Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T19:04:49.413Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - From the last supper to the crucifixion: a new analysis of the gospel accounts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2011

Colin J. Humphreys
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Get access

Summary

They bound him [Jesus] and brought him first to Annas.

(John 18:12–13)

At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.

(Luke 22:66)

Very early in the morning, the chief priest, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and turned him over to Pilate.

(Mark 15:1)

In this chapter we will consider the sequence of events recorded in the gospels, from the last supper to the crucifixion, paying particular attention to their timing.

THE CONDENSED NATURE OF THE GOSPELS

Let us start by reminding ourselves that all biographies are compressed versions of history. In a biography a person's rich and varied life is condensed into a few hundred pages, with only the highlights usually recorded. The gospels are of necessity similarly selective, and as John writes at the very end of his gospel: ‘Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written’ (John 21:25).

Our study of the gospels in this book has shown that they each compress events differently: they are four separate narratives telling the story of the same person.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Mystery of the Last Supper
Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus
, pp. 169 - 190
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×