280 AGNOSTICISM: A REJOINDER vill 



Jesus was crucified at the third hour (xv. 25), 

 and the narrative seems to imply that he died 

 immediately after the ninth hour (v. 34). In this 

 case, he would have been crucified only six hours ; 

 and the time spent on the cross cannot have been 

 much longer, because Joseph of Arimathsea must 

 have gone to Pilate, made his preparations, and 

 deposited the body in the rock-cut tomb before 

 sunset, which, at that time of the year, was about 

 the twelfth hour. That any one should die after 

 only six hours' crucifixion could not have been at 

 all in accordance with Pilate's large experience of 

 the effects of that method of punishment. It, 

 therefore, quite agrees with what might be ex- 

 pected, that Pilate " marvelled if he were already 

 dead " and required to be satisfied on this point 

 by the testimony of the Roman officer who was in 

 command of the execution party. Those who 

 have paid attention to the extraordinarily difficult 

 question, What are the indisputable signs of 

 death ? will be able to estimate the value of the 

 opinion of a rough soldier on such a subject; 

 even if his report to the Procurator were in no wise 

 affected by the fact that the friend of Jesus, who 

 anxiously awaited his answer, was a man of 

 influence and of wealth. 



The inanimate body, wrapped in linen, was 

 deposited in a spacious, 1 cool rock chamber, the 



1 Spacious, because a young man could sit in it "on the right 

 side " (xv. 5), and therefore with plenty of room to spare. 



