Mark 15:25 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And it was the third hour, &c.— The third Jewish hour ended at our nine o'clock in the morning: by St. Mark's account, therefore, the crucifixion and the lots may have been finished at the striking of eight, when the third hour, answering to our ninth, began. This indeed seems at first sight to clash with St. John 19:13-14 who tells us, that when Pilate sat on the judgment seat in the Pavement, and brought Jesus out to the people the last time, it was about the sixth hour, that is to say, the sixth Roman hour, the same with our six o'clock in the morning: but to reconcile these accounts, the following series of transactions should be considered: after the governor brought forth Jesus, he spoke both to the people and to the priests, before he finally condemned him; and though each speech is discussed by the evangelist in a single sentence, theymay have been drawn out to some length, that if possible an impression might thereby be made on the people. When Jesus was delivered to the soldiers, they had to strip him of the purple robe, and to clothe him in his own garments; the thieves were to be brought out of prison; the necessary preparations for the crucifixion of the three were to be made; in particular, crosses were to be provided; the crimes laid to the charge of the prisoners were to be written upon whitened boards, in black characters; the vinegar, sponge, and reed were to be procured: soldiers were to be appointed for watching the crosses, &c. &c. In travelling from the praetorium (which may have been situated in that quarter of the town farthest from the place of execution,) they could move but slowly; because Jesus, being verymuch fatigued, must have borne his cross with difficulty. When he grew faint, it might be some time before they found one to assist him in bearing it; and, being come to the place of execution, they had the crosses to makeready, by fixing the transverse beams on their proper supporters; the prisoners were to be stripped, and nailed to them; the titles were to be fixed, the holes for the crosses to be dug, the crosses themselves to be erected and fixed; and, last of all, the prisoners' clothes were to be divided by lot. These, with other circumstances unknown to us, accompanying executions of this kind, may be supposed to have filled up the whole space between six in the morning when the governor shewed Jesus the last time, and the third Jewish hour when Jesus was crucified; that is to say, a space less than two hours: for about the sixth hour, the expression in St. John, may signify "a while after the striking of six, when the sixth hour ends;" and the third hour, the expression in St. Mark, answering to the ninth Roman hour, maysignify at the beginning thereof, or at the striking of eight, when the eighth hour ends, and the ninth begins. See Doddridge.