.

“ …. And one ran and , filling a sponge full o f vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him; to drink, saying.. “ (Mark 15:36)

“ After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘ I thirst’. A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and help it to his mouth… “ (John 19:28-30)

“ … And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink  …. ” (Mathew 27: 47-49)

John reports:

“ Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘ Here is your King!’ … Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.” (John 19:14-16)
 
It was about the sixth hour, i.e. afternoon, that Jesus was nailed on the Cross.

Mark has another time to tell:

“ And it was the third hour, when they crucified him “ (Mark 15:25)

In one report it is the sixth hour and in the other the third hour. How can we put our trust in such evidence?

According to Mathew:

“ And robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way” (Mathew 27:44)

 The three of them are in flagrant disagreement, the first two claiming that both the thieves reviled Jesus, the third testifying that one thief reviled and the second acquitted Jesus. John, the fourth one, reserves his say!

“ ... but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother . and his mother’s sister, Mary  the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene “(John 19:25)

  “ And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed his from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things” (Luke 23:49)

  “ There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses and Salome, who when he was in Galilee followed him and ministered to him; and also many other women who came up with him; to Jerusalem” (Mark 15: 40-41)

  “ There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Mathew 27:55-56)

John reports that they were ‘standing by the Cross’ and the synoptic Gospels state: ‘stood at a distance and saw’.  John is the only one aware of Jesus’ mother being present. The Synoptic Gospels are not aware of this. John spots Mary Magdalene near by the cross. Synoptic Gospel s place her far off. There is a difference between the two reports. There is a different in the number of women present- three, four, of several women?

“ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour” (Mathew 27:45)

  “ And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour “ (Mark 15:33)

  “ It was about now the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour” (Luke 23:44)

  This is the evidence of the synoptic Gospels. John is non-committal and his silence stirs bewilderment. It is illogical that John who is given to exaggeration should keep silent about such an important miracle. Who told the three simpletons that the whole world was covered with darkness? They were simple and ignorant and regarded their won tiny village as ‘ the whole world ‘. Even this much cannot be proved until we know that there was darkness in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, history lends no support of this either.

Mathew reports:

“ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a  loud voice, ’Elai,elai, Lama sabachthani’ and Jesus cried again with a loud voice… And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened and many bodies of the saints who had died fallen asleep were raised,… “ (Mathew 27:46-52) 

Mark reports:

“ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘ Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?’… And Jesus uttered a loud cry, .. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15: 34-38)

Luke says:

“ … While the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two, then Jesus, crying with a loud voice said, ‘ Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!… “ (Luke 23: 45-46)

Cross Thoughts: John vouches for none of these fantastic things. The omission of such significant incidents when they are called for, discredits the evidence. Besides, there are conflicting statements in the synoptic Gospels. Mark confines himself to the loud cry of Jesus and to the tearing of the curtain of the temple from top to bottom. Luke’s version is that the curtain was torn into two from between-not from top to bottom. Mathew is not content and adds that the earth shook and the rocks were split, the tombs were thrust open and saints who had been dead and buried became alive and went home. If Mathew’s rendering  holds good then the others area guilty of suppressing important events of history. On the other hand, if the rest area true then Mathew’s evidence is nothing but myth. It was only a freak, a trick of thought devoid of any reality. The latter picture, according to Chronicles, is true. Thus mutual conflict, untruth and contradictions annul the evidence.

Luke says after the temple curtain was torn:

“ Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, ‘ Certainly this man was innocent! .. “ (Luke 23:47)

Mark says:

“ An when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was a son of God’ “(Mark 15:39) 

Mathew says

“When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earth quake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was a son of God!’ “. (Mathew 27:54)

These remarks are from the synoptic Gospels. John gives no account of this matter. First of all, the omission of this event in John’s report is quaint. Secondly, several differences appear in the reported version of the event. Mark says that the centurion passed his remark when he saw that Jesus had breathed his last. Luke first reports the centurion praising God and then making his remarks. Mathew incorporates many others with the centurion. They ‘saw the earthquake’ and ‘were filled with awe’ and exclaimed afterwards.

Mathew and Mark made no contribution to this problem.

In Luke we find:

“ And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, retuned home beating their breast. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things “ (Luke 23: 48-49)

  In John:

“ Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31)

It is evident from the report of John that the Jews demanded the ‘breaking of legs’ because they thought, until the last moment that Jesus had not expired, otherwise, the demanded is senseless. In the eleventh hour, such a brutal and barbarous demand on the part of the Jews explodes the myth of: the earthquake, the spring open of graves, the rising of the dead and the ripping of the temple curtain. In such circumstances, the Jews would never have made such a savage demand. At least Pilate would have upbraided them that despite their having seen awe-inspiring miracles, they still had the audacity to demand the breaking of Jesus’ legs and he would have told them to fear God.

John’s statement concerning the Jews puts it correct that Jesus hand not died. In Luke, people are reported to have returned home beating their breasts when they observed the tragedy of Jesus. These people along with women saw it all standing at a distance! At this juncture, it seems pertinent to ask one question; assuming there was pitch darkness “ from the sixth hour until the ninth” – the sun was covered, the earth quaked, the rocks were riven- how did the people standing “far off” observed these incidents? Either their watching is cooked up thing or the story of darkness all over the world is a lie. In the light of sound enquiry, both of these assumptions are wrong. To some extent, the silence of Mathew and Mark on the matter and John’s omission of the spreading of darkness, lends support to our view.

The synoptic Gospels impart no information. After relating the Jews’ demand, only John transmits:

“ 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 Jesus saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs” (John 19: 32-33)

  Since it was the day of preparation for the Sabbath, the Jews could watch no longer. The Messiah was not dead yet. In the latter part of the same day, they had demanded from Pilate the breaking of Jesus’ legs, the permission for which he readily granted, Afterwards, the Jews went home. The matter of breaking the legs of Jesus was left completely in Pilate’s hands. As we have noted, Pilate in his heart of hearts wanted Jesus to outlive these tortures. Probably, when he dispatched his centurion, he let his intention be known to him that the soldiers should omit breaking Jesus’ legs. The legs of the two thieves were crushed and those of Jesus were left intact.

  John describes why Jesus’ bones were not broken: “ when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs” (the words “came to Jesus” repudiate the report of Luke that people saw Jesus dead while at a distance and darkness enveloped the ground; since the centurions could know of his death only when they “ came to Jesus” at a very close range). This is John’s own interpretation of the event and he was absent on the occasion. His testimony is only hearsay, therefore, it does not stand the test of history and carries no weigh, particularly when the other three witnesses possess no knowledge of it. Granting that some centurion did utter these words, more than once unconscious men have been taken fro dead and this is his own mistake.

The synoptic Gospels are uncommunicative.

Only John has this to say:

“But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And at once there came out blood and water “ (John 19:34)

  From this act on the part of the centurion, it appears that he doubted whether Jesus was dead. He was not aware of Pilate’s tactics; when he pierced the side of Jesus , blood and water rushed forth, and it is evident the flow of   blood and water is a pointer to life  and pulsation.