Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that this was attributable to John having preceded Jesus (thus acquiring followers of his own), and also because John continued to baptize after Jesus appeared, which, to me, was a valid continuation of the mission that he had originally received from God. I think that the Bible makes it clear (including by John's own words, as in John 3:27-29) that it would NOT have been attributable to any attempt on John's part to "compete" with Jesus, but had a valid spiritual purpose of its own.

(For example, as noted in Mark 6:14-29, John publicly denounced Herod Antipas for his divorce from his previous wife in order to marry Herodias, who had divorced her own prior husband (Herod's half-brother Philip) in order to marry Herod. This was what caused Herodias to hate John, resulting in having John imprisoned, and later instructing her daughter Salome to request John's execution after Salome pleased Herod by dancing for him at his birthday celebration.)

(I would also note that, in referring to the relative positions of John and Jesus, John himself said in John 3:30, "He [Jesus] must increase and I must decrease," but, by the same token, he did NOT say, "He must increase and I must go away.")

June 04 2025 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report