With a few differences and many similarities, it is interesting to see the events of this day through different eyes. Let’s look closely at the day of the crucifixion of Jesus, beginning with the Seder feast of the Passover the night before, when a new Jewish day begins:
• The disciples prepared Passover in the Upper Room. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Some of the disciples were instructed to meet a man with a pitcher of water, who would allow them to be guests in His Upper Room. They were to prepare for the arrival of Jesus. (Mark, Luke)
• Peter and John are identified as the ones asked by Jesus to prepare the Seder (Luke).
• Jesus tells the disciples that He will no longer eat of Passover until the feast is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. (Luke)
• Jesus revealed Judas as the one who would betray Him. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• Jesus washed the feet of the disciples before the Seder. (John)
• Jesus tells them He will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. (Luke)
• Jesus instructs His disciples to love one another, as He has loved them. (John)
• Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• The disciples argue over who will be the greatest in heaven. (Matthew, Luke)
• Jesus predicts coming conflict. (Luke)
• They went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) Only Mark says that the rooster would crow twice before Peter denied Jesus three times. The other Gospels say the rooster would crow once before that happened.
• Jesus tells the disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you. My Father’s house has many mansions.” Jesus teaches them that if they have seen Him, they have seen the Father, and that He and the Father are one. He tells them that if they love Him, they should keep His commandments. He tells them of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will come after He is gone. Jesus tells them that He is the Vine and the Father is the vinedresser. The Father prunes the branches, that do not bear fruit. (John)
• Jesus tells them that greater love has no man than He who lays down His life for His friends, identifying sacrificial love as the greatest form. He warns them that the world will hate them, because it hated Him first. (John)
• They went to the Garden of Gethsemane. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• Jesus prayed three times that if there was any other way to accomplish this task, that the Father would let this cup pass from Him. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples and all future believers to come. (John)
• Jesus sweated great drops of blood. (Luke)
• Judas arrived accompanied by a mob of armed Pharisees and betrayed Jesus with a kiss. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, though the kiss is not mentioned in John)
• They ask which one was Jesus, and He said, “I am He.” When He did, they fell back and toppled over like bowling pins. I think it was the “I AM.” (John)
• Peter pulled a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. (Matthew, identified as the servant of Caiaphas in Mark and Luke, John)
• Jesus healed Malchus. (Luke)
• A young man followed Jesus, having a linen cloth around his body. Attacked by the mob, the young man fled naked. (Mark)
• They first took Jesus to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. (John)
• Jesus told Annas that He had spoken openly in the temple. An officer slapped Him. (John)
• They took Jesus to Caiaphas, the high priest. (Matthew, Mark, John)
• Peter followed Jesus. (Matthew, Mark, John) Another disciple followed Jesus, and that disciple was known to Caiaphas. Could it have been Nicodemus, Joseph or John? (John)
• Two false witnesses testified against Jesus. (Matthew, Mark).
• Jesus remained silent, but acknowledged to Caiaphas that the He was the Son of God and would sit at the right hand of the Father. (Matthew, Luke)
• Caiaphas gave Jesus the death sentence, then they spit on Him, beat Him and slapped Him. (Matthew, Mark).
• They blindfolded Jesus. (Mark, Luke)
• They mocked Jesus. (Luke)
• Peter denied Jesus three times. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• In the morning, they bound Jesus and led him to the Roman consul, Pontius Pilate. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• They told Pilate that Jesus did not pay taxes, to make it a Roman law broken, rather than a Jewish law that would not concern Pilate. (Luke)
• Judas returned to those who paid Him to betray Jesus. He threw the money on the ground. (Matthew)
• When questioned by Pilate, Jesus admitted that He was the “King of the Jews.” (Matthew, Luke, John)
• Jesus asks Pilate, “What is truth?” (John)
• Pilate finds no fault in Jesus. (Luke, John)
• Pilate finds out that He is a Galilean and sends him to Herod, as that is Herod’s jurisdiction. (Luke)
• Herod had heard of the miracles of Jesus and wanted to see one. Jesus didn’t speak to Herod. They mocked Jesus and put a beautiful robe on Him, then sent Him back to Pilate. Pilate and Herod became friends that day.
