer of this was at one time inclined to look with favor on these attempts. If the premise could be proved, the data would work out satisfactorily.... But it must definitely be said that the major premise cannot be proved, and that the attempt to reconcile the two statements on this basis breaks down.”