The third hour was about nine in the morning. The evangelist notes the time to show that Christ’s crucifixion was a historical, real event, not a vague symbolic story. From that hour the Son of God was hanging on the cross before people’s eyes. The mention of the time also reminds us that God’s saving plan was being carried out at the appointed time. People thought that they were directing the events, but the hour of Christ’s death was within the Father’s will and the fulfillment of the prophecies.