Like many of his works, Bach also revised the St. John Passion multiple times. There is no definitive version in Bach's own hand. The revisions involve both the instrumentation and rearrangements of the movements, as well as the addition or supplementation of new parts. The textual basis is the biblical account from the Evangelist John (John 18 and 19), with insertions from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26:75 and 27:51-52). The hymns come from the common repertoire of Bach's time and only deviate from the original form in a few cases. Based on the source material, the (complete) world premiere can be dated with reasonable certainty to April 7, 1724.