The execution of the crucifixion was the most shameful, the most painful and most cruel. In those days, only the most notorious villains were executed with such a death: robbers, murderers, rebels and criminal slaves. The torment of the crucified man cannot be described. In addition to unbearable pains in all parts of the body and suffering, the crucified one experienced a terrible thirst and mortal mental anguish. Death was so slow that many suffered on crosses for several days. Even the perpetrators of the execution - as a rule, cruel people - could not calmly look at the sufferings of the crucified. They prepared a drink with which they tried either to quench their unbearable thirst, or by adding various substances to temporarily dull consciousness and relieve torment. According to Jewish law, one who was hanged on a tree was considered cursed. The leaders of the Jews wanted to dishonor Jesus Christ forever by condemning Him to such a death. When they brought Jesus Christ to Golgotha, the soldiers gave Him to drink sour wine mixed with bitter substances to relieve suffering. But the Lord, having tasted it, did not want to drink it. He did not want to use any means to relieve suffering. He took this suffering upon Himself voluntarily for the sins of people; therefore he wanted to carry them to the end.

When everything was ready, the soldiers crucified Jesus Christ. It was about noon, in Hebrew at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. When they crucified Him, He prayed for His tormentors, saying: "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing."

Two villains (robbers) were crucified next to Jesus Christ, one on the right and the other on the left of Him. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophet Isaiah, who said: "And he was numbered among the evildoers" (Isaiah 53, 12).

By order of Pilate, an inscription was nailed to the cross above the head of Jesus Christ, signifying His guilt. It was written in Hebrew, Greek and Roman: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," and many read it. Such an inscription did not like the enemies of Christ. Therefore, the chief priests came to Pilate and said: "Do not write: King of the Jews, but write that He said: I am the King of the Jews."

But Pilate replied, "What I wrote, I wrote."

Meanwhile, the soldiers who crucified Jesus Christ took His clothes and began to divide among themselves. They tore the outer garment into four parts, a part for each soldier. The chiton (underwear) was not sewn, but all woven from top to bottom. Then they said to each other: "We will not tear him apart, but let us cast lots for him, who will get it." And having cast lots, the soldiers sitting, guarded the place of execution. Thus, here, too, the ancient prophecy of King David came true: "They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothes" (Psalm 21, 19).

The enemies did not stop insulting Jesus Christ on the cross. They, passing by, cursed and, nodding their heads, said: "Eh! He who destroys the temple and builds it up in three days! Save Yourself. If You are the Son of God, descend from the cross."

Also, the chief priests, scribes, elders and Pharisees, mocking, said: “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. ; let God now deliver Him, if He is pleasing to Him; for He said: I am the Son of God. "

Following their example, the Gentile warriors, who sat at the crosses and watched the crucified, mockingly, said: "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." Even one of the crucified robbers, who was on the left of the Savior, cursed Him and said: "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us."

Another robber, on the contrary, calmed him down and said: “Or are you not afraid of God when you yourself are condemned to the same (that is, to the same torment and death)? , and He did nothing wrong. " Having said this, he turned to Jesus Christ with a prayer: "Remember me (remember me), Lord, when you come into Your Kingdom!"

The merciful Savior accepted the heartfelt repentance of this sinner, who had shown such a wondrous faith in Him, and answered the prudent thief: "Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

At the cross of the Savior stood His Mother, the Apostle John, Mary Magdalene and several other women who venerated Him. It is impossible to describe the grief of the Mother of God, who saw the intolerable torment of her Son!

Jesus Christ, seeing His Mother and John standing here, whom he especially loved, says to His Mother: "Woman, behold, Thy son." Then he says to John: "Behold, thy Mother." From that time on, John took the Mother of God to his home and took care of Her until the end of Her life. Meanwhile, during the suffering of the Savior, a great sign happened on Calvary. From the hour the Savior was crucified, that is, from the sixth hour (and according to our count, from the twelfth hour of the day), the sun darkened and darkness fell throughout the earth, and continued until the very death of the Savior. This extraordinary, universal darkness was noted by pagan historians: the Roman astronomer Phlegont, Fallus and Junius Africanus. The famous philosopher from Athens, Dionysius the Areopagite, was at this time in Egypt, in the city of Heliopolis; observing the sudden darkness, he said: "either the Creator suffers, or the world is being destroyed." Subsequently, Dionysius the Areopagite converted to Christianity and was the first Athenian bishop.

