Why do the Gospel writers go into relatively more detail regarding Christ's final week on earth?

Answer 1

Mark's Gospel is heavily weighted towards the final events in Jesus’ life. John Shelby Spong points out that over a third of this gospel cover the events of the final week of Jesus' life, with · over 100 describing the final twenty-four hours of Jesus’ life. This observation is important, because we now know that the other New Testament gospels are based directly (Matthew, Luke) or indirectly (John) on Mark. If Mark is weighted towards the final events in Jesus’ life, then inevitably the others will be as well. Of course, the period is, to a large extent, considered the most important in the life of Jesus, at least until the resurrection.

Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) says that the author of Mark took the basic ideas for the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection that we find in Paul's epistles and dared to imagine how the crucifixion and resurrection of the Christ might look if played out as a historical event in Jerusalem. He says Mark, writing around 70 CE, expanded the notion of Jesus as a martyr because this fitted his project of accounting for the earlier troubled history of Christianity.

Mark organised the account of the death of Jesus in a twenty-four hour cycle, neatly divided into eight three-hour segments that occupy two substantial chapters. Spong says that the structure of this account makes the story of the crucifixion begin to look less and less like history and more and more like liturgy:

A The celebration of the Passover Feast, which becomes the Last Supper, beginning "when it was evening" (Mark 14:17), or when the sun went down: approximately 6 pm and the beginning of the day of the Passover by Jewish reckoning. Mark knew that the duration of the Passover meal was three hours and that it concluded with the singing of a hymn. Jesus says, "This is my body," a metaphor that will be reflected in his burial (A').

.B When was about 9 p.m. Mark then has Jesus and the disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray. He suffered alone and in agony, asking God that, if possible, he take this cup (his destiny to be crucified) away from Jesus. Meanwhile his disciples, Peter, James and John, were not able to remain awake. "Could you not watch one hour?" Jesus asked. The process was repeated two more times. The disciples could not watch one, two or three hours. It was now midnight.

..C The betrayal of Jesus, the darkest deed in human history, came next, occurring at the stroke of midnight. This will be reflected by the darkness at midday.

...D At 3:00 a.m., Jesus was led away for a trial before the high priest and other senior priests and elders. We know the time of the first trial because Peter's threefold denial of Jesus followed, once each hour until the cock crowed, marking the watch between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., known as cockcrow.

....E "As soon as it was morning", which meant 6 o'clock, Jesus was led by the chief priests, scribes and elders for trial by Pontius Pilate.

...D' At 9 o'clock: "It was the third hour when they crucified him."

..C' When "the sixth hour had come" (12 noon), darkness covered the whole earth, reflecting the betrayal at 12 midnight.

.B' The three hours of darkness, until 3 p.m. mirror the agony in the Garden of Gethsemene. Jesus last words, "My God. My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" reflect the recognition that his prayer in the Garden has not been answered. At 3 o'clock Jesus cried out and gave up the ghost.

A' Joseph of Arimathea then asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, so that he could be buried before the Sabbath began at 6 p.m., when the sun went down.

Once again, this sequence of events was was copied more or less faithfully by the other evangelists, although the chiastic structure, apparent above, was lost.

Answer 2

According to The Bible, it was the days leading up to the most significant event in human history. Also, in the final week of his life and even after his death, many of the prophecies written in the Old Testament about the promised messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. The gospel writers undoubtedly wanted to highlight the events leading up to his ransom sacrifice, and the fulfillment of prophecy in order that others may exercise faith in the ransom.