John 19:14

St. John sees prophetic significance in Pilate's words, 'Behold your king,' and therefore times them precisely. Pilate, the representative of the Gentile world, sees in Jesus, whom Israel rejects, the true king of Israel. The Passover is mentioned, because, in the evangelist's view, Jesus is the true Paschal lamb.

The preparation] i.e. the day before the Passover, extending from sunset on Thursday to sunset on Friday. Those, however, who think that the Passover took place on Thursday, translate, 'And it was the Friday in Passover week,' a possible, but improbable rendering: see John 18:28.

About the sixth hour] i.e. about noon. St. Mark says 'the third hour,' i.e. 9 a.m. (Mark 15:25). There is a discrepancy here of about 3 hours, which cannot be satisfactorily accounted for. However, Eastern ideas of time are vague, and if the actual time of crucifixion lay midway between 9 and 12, the discrepancy is not a very large one, and may possibly be explained by the complete absorption of the disciples in the dramatic incidents of our Lord's trial and execution, which rendered them unobservant of the flight of time. The discrepancy is not satisfactorily explained, by supposing (as some do) that St. John counts his hours from midnight, for this would throw back the crucifixion to 6 a.m., still leaving a three-hours' discrepancy.