At about nine o'clock, Jesus Christ loudly exclaimed: "Eli, Eli! Lima savakhfani!" that is, "My God, my God! Why did You forsake Me?" These were the opening words from Psalm 21 of King David, in which David clearly predicted the suffering of the Savior on the cross. With these words, the Lord reminded people for the last time that He is the true Christ, the Savior of the world. Some of those who stood on Calvary, having heard these words spoken by the Lord, said: "Behold, He is calling Elijah." Others said, "Let's see if Elijah comes to save Him." But the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that everything had already happened, said: "I am thirsty." Then one of the soldiers ran, took a sponge, moistened it with vinegar, put it on a cane and brought it to the Savior's withered lips.

Having tasted the vinegar, the Savior said: "It is finished," that is, the promise of God has been fulfilled, the salvation of the human race has been completed. After that, He said in a loud voice: "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit." And, bowing his head, he betrayed the spirit, that is, he died. And so, the curtain in the temple, which covered the Holy of Holies, was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, and the earth shook and the stones were split; and the coffins were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered Jerusalem and appeared to many.

The centurion (the chief of the soldiers) and the soldiers with him, who watched over the crucified Savior, seeing the earthquake and everything that happened in front of them, were frightened and said: "Truly, this man was the Son of God." And the people, who were at the crucifixion and saw everything, began to disperse in fear, striking themselves in the chest. It was Friday evening. This evening was to eat Easter. The Jews did not want to leave the bodies of those crucified on the crosses until Saturday, because Easter Saturday was considered a great day. Therefore, they asked Pilate for permission to break the legs of the crucified, so that they would die sooner and they could be removed from the crosses. Pilate allowed. The warriors came and broke the shins of the robbers. When they approached Jesus Christ, they saw that He had already died, and therefore did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers, so that there was no doubt about His death, pierced His ribs with a spear, and blood and water flowed from the wound.

NOTE: See in the Gospel: from Matt., Ch. 27, 33-56; from Mark, ch. 15, 22-41; from Luke, ch. 23, 33-49; from John, ch. 19, 18-37.

Why was Jesus Christ crucified? This question may arise for a person who either refers to this event only as a historical fact, or takes the very first steps towards faith in the Savior. In the first case, the most correct decision is to try not to satisfy your idle interest, but to wait to see if, over time, a sincere desire will appear with your mind and heart to understand this. In the second case, you need to start looking for an answer to this question, of course, with reading the Bible.

In the process of reading, various personal considerations in this regard will inevitably arise. This is where a kind of separation begins. Some believe that everyone has the right to their own reading of the Holy Scriptures and remain unconvinced, even if it is fundamentally different from the opinions of other people. This is the position of the Protestants. Orthodoxy, which is still the main Christian denomination in Russia, relies on the reading of the Bible by the Holy Fathers. This also applies to the question: why was Jesus Christ crucified? Therefore, the next right step in trying to understand this topic is to turn to the creations of the Holy Fathers.

Don't look for an answer on the Internet

Why does the Orthodox Church recommend this approach? The fact is that any person who tries to live a spiritual life necessarily reflects on the meaning of events related to the earthly life of Christ, on the meaning of His sermons, and if a person moves in the right direction, then the meaning, the hidden subtext of Scripture is gradually revealed to him. But attempts to combine into one knowledge and understanding accumulated by all spiritual people and those who try to be people, gave the usual result: how many people - so many opinions. For each, even the most insignificant issue, there were so many understandings and assessments that, as inevitability, a need arose to analyze and summarize all this information. As a result, we got the following picture: several people necessarily covered the same topic absolutely, almost literally, in the same way. Having traced the pattern, it was easy to notice that the opinions exactly coincided among a certain kind of people. Usually these were saints, theologians who chose monasticism or simply led an especially strict life, more attentively than other people, treated their thoughts and actions. Purity of thoughts and feelings made them open to communion with the Holy Spirit. That is, they all received information from one source.

