Short answer
No. The New Testament Gospels disagree about the day of the crucifixion they describe. In Mark, Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples before his arrest. In John, the priests have not yet eaten the Passover when Jesus stands before Pilate, the Roman governor. So Mark puts the crucifixion after the Passover meal, and John puts it before. Christians offer ways to fit these together. But Mark ties the meal to the day the lamb was killed, and John sets the supper before the feast. Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, wrote that if Christ was not raised, Christian faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). The Qur'an says Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that those who differ about it are full of doubts (4:157).
Full explanation
The day: before or after the Passover meal
Passover is the Jewish feast that remembers the escape from Egypt. It is marked by a meal of lamb. In Mark, the disciples get the Passover ready on the day the lamb was killed, and Jesus eats the meal with them before his arrest. So in Mark the crucifixion comes after the Passover meal. John tells it differently. His last supper comes before the feast. At the supper, the disciples think Judas has gone out to buy what they need for the feast. On the morning of the trial, the priests will not enter Pilate's hall, so that they can still eat the Passover. And John says Jesus is sentenced on the day of preparation of the Passover. So in John the crucifixion comes before the Passover meal.
“And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?”
“And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.”
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”
“For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.”
“Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.”
“And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.”
| Point | Mark | John |
|---|---|---|
| The last supper | The Passover meal, on the day the lamb was killed | Before the feast |
| The morning of the trial | The Passover meal has been eaten | The priests have not yet eaten the Passover |
| The crucifixion | After the Passover meal | Before it, on the day of preparation |
Matthew and Luke follow Mark here; most scholars hold that they used Mark as a source.
What Christians say about the differences
Christians hold that the accounts agree on what matters: Jesus died, was buried, and rose on the third day, as Paul sums it up. They say the differences are the kind honest, independent witnesses produce, and that a story four people told word for word would look rehearsed. On the Passover, they offer ways to fit the accounts together. These are answered below.
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
Matthew and Luke built on Mark
Most New Testament scholars hold that Mark was written first. They hold that Matthew and Luke used it as a source, often copying it word for word. So on the Passover meal, Matthew and Luke follow Mark (Matthew 26:17-19; Luke 22:7-15). The two separate voices are Mark and John, and they disagree.
The classic statement of the view most New Testament scholars still hold: Mark was written first, and Matthew and Luke both used Mark as a source, taking over most of its material, often word for word and in the same order.
What the Qur'an says
Paul says that if Christ was not raised, Christian faith is in vain. The Qur'an states that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that it was only made to appear so. It says those who differ over it are full of doubts and follow only conjecture. The Gospels' own disagreement over the day fits what it says. And the Qur'an says God (﷾) raised him up to Himself.
“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
“Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-”
The usual answers
Mark 14:12 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 14, verse 12
“And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?”
Cited for
Jesus followed a different calendar from the priests, so he ate the Passover meal a day early. Then both Gospels are right.
The response
Neither Gospel says this. Mark says the disciples prepared the Passover on the day when they killed the Passover lamb. John says the priests had not yet eaten the Passover on the morning of the trial. Nothing in either Gospel says Jesus kept another calendar. That idea has to be brought to the text.
Where it lands — Mark ties the supper to the day the lamb was killed, and no Gospel says Jesus kept another calendar.
John 18:28 — Gospel of John, chapter 18, verse 28
“Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.”
Cited for
In John, "the passover" the priests wanted to eat means the other meals of the feast week, not the Passover meal itself.
The response
John sets the last supper "before the feast of the passover" and the sentence on "the preparation of the passover". Some say "the preparation of the passover" means the Friday of the feast week. Even so, John says the priests had not yet eaten the Passover on the morning of the trial. At the supper the disciples think Judas has gone out to buy what they need for the feast, so the feast had not yet come. Mark has the disciples prepare and eat the Passover on the day the lamb was killed, before the arrest. And "eat the passover" is the very phrase Mark uses for the Passover meal itself.
Where it lands — John places the crucifixion before the Passover meal, and Mark places it after.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3-4
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
Cited for
Independent witnesses always differ on details. The accounts agree on the core, and that is what counts.
The response
Grant that honest witnesses differ on small things. But most scholars hold that Matthew and Luke worked from Mark's written text, so they are not separate witnesses. The two separate voices, Mark and John, put the day on opposite sides of the Passover meal.
Where it lands — Matthew and Luke follow Mark, so the clash on the day is between Mark and John, not between independent memories.
Perspectives
Christian harmonisation
Christians hold that the Gospels agree on the core: Jesus died, was buried, and was seen alive on the third day. They say the details differ because each writer chose what to tell, and the differences can be fitted together.
Christians say the accounts agree on the core facts: death, burial and resurrection. Paul lists these as the heart of the message.
Rebuttal
Grant that all four Gospels report a crucifixion, a burial and an empty tomb. The Qur'an says Jesus was not killed or crucified, but that it was made to appear so to them (4:157). So agreement on what was reported does not settle what happened to Jesus.
Differences in detail show that the writers were independent witnesses who did not copy one another.
Rebuttal
Grant that honest witnesses differ in small things. But Matthew and Luke are not separate witnesses: most scholars hold they used Mark's written text. The two separate voices, Mark and John, put the day on opposite sides of the Passover meal.
The Islamic perspective
The New Testament Gospels disagree on the day of the crucifixion they describe. Mark places it after the Passover meal, and John before the Passover. Christians say their faith rests on these books. The Qur'an says Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that those who differ over it are full of doubts.
Mark places the crucifixion after the Passover meal. John places the sentence before the Passover.
Most scholars hold that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a written source, so they are not independent witnesses.
The Qur'an states that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that God (﷾) raised him up to Himself.