"CONTRADICTIONS" in the KING JAMES BIBLE - 08

social_media_nav_bar

SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH YOUR FRIENDS and FOLLOW

Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; John 2:1-11: Was Jesus in the Wilderness or at the Wedding?

Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness immediately after his baptism (Matt 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13), but

Does John 2:1-11 say he was at the wedding in Cana three days after his baptism?

1. No. It doesn't say that. Jesus was not at the wedding feast three days after his baptism.

2. The purpose of John the Baptist's ministry of water baptism was to make Jesus, the Messiah known to Israel (John 1:31). When Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist saw heaven opened, he saw the Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus, and he heard a voice from heaven that confirmed Jesus was that Messiah. Then the spirit IMMEDIATELY drove Jesus into the wilderness - where he remained for 40 days - exactly as Mark wrote (Mark 1:10-12).

3. Now go to John 1:19 which begins the testimony of John the Baptist. Priests and Levites ask John the Baptist whether he is the Christ. He says no. The Pharisees then ask why he baptizes people. He says he baptizes because there was someone among them who would come after him, who they didn't know, who is preferred before him, and whose shoe latchets he was unworthy to unloose. (It was a day too early to fully answer the question in a public announcement - so he didn't).

4. The "next day" (John 1:29), John the Baptist saw Jesus, announced the message of his lifetime, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world", (same verse) and then answers the question fully by announcing that this was his whole purpose in baptizing people - to make Jesus manifest to Israel. (John 1:31) He also explained how he knew for sure that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah. (John 1:32-34).

5. Notice that everything recorded (between John 1:19-34) is John the Baptist's testimony. When he saw Jesus and made the announcement (John 1:29), it was already AFTER the 40 days in the wilderness has passed, and Jesus had just returned. It says that it was the "next day" after the Pharisees had asked why John the Baptist was baptizing people; it doesn't say that it was the "next day" after Jesus' baptism.

6. We know this for sure because all of John's testimony (in John 1:30-34) is a reference to the past. He uses past-tense verbs, and we are told that it is his "record" (vs 19) of what had already happened. JESUS WAS NOT BAPTIZED ANYWHERE IN THE BOOK OF JOHN. The reference to his baptism (in John 1:32-33) is only a flashback as told by John the Baptist, so ALL of this is being told AFTER the wilderness experience and about 41 days AFTER the baptism.

7. So, "the third day" has nothing to do with the timing from Jesus' baptism.

8. However, re: "the third day", God GATHERED the waters together unto one place on "the third day" of creation (Gen 1:9), Jesus rose from the dead and was gathered together with his disciples on "the third day" from his crucifixion (Luke 24:21, 46), and those who believe in him, he will both rise up and be gathered together on "the third day"- which, in part, is a reference to 1,000 years being a day and that after 2,000 years from his first coming he will raise us up at the rapture (Hosea 6:2; Matt 24:29-31; I Cor 15:51-55; I Thess 4:16-18).

9. At that time, there will be a marriage - where Jesus (the lamb) is married to the church (the bride, the faithful saints, we who believe in him) - just like there was a marriage in Cana on "the third day". The "old wine" will have run out, and the "new wine" that Jesus has made will be the talk of the feast.

10. It's a fascinating study, but getting back to the question. No, Jesus was not at the wedding feast three days after his baptism. John the Baptist did not baptize Jesus in the book of John; he only recounted the story of it having happened some 40/41 days earlier, during which time Jesus had been driven into the wilderness by the spirit, and tempted of the Devil there, immediately following his baptism.

11. You can TRUST every word in God's Word, the King James Bible!