24 – Jesus’ Final Hours

For the first time ever the final twenty-four hours of Jesus’ life have been broken down into hour-by-hour sections

Twenty-four hours is one turn of the Earth on its axis. Most days blend into each other, but one day changed the world forever: The day Jesus Christ, the Son of God died. Whether you would like to admit it or not, the most important event in world history is the death of Jesus of Nazareth on a cross at Calvary. All events in history prior to Jesus’ crucifixion led to that point and all events since then have led from that point. 24 – Jesus’ Final Hours will change forever the way people see his sacrificial death and the way they see the man who was and is God and the God who was man and is man.

As I wrote and researched ‘The Jesus Diary’¹, which is the most comprehensive chronology of Christ’s life ever written, the events that affected me most were those surrounding his crucifixion. Learning at a deep level what the Son of God suffered to free me and all mankind from sin has inspired me to look at the events of his crucifixion in even greater detail. My hope is that in joining me on this journey of Jesus’ final hours, you will discover even more of the sacrificial love and selfless, giving character of Jesus, God’s Son.

The Chronology of Jesus’ Life Part 2

’24 – Jesus’ Final Hours is Part 2 of the Chronology of Jesus’ Life series. This is a four part series. ‘The Jesus Diary’ is Part 1 of the series and gives the most comprehensive chronology of the events of Jesus’ life ever written. Part 3 of the series is, ’40 Days of Jesus’ Resurrection Appearances’, which gives a day-by-day breakdown of his resurrection appearances. And Part 4 of the Chronology of Jesus’ Life series is, ‘Jesus’ Birth’, which looks at the chronology of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God in human form.

This forensic analysis of Jesus’ Passion reveals:

• When the Last Supper took place
• How long the journey to the Mount of Olives took
• How long Jesus prayed in Gethsemane
• When Judas betrayed Jesus
• The times of Jesus’ trials
• The times of Peter’s denials
• How long Jesus was under guard
• What time Jesus was condemned
• The time of Jesus’ trial by Pontius Pilate
• The time of Jesus’ trial by King Herod
• The time of Jesus’ crucifixion
• The time of Jesus’ death 
• The time of Jesus’ burial

Layout and methodology

If the Gospels dedicate half of their content to Jesus’ final hours then we should pay more attention to them. Never before have the events of Jesus’ final twenty-four hours been broken down into hour-by-hour segments. This approach reveals even more of the suffering and pain our Saviour endured to set us free from our sins. Also it reveals the part each person played during those final hours whilst illuminating the effect it had on them.

This book is laid out in such a way that helps reflect on the main elements around Jesus’ crucifixion. Meditate on the Scripture for each event. Hear what God is saying to you through those Bible verses and receive a new revelation of Jesus. Reflecting on his crucifixion will enable us to see and understand what Jesus did for us at Calvary. We will see even more of his great level love for us and for mankind. The more we see of that divine love, the stronger our faith in Jesus, God’s Son will be.

Synopsis

Many people read the Gospels, but few know the one complete story of Jesus’ life and death because of the apparent inconsistencies in the order and content of events recorded there. This deprives them of seeing the full revelation of God’s love and nature, which is seen most clearly in Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. 24 – Jesus’ Final Hours places the events of his crucifixion in the order and hour that they occurred, which increase the readers’ knowledge of Jesus and strengthens their trust in the truths written in the Gospels.

Never before have the events of Jesus’ last day been recorded in an hour-by-hour, orderly account. Readers of 24 – Jesus’ Final Hours will:

• Understand at an even deeper level how much God loves them and what Jesus Christ, His Son went through in dying for their sins on the cross at Calvary.

• See Jesus’ sacrifice in a way that reveals how much they have been forgiven, which will open the way for them them to receive the fullness of God’s love and redemption, enabling them to pass that love and forgiveness onto others.

• Be enabled to pass on the insights revealed by the different perspectives that arise from seeing the events of Jesus’ death in their correct chronology in teaching or preaching to churches or leading small group studies.

Because the book will:

• Provide the complete, moment by moment sequence of events around Jesus’ crucifixion in the order and the hour at which they took place.

• Reveal the timing of events in his final hours that have never been seen before.

Demonstrate at an even deeper level the stages of suffering that Jesus Christ, the Son of God went through to redeem us from our sins and restore us into an ongoing, loving relationship with his Heavenly Father.

24 – Jesus’ Final Hours is divided into four distinct parts:

Part I – A Firm Foundation

Eternal life is to know God and Jesus, whom he sent to die for our sins (John 17:3). Seeing the events of Jesus’ death in their correct chronology will increase our knowledge of God and His Son. To establish such a chronology it is necessary to show Jesus existed in history using evidence recorded outside the Bible. If a chronology is to be created from the accounts recorded in the Gospels then it must be shown that the material written there is reliable. To do that, the method of textural criticism will be used.

