Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 15:25

"And it was the third hour, and they crucified him." — Mark 15:25 (ASV)

Mark says that Jesus was crucified the third hour, i.e., 9:00 A. M. This conflicts with John’s account, which says that the trial before Pilate was not quite over by the sixth hour, i.e., 12:00 noon, therefore implying that the Crucifixion took place later still.

Perhaps an early copyist has confused a Greek Γ—the letter that stands for three—with a F—the letter that stands for six. Or else v.25 may be a gloss; i.e., it was added by an early copyist. This is a possibility since both Matthew and Luke do not include this verse, and they ordinarily follow Mark’s indications of time in the passion narrative (but see also comment on Jn 19:14–15).