Sequence of the time of Christ’s death

Let’s look at the hours of Christ’s way of the cross, as given in most Bibles:
• Third hour – Christ was hung on the cross.
• Sixth to ninth hour – darkness fell.
• Ninth hour – Christ dies, saying „It is finished.”
• Evening – Joseph takes Christ’s body from Pilate and places it in a tomb.

“At the ninth hour, Yeshu cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’… Then Yeshu uttered a loud cry and breathed His last” – Mark 15:34 and 37.

In reality, the third hour of Christ’s crucifixion was nine in the morning, and the death of Christ was three in the afternoon.
Judaic time was slightly different from the time system in force today.

Judean time

The cycle of Judean time can be understood in several steps:
1 – The day begins in the evening
In the Judean tradition, a new day begins after sunset (approximately around 6:00 p.m.). Therefore, holidays or Sabbaths begin after sunset. That is when the new day begins.
2 – The day is divided into 12 hours
From dawn (approximately 6:00 a.m.) to sunset (approximately 6:00 p.m.) there are 12 “hours” counted, but they were not measured as evenly by the clock as they are today:

“Yeshu answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?…” – John 11:9.

The first hour or the first hourly cycle starts at 6-7 a.m., the second hour/second hourly cycle is 7-8 a.m., the third hour or the third hourly cycle is around 9:00 a.m., etc.

This time cycle can be presented a little differently:
• for our 6-7 a.m. they said: „one o’clock.”
• for our 7-8 a.m. they said: „two o’clock.”
• for our 8-9 a.m. they said: „three o’clock,” etc.

The Cycle of Time as It Appears in Bible Verses	Real Hours
1^st hour/cycle	Around 6:00 – 7:00 am
2^nd hour/cycle	Around 7:00 – 8:00 am
3^rd hour/cycle	Around 8:00 – 9:00 am
4^th hour/cycle	Around 9:00 – 10:00 am
5^th hour/cycle	Around 10:00 – 11:00 am
6^th hour/cycle	Around 11:00 – 12:00 pm (noon)
7th hour/cycle	Around 12:00 – 1 pm
8^th hour/cycle	Around 1 – 2 pm
9^th hour/cycle	Around 2– 3 pm
10^th hour/cycle	Around 3 – 4 pm
11^th hour/cycle	Around 4– 5 pm
12^th hour/cycle	Around 5 – 6 pm (sunset)

3 – The night is also divided into 12 parts
From sunset to dawn there were “night watches”, often also referred to as divided into 3 or 4 watches. In total, the night was also understood as a 12-hour interval/cycle.

The Parable of the Workers

When we read that something happened “at the third hour” during the day, it means approximately 9:00 in the morning.
“The sixth hour” is noon (12:00), and “the ninth hour” is 3 pm.
This division was natural in ancient Judea, where electronic clocks were not used and time was determined by the sun.
That is why biblical texts use phrases like “the third hour” or “the ninth hour” instead of 9 am or 3 pm.
And once again, let us give a short summary of Christ’s death and the time cycle:

Fragment	Hour	Event	Substitute
Mark 15:25	3	Crucifixion	Around 9:00
Mark 15:33	6	Darkness from 6 to 9 hours.	12–3pm
Mark 15:34–37	9	Yeshu’s death	15:00/3pm

We can see this division of time in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–17).
• Early morning (around 6:00 a.m.) – the owner hires the first workers (Matthew 20:2).
→ This is the “first hour” of the workday.
• Third hour (around 9:00 a.m.) – he hires more workers (Matthew 20:3).
• Sixth hour (around 12:00 noon) – he hires more (Matthew 20:5).
• Ninth hour (around 3:00 p.m.) – he hires workers again (Matthew 20:5).
• Eleventh hour (around 5:00 p.m.) – the last workers are hired, for the last hour of work (Matthew 20:6).
• Evening (around 6:00 p.m.) – payment is made, everyone receives the same wages (Mt 20:8).

What time did Christ die?

Below I present the approximate hours of the path to Christ’s death.
Certain hours are those given in the Bible, i.e. 9 – 12 – 15:

Time (Judean/modern time)	Event	Bible citation
Around 6–8 pm (after sunset)	Last Supper	Mt 26:20–29; Mk 14:17–25; Luke 22:14–38
Around 10-12pm	Prayer in Gethsemane	Mt 26:36–46; Mk 14:32–42
Around midnight	Yeshu’s arrest	J 18:1–11
Around 12:30–3:00 am	The Trial with Annas and Caiaphas	J 18:12–24
Around 3:00–5:00 am	Religious Trial – Sanhedrin	Luke 22:66–71
Around 5:00–6:00 am	Pilate → Herod → Pilate	Luke 23:1–25; J 18:28–40
Around 6:00 am	Sentenced to death	Mk 15:1–15
Around 7:00–8:00 am	The Flagellation and the Road to Golgotha	Mt 27:27–31
9:00 am (the third hour)	Crucifixion	Mk 15:25
12:00 pm (the sixth hour)	Darkness covers the earth	Mt 27:45; Luke 23:44
3 pm (the ninth hour)	Yeshu’s Death	Mt 27:46–50; J 19:30
Around 4-5 pm	Piercing of the side, removal from the cross	J 19:31–37
Around 5-7 pm	Joseph receives Christ’s body from Pilate in the evening and places it in a tomb.	Luke 23:50–56; J 19:38–42

Summary

The hours given in the Bible verses, like the ninth hour of Christ’s death, is not 9:00 pm of the present time. The 9^th hour is 3:00 pm. Both indicate a time of day, only different numbers are used to specify this time. Some religions have mistakenly accepted the time of Christ’s death as 9:00 pm. At 9:00 pm. it was already after sunset, then the Passover took place. That is why the Bible says that they rushed to kill the condemned in order to make it to the Passover:

“Since it was the Day of Preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the sabbath—for that sabbath was a high day—the Judeans asked Pilate to have their legs broken and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with Him. But when they came to Yeshu and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” – John 19:31-34.