Part II – The Right Time and Place

A quick look at the Gospels reveals events in Jesus’ final hours begin at sunset when he arrived at the Upper room and ended at sunset the next day when his dead body was laid in the tomb (Mark 14:17-15:42). A closer look at the events shows some of them occurred at a specific time of the day. The timing of these events forms a framework for establishing the timing of events that happened around them. Many journeys took place during Jesus’ last hours and the timing and duration of them helps set all of the events in a solid timeframe.

Part III – Hour-by-Hour

Believing what is written in the Gospels enabled the writer to place the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion in the right order and at the hour or between the hours they occurred for the whole twenty-four hours of Jesus’ final day. An explanation is given as to why each event occurred at that time, along with any insights that are revealed by the timing of those events. Events of Jesus’ final hours are recorded in hour by hour segments under seven sections:

• The Last Supper
• Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
• Jesus’ trials and Peter’s denials
• Jesus is confined and condemned
• Jesus is tried and sentenced to death
• The Crucifixion
• Jesus’ death and burial

Part IV – The Final Word

All of the events of Jesus’ final twenty-four hours are laid out in a comprehensive table. This chronology of events gives wonderful insights into Jesus’ selfless, loving sacrifice and emphasises in greater detail everything he suffered to save us from our sins. This knowledge will take us into an even deeper relationship with him. The insights revealed from the chronology of events will be a great aid to preachers, teachers, students of the Bible and anyone with the desire to know this loving, selfless Saviour even more.

Special features

This manuscript contains various tables designed to graphically communicate important information in an easy-to-understand format.

24 – Jesus’ Final Hours is for people of all ages who long to see the ordered account of Jesus’ life and death to deepen their knowledge of Jesus and his heavenly Father and to solidify their faith and their trust in what is written in the Bible.

Over the last two thousand years many books written about Jesus’ Crucifixion, but none gives such a comprehensive chronology of his final twenty-four hours, which presents readers with a fresh perspective on the events that changed history forever.

Part One: A firm foundation

Chapter 1: Is Jesus real and is the Bible trustworthy?

Chapter 1 examines evidence found in the Bible and in other historical records outside the Bible that prove Jesus of Nazareth existed in history. Also, it shows that through the method of ‘Textural Criticism’, the accounts written in the four Gospels are trustworthy and reliable.

Part Two: The right time and the right place

Chapter 2: The timing of events of Jesus’ final hours

Chapter 2 looks at Bible verses pointing to the time of events in Jesus’ last hours. It reveals events began at sunset on the day he arrived at the Upper Room and ended at sunset the next day when he was buried. Jesus’ condemnation at dawn gives a midpoint to the events. These and other events recorded at set times form a framework for a chronology of events.

Part Three: Hour-by-hour

Chapters 3-9: An hour-by-hour breakdown of events

These chapters look at Gospel events for each of the seven sections of Jesus’ final hours. Events are placed in order and time they took place. An explanation is given as to why it was recorded at that time. Any insights from their order or timing are explained in each chapter.

Chapter 3: The Last Supper

Chapter 3 looks at events at the Last Supper and places them in the order they occurred.

Chapter 4: The Garden of Gethsemane

Chapter 4 places the events on the way to and in the garden in the order and hour they took place. The timing of the journey there is examined to set events in their correct chronology.

Chapter 5: Jesus’ trials and Peter’s denials

Chapter 5 examines and places the events of Jesus’ trials and Peter’s denials in the order in which they occurred. Then each event is recorded at the time it took place.

Chapter 6: Jesus is confined and condemned

Chapter 6 places the events that took place whilst Jesus was under guard and condemned to death by the religious leaders in the order and hour at which they occurred.

Chapter 7: Jesus is tried and sentenced to death

Chapter 7 examines and places the events of Jesus’ trials by Pilate and Herod and the journeys to and from their residences in the order and at the time they happened.

Chapter 8: The Crucifixion

Chapter 8 examines the events of Jesus’ crucifixion. The events and the journeys to Calvary and from there to Pilate’s fortress are placed in the order and time that they took place.

Chapter 9: Jesus’ death and burial

Chapter 9 examines the events of Jesus’ death and burial. Then each event and journey to and from Calvary to Pilate’s fortress is recorded in the order and time that it occurred.

Part Four: The final word

Chapter 10: Final table of events

Chapter 10 sets of the events of Jesus’ final hours in a comprehensive table. A summary of events reveals the extent of his loving sacrifice and the pain he suffered to save us from sin.