Did Jesus go into the desert immediately after his baptism, or did he go to Galilee and attend a wedding first?

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Did Jesus go into the desert immediately after his baptism, or did he go to Galilee and attend a wedding first?

Posted by faithfirstmedia on July 3, 2009 at 4:50 PM

Question:

Did Jesus go immediately to the desert after his baptism (Mark 1:12-13), or did he first go to Galilee, see disciples, and attend a wedding (John 1:35, 43; 2:1-11)?

Answer:

Mark 1:12-13 says that Jesus went to the wilderness for forty days after his baptism. But it seems as if John saw Jesus the next day in Bethany, then in Galilee, and then in Cana, unless you go back and read the entire record from John 1:19. John the Baptist himself gives an explanation of the baptism of Jesus. It was "John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.” He refers to the event of the baptism in the past. Just look at the past tense used by John when he sees Jesus coming towards him in John 1:29-30 and John 1:32. While watching Jesus he relates to those who were listening to the event of the baptism and its significance. There is no reason to believe that the baptism was actually taking place at the time John was speaking. So there is no reason to believe that this passage contradicts that of Mark's Gospel.

Categories: Bible 'Contradictions', Answers to Questions

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1 Comment

Reply John Scoone

10:15 PM on March 17, 2010

All of the other gospels agree with Mark, and tell of Jesus going into the wilderness. What some forget is that the gospel of John is more of a narrative gospel than the others, in other words, not in the first person. The language here is ambiguous, so it's impossible to tell whether Jesus had already been baptized in verse 29, but by verses 32-34 it is clear that John is talking about past events, so it's more likely that John the Baptist was out proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ when Jesus returned from the wilderness, and not just baptized, since all three verses clearly indicated that this event took place in the past. It would have been much better, however, if the author [John] had made this fact clear.