Discrepancies arose from the fact that, nevertheless, not a single person is perfect. No one can escape the influence of evil, which will surely seduce, try to mislead a person. Therefore, in Orthodoxy, it is customary to consider as true the opinion confirmed by the majority of the Holy Fathers. Single assessments that do not coincide with the vision of the majority can be safely attributed to personal speculation and delusion.

It is better to ask the priest about everything related to religion.

For a person who has just begun to be interested in such issues, the best solution would be to seek help from a priest. He will be able to advise the literature suitable for the beginner. You can ask for such help at the nearest temple or in a spiritual and educational center. In such institutions, priests have the opportunity to devote a sufficient amount of time and attention to the issue. It is more correct to look for the answer to the question "Why was Jesus Christ crucified?" just that way. An unequivocal answer to it simply does not exist, and independent attempts to seek clarifications from the Fathers are dangerous, since they wrote mainly for monks.

Christ was not crucified

Any Gospel event has two meanings: explicit and hidden (spiritual). If you look from the point of view of the Savior and Christians, then the answer could be this: Christ was not crucified, He voluntarily allowed himself to be crucified for the sins of all mankind - past, present and future. The obvious reason is simple: Christ questioned all the customary views of the Jews on piety, undermined the authority of their priesthood.

The Jews, before the coming of the Messiah, consisted in excellent knowledge and accurate execution of all laws and rules. The Savior's sermons made many people think about the falsehood of such a view of the relationship with the Creator. In addition, the Jews were looking for the King promised in the prophecies of the Old Testament. He had to free them from Roman slavery and stand at the head of the new earthly kingdom. The high priests were certainly afraid of an open armed uprising of the people against their power and the power of the Roman emperor. Therefore, it was decided that "it is better for us that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish" (see chapter 11, verses 47-53). That's what Jesus Christ was crucified for.

Good friday

On what day was Jesus Christ crucified? All four Gospels unanimously state that Jesus was arrested on the night of Thursday to Friday of the pre-Easter week. He spent the whole night in interrogation. The priests delivered Jesus into the hands of the viceroy of the Roman emperor, the procurator Pontius Pilate. Wanting to avoid responsibility, he sent a captive to King Herod. But he, not finding anything dangerous for himself in the person of Christ, wanted to see some miracle from a well-known prophet among the people. Because Jesus refused to entertain Herod and his guests, He was again brought back to Pilate. On the same day, that is, on Friday, Christ was brutally beaten and, having placed on His shoulders the instrument of execution - the Cross, was taken outside the city and crucified.

Good Friday, which occurs in the week leading up to Easter, is a day of especially deep sorrow for Christians. In order not to forget on what day Jesus Christ was crucified, Orthodox Christians observe fasting every Friday throughout the year. As a sign of compassion to the Savior, they limit themselves to food, try to especially carefully monitor their mood, not swear, and avoid entertainment.

Calvary

Where was Jesus Christ crucified? Turning again to the Gospel, one can be convinced that all four "biographers" of the Savior unanimously point to one place - Calvary, or This is the hill outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

Another difficult question: who crucified Christ? Is it correct to answer like this: centurion Longinus and his colleagues are Roman soldiers. They drove nails into the hands and feet of Christ, Longinus pierced the already cooling Body of the Lord with a spear. But he gave the order. So he crucified the Savior? But Pilate tried in every possible way to persuade the Jewish people to let Jesus go, since he had already been punished, having been beaten, and there was “no guilt” in Him worthy of a terrible execution.

The procurator gave an order under pain of losing not only his place, but, possibly, life itself. After all, the accusers argued that Christ threatened the power of the Roman emperor. Does it mean that the Jewish people crucified their Savior? But the Jews were deceived by the high priests and their deceitful witnesses. So after all, who crucified Christ? The honest answer would be: all these people together executed an innocent person.

Hell, where is your victory ?!

It would seem that the high priests won. Christ accepted the shameful execution, the shelves of angels did not descend from Heaven to remove Him from the cross, the disciples fled. Only his mother, best friend, and a few devoted women stayed with Him to the end. But that was not the end. The apparent victory of evil was destroyed by the resurrection of Jesus.

