The statement, in John vi. 4, talks about a Passover that took place a little after the feeding of the five thousand. "And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh." This Passover, the third of our Lord's ministry, was, as we have seen, that of 782, and fell on the 17th of April, and the death of John was a few days before this; the exact interval we cannot tell, as we do not know how long his death preceded the feeding of the five thousand, nor how long this feeding preceded the Passover.
If John was beheaded at Machaerus, some days must have elapsed ere his disciples could bury his body, and come to inform Jesus. So far as this datum goes, we may place his death in the latter part of March or the beginning of April, 782.
The feeding of the five thousand, as is generally agreed, and as will be hereafter shown, marks the culmination of His work in Galilee; yet this took place according to this view in three or four months after His work began, for it was a little before the Passover (vi. 4). And into this short space are crowded two-thirds, at least, of all that He did in Galilee, so far as recorded. This would be very improbable, even if, as is supposed, His labors there extended only through a year. In the highest degree improbable is the view that for all this the little interval between Purim and Passover was sufficient.
The order of events thus presented to us must be more fully examined. If this feast was Purim, and was followed a few days after by the Passover (vi. 4), the Evangelist mentions only three Passovers, ii. 13, vi. 4, xi. 55, and consequently, the Lord's ministry.........
