Introduction
The first three gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – are called the “Synoptic Gospels” because they each give a similar synopsis of Jesus’s life and ministry.
The fourth gospel – John – is noticeably different. In many cases, John gives more or less information than the Synoptics. For example, John gives a longer time frame than the others, with three years of Jesus’s ministry accounted for.
The differences between John and the Synoptics sometimes pose chronological difficulties. One example is the timeline of Jesus’s crucifixion with two main problems to reconcile.
The problems
Problem #1: The Synoptics indicate that Passover began the night before Jesus’s crucifixion, with Jesus eating the Passover (and instituting the Lord’s Supper) on the same night of his betrayal. Yet on the day of the crucifixion, John states: “Then [the Jewish rulers] led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover” (John 18:28). This sounds as if Passover had not yet begun. John also states that the crucifixion and burial took place on the “Preparation Day of the Passover” (John 19:14).
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