At least see

Trying to erase every memory of Christ, the pagans covered Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher with earth. But at the beginning of the 4th century, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helen arrived in Jerusalem to find the Cross of the Lord. For a long time she unsuccessfully tried to find out where Jesus Christ was crucified. She was helped by an old Jew named Judas, who reported that on the site of Golgotha ​​there is now a temple of Venus.

After excavations, three similar crosses were found. To find out on which of them Christ was crucified, the crosses were alternately attached to the body of the deceased person. At the touch of the Life-giving Cross, this man came to life. A huge number of Christians wished to worship the shrine, so they had to raise the Cross up (erect) so that people could at least see it from afar. This event took place in 326. In memory of him, Orthodox Christians celebrate on September 27 a holiday, which is called so: Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.

Was Jesus Crucified on Friday? If so, how did He spend three days in the tomb, rising from the dead on Sunday?

The Bible does not specifically indicate on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. There are two most common opinions that this happened on Friday or Wednesday. Some, combining the arguments of Friday and Wednesday, call this day Thursday.

In Matthew 12:40, Jesus says: "For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Those who call Friday the day of the crucifixion argue that it is reasonable to believe that Jesus was in the grave for three days, since the Jews of the first century sometimes viewed part of the day as a whole day. And since Jesus was in the grave part of Friday, all Saturday and part of Sunday, this can be considered as a three-day stay in the grave. One of the main arguments in favor of Friday is recorded in Mark 15:42, where it is noted that Jesus was crucified on "the day before the Sabbath." If it was an ordinary, "weekly" Saturday, then this is evidence of the crucifixion on Friday. Another argument for Friday refers to verses such as Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22, which report that Jesus will rise again on the third day. Thus, there was no need for Him to remain in the grave for three whole days and three nights. However, while some translations use the phrase “on the third day” in these verses, not all, and not everyone, agrees that this is the best translation of these texts. In addition, Mark 8:31 says that Jesus will be resurrected “after” three days.

The Thursday argument follows from the previous one, and basically proves that too many things happened between Christ's funeral and Sunday morning (some count as many as twenty) to occur from Friday night onwards. They point out that this is especially important since the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two fixes this problem. As proof, Thursday's defenders cite the following example: “Imagine you haven't seen your friend since Monday night. The next time you met him, it was Thursday morning, and then you can say, "I haven't seen you for three days," even though technically 60 hours (2.5 days) have passed. " If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, then this example helps to understand why this period could be perceived as three days.

Supporters of the Wednesday crucifixion claim that there were two Saturdays that week. After the first one (the one that came on the night of the crucifixion - Mark 15:42; Luke 23: 52-54), the women smelled incense - notice, they made their purchase after Saturday (Mark 16: 1). According to this point of view, this Saturday was Easter (see Leviticus 16: 29-31; 23: 24-32, 39, where sacred days, which did not necessarily fall on the seventh day of the week - Saturday, are called Saturdays). The second Saturday that week was a regular, "weekly" Saturday. Note that in Luke 23:56, women who bought fragrances after the first Sabbath returned and prepared them, and then “on the Sabbath they were left alone.” This shows that they could not purchase incense after the Sabbath, or prepare it before the Sabbath — unless there were two Saturdays at that time. From the standpoint of the opinion of two Saturdays, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then Easter was supposed to begin on Thursday after sunset and end on Friday evening - at the beginning of a regular Saturday. Buying incense after the first Sabbath (Passover) would then mean that they bought it on the second Sabbath and broke the commandment.

Thus, this view notes that the only explanation that does not disprove the reports of women and incense, and also supports a literal understanding of the text in Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. Saturday - the holy day (Easter) - came on Thursday, after that on Friday the women bought incense, returned and prepared it on the same day, rested on the usual Saturday, and on Sunday morning they brought this incense to the tomb. Jesus was buried around sunset on Wednesday, which was the beginning of Thursday according to the Jewish calendar. Using this method of calculation, we have Thursday night (night 1), Thursday day (day 1), Friday night (night 2), Friday day (day 2), Saturday night (night 3) and Saturday day (day 3). It is certainly not known when Christ resurrected, but we know that this happened before sunrise on Sunday (in John 20: 1 it is said that Mary Magdalene came “to the sepulcher early, when it was still dark,” and the stone had already been rolled away from the tomb, then she found Peter and told him that “they had taken the Lord out of the tomb”), so He could rise even immediately after sunset on Saturday evening, which, according to Jewish reckoning, was considered the beginning of the first day of the week.