• Pilate found no fault in Jesus. (Luke, John)
• Pilate confronted the Jewish crowd, wanting them to ask for the release of Jesus, as it was custom to release a prisoner on Passover. Instead, the fickle crowd who had called Jesus the King five days earlier, asked for the release of Barabbas. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• Pilate’s wife told her husband to have nothing to do with this, based on dreams she had. (Matthew)
• Pilate, seeing that he could not control the crowd, acceded to its wishes to have Jesus crucified. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Romans soldiers scourged Jesus, and then delivered Him to be crucified. (Matthew, Mark, John)
• Soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, surrounded by a garrison of soldiers, they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. (Matthew, Mark, John)
• They put a crown of thorns on His head (Matthew, Mark, John) and a reed in His right hand (Matthew).
• They spat on Him and hit Him on the head with the reed. (Matthew, Mark) They struck Him. (John)
• They stripped Him of the robe when done mocking Him, and then, put His own clothes back on Him. (Matthew, Mark)
• They had Simon the Cyrene help carry the cross to Golgotha. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, though Luke identifies the place as Calvary, John.)
• Women followed Jesus and He spoke to them. (Luke)
• Jesus says, “They know not what they do.” (Luke)
• They gave Him gall to drink on the end of a sponge, but He wouldn’t drink it. (Matthew, Mark says this was wine mingled with myrhh)
• They cast lots for His clothing. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• They put Him on the cross at 9 a.m. (Mark)
• Pilate handed him over to be crucified at noon. (John)
• They put Him on the cross between two thieves. (Matthew, Mark, John)
• Jesus said to His mother, Mary, “Woman, behold your son,” referring to John, and said to John, “Behold your mother.” (John)
• Jesus said, “I thirst.” (John)
• Passersby mocked Him. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Priests, scribes and elders also mocked Him. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• The thieves also reviled Him. (Matthew, Mark)
• From noon to 3 p.m., there was darkness over the land. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Around 3, Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew, Mark)
• They put a sign above Him, “King of the Jews.” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• They offered Him sour wine. Again, He refused to drink it. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• One of the criminals defended Jesus. Jesus told him, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke)
• Jesus yielded up His Spirit. (Matthew, Mark)
• Jesus said, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My Spirit.” (Luke)
• Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John)
• The temple veil was torn in two from to top to bottom. (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• The day is identified as a high holy day, Passover. (John)
• A great earthquake occurred. (Matthew)
• Dead came out of their graves and were seen by people. (Matthew)
• A soldier broke the legs of the two thieves, but did not break the legs of Jesus, fulfilling Scripture. They did not want the bodies up there on the Jewish holidays, and breaking the legs caused them to die faster. Remember, Jesus had already promised that the one thief would die that day along with Him! Instead, the soldier thrust a spear into the side of Jesus, and blood and water gushed out. (John)
• A centurion, who saw all of this, acknowledged that they had killed the Son of God. (Matthew, Mark, in Luke, the centurion says He was a righteous man, rather than the Son of God.)
• Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and got the body and buried Jesus in the tomb. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• Nicodemus helped Joseph in the burial. (John)
• The tomb had never been used before. (Luke, John)
• Joseph is identified as a council member who did not agree with the decisions of his fellow Pharisees. (Luke)
• Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead. (Mark)
• Joseph laid Jesus in the tomb, and Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, observed where this was. (Mark, Luke)
• The day Jesus died is identified as the day before the Sabbath, also called the day of preparation, as Jews were not allowed to do work on the Sabbath, so they did the work in advance. It is not clear if this is a Saturday, or a high holy day. (Luke)
• People following Him beat their breasts when He died, but the women remained. (Luke).
Isn’t it humbling to think what Jesus did on our behalves? If I was the only sinner on the earth, He would have come to die for me! It is hard to grasp that kind of love! Even more than that, it is hard to offer that kind of love, but Jesus asks us to follow Him. What a powerful reminder of how we are to love our neighbors, our enemies, our families and our friends!
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