A possible problem with this view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so “on the same day” as His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who did not recognize Him, reported the crucifixion (24:20) and said that “it is already the third day now that this has happened” (24:21). Wednesday to Sunday - four days. A possible explanation is that they could keep an account of Christ's funeral on Wednesday night, when Jewish Thursday began, and from Thursday to Sunday, therefore, there are three days.

In principle, it is not so important to know on what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were really necessary, then God's Word would clearly communicate it. The important thing is that He died, and physically, bodily rose from the dead. Equally important is the reason He died — to bear the punishment that all sinners deserve. And John 3:16 and 3:36 proclaim that faith in Him leads to eternal life!

To reconstruct the general chronology of Christ's life, it is important to determine the day of the week, calendar date and year of the crucifixion. For convenience's sake, these three questions will be considered before other chronological aspects of the Lord's life. They will be discussed in the above-mentioned order, if possible separately from each other.

Day of week

The Christian Church traditionally considers Friday the day of Christ's death. There is no good reason to reject such a view. The fact that the Lord was crucified on Friday is supported by the strongest Bible evidence. Specifically, according to all four Gospels, Jesus was crucified on a day called the “day of preparation” (paraskeuē) (Matt. 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42 ) - this word was well known to the Jews and meant Friday. Objections to such an understanding are based mainly on the Gospel of Matthew 12:40, where it is stated that Christ, before being resurrected, must remain in the tomb for three days and three nights. However, among the Jews it was customary to refer to even part of the day or night as one day or one night (cf. Gen. 42: 17-18; 1 Kings 30: 12-13; 1 Kings 20:29; 2 Chron. 10: 5 , 12; Est. 4:16; 5: 1). Therefore, the phrase “three days and three nights” does not necessarily mean that there must be three intervals of twenty-four hours between the crucifixion of Christ and His resurrection. It is simply one of the colloquial equivalents of “the third day” (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24: 7; 21, 46; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15: 4) or “after three days” (Matt. 26:61; 27:40; 63; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 14:58; 15 : 29; John 2: 19-20).

Thus, in light of the gospel accounts, it is best to conclude that Jesus died at three o'clock in the afternoon and was laid in the tomb later that day. He spent the rest of Friday (before sunset) in the coffin, the entire next day (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), and part of the next day (Saturday sunset to early Sunday morning). This system of counting days from sunset to sunset was adhered to by the Jerusalem Sadducees. Another system of number, from sunrise to sunrise, was also popular, but the first, from sunset to sunset, was considered more formal (see later in this essay).

date

It is also very important to establish on which day of the Jewish calendar Jesus was crucified. Was it the fourteenth or fifteenth of Nisan? Reading John's Gospel gives the impression that it was on the fourteenth, but the Synoptic Gospels seem to point to the fifteenth. In other words, from the Gospel of John it might seem that the Last Supper was not an Passover meal, while the evangelical forecasters say the opposite.

John 13: 1 says that the supper prior to the crucifixion of Christ took place "before the Passover." John also writes about the trial of Jesus, which took place on “the Friday before Passover (literally,“ the day of preparation of the Passover ”)” (John 19:14). John 18:28 also says that Christ's accusers have not yet eaten the Passover. The fact that the other disciples did not understand Jude's intent in John 13:29 also shows that they were looking forward to celebrating Passover the next day. Since Passover was usually eaten in the evening, that is, at the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth (Lev. 23: 5), apparently, John says that the death of Jesus came on the fourteenth of Nisan.

On the other hand, Matthew, Mark and Luke specifically place the Last Supper after Sunset on the night of the fourteenth to the fifteenth of Nisan (Matt. 26: 17-20; Mark. 14: 12-17; Luke 22: 7-16). They mention the slaughter of the Passover lambs, which took place on the fourteenth; the meal began in the evening of the same day.

Many attempts have been made to resolve this seeming contradiction. Some thought the Synoptic Gospels were right, but the Gospel of John was not. Others, on the other hand, suggested the opposite. Another option is to recognize both versions as correct, adjusting the interpretation of one or the other description to agree with the opposite.

The best thing in this matter would be to accept the competence of both methods of determining the date of the crucifixion. This is possible because in the time of Jesus, the Jews apparently recognized a dual method of calculating dates. In addition to the more famous system, in which each new day began with sunset, some have made it a rule to count the days from sunrise to sunrise. Both traditions are supported by the Old Testament: the first is found in Genesis 1: 5 and Exodus 12:18, the second in Genesis 8:22 and 1 Samuel 19:11.

The system of counting days from sunrise to sunrise, which Christ and His disciples adhered to, is described by Matthew, Mark and Luke. John, on the other hand, describes events in terms of the counting system from sunset to sunset. There are also indications that the difference in the number of days was a matter of controversy between the Pharisees (who counted the days from sunrise to sunrise) and the Sadducees (who counted the days from sunset to sunset).

Thus, in the story of the synoptic evangelists, Jesus eats Easter on the evening before the crucifixion. Those who follow the system of reckoning the days from sunrise to sunrise slaughtered the Passover lambs a few hours earlier - in the afternoon. For them, the slaughter took place on the fourteenth of Nisan - when the Passover meal was taking place. The fifteenth did not come until the next Friday morning, around 6:00.

However, John's account of events is viewed from the perspective of the Sadducees who controlled the temple. Christ was crucified at the time when the Passover lambs were usually killed, that is, on the day of the 14th of Nisan. The fourteenth of Nisan began at sunset on Thursday and lasted until sunset on Friday. During this time, lambs were usually slain, but the temple leadership apparently compromised with those who adhered to a different calendar and allowed them to slaughter the Angels on Thursday afternoon. This difference explains why Jesus' accusers had not yet tasted the Passover meal (John 18:28). They were going to do it on Friday night, Nisan 15, the day that started at sunset.

If the above explanation is correct (at this stage it cannot be definitely stated, but it looks like it does the best job with the original data), then Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15 according to the reckoning of days from sunrise to sunrise, and on Nisan 14 according to the method calculus from dusk to dusk.

Crucifixion year

Astronomical studies are of great help in determining the year when Christ was crucified. The Jewish calendar consisted of lunar months. Therefore, having determined the time of the new moons in the period when Jesus died, it is possible to find out in which years the 14th of Nisan (according to the reckoning of days from sunset to sunset) fell between sunset Thursday and sunset Friday.

Jesus was crucified sometime between 26 and 36 AD. AD, since at this time Pontius Pilate ruled (cf. John 19: 15-16). Complicated astronomical calculations show that during this period, Nisan 14 fell on Friday twice, in AD 30 and AD 33. according to R. Kh.

Deciding in favor of 30 or 33 is not an easy task. By and large, this issue is closely related to the chronology of the entire period of Christ's earthly life. It is necessary to take into account and analyze such moments as the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, which is designated by Luke as "... the fifteenth ... year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ..." (Luke 3: 1-2), the moment of the thirtieth anniversary of Christ (Luke 3:23) , the words of the Jews that "this temple was built forty-six years ..." (John 2:20), as well as other chronological indications. Only then can we come to a final decision about the year of the crucifixion. Such research will be carried out in the next essay.

Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977. C. 65-114.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971. pp. 774-786.

Ogg, George. Chronology of the New Testament // Peake's Commentary on the Bible. Nelson, 1962. C. 729-730.

The Chronology of the Public Ministry of Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge U. 1940. C. 203-285.

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The article has been translated and published on with the permission of the author. . Dr R.L. Thomas is Senior Professor in the New Testament Department at Masters Seminary, Sun Valley, California (The Master‘ s Seminary, Sun Valley, California).

Robert L. Thomas. Chronology of the Life of Christ // A Harmony of the Gospels with Explanations and Essays, Using the Text of the New International Version / Eds. Robert L. Thomas, Stanley N. Gundry. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978, pp. 320-323.