The three synoptic gospels each detail the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22. Both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tested in their very next verses (Matt. 4:1; Mark 1:12). In the gospel written by Luke, he first gives a genealogy of Jesus right after He was baptised, and then records him being led into the wilderness (Luke 4:1).
The gospel as written by the disciple John doesn’t record the baptism of Jesus at all – which is a common thread for this author in not repeating many of the miracles and events that were written by the other gospel authors. Instead, from Chapter 1 verses 19 to 36 John records the testimony given by John the Baptist. Then, after the baptism of Jesus, John states “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1).
So, where did Jesus go after His baptism? Did He spend 40 days in the wilderness or attend the wedding in Cana 3 days afterwards?
A day – John 1:19-28
The Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to Bethany to question John the Baptist about who he was, and he outright said, “I am not the Christ!”. Then they asked him why he was baptising if he wasn’t the Christ or one of the Prophets and John replied that he was only baptising in water, but “Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, who is coming after me.”
Day one – John 1:29-34
The following day Jesus entered the story by walking towards John, and then John began to testify about him, calling him the Lamb of God. He told those around him what he witnessed after baptising Jesus previously. No indication is given as to how long before this day Jesus was baptised. After reading the first three gospels, we know that this event was clearly after Jesus was tested in the wilderness.
Day two – John 1:35-42
The following day Jesus was walking past again and two of the men (Andrew and the disciple John) who were with John the Baptist went after Jesus to speak to him. They all went together to where Jesus was staying, and Simon Peter joined them.
Day three – John 1:43-51
On the next day, Jesus was setting out for Galilee and met more men along the way whom he invited to follow him as his disciples.
John Chapter 2 begins with
“Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.” (John 2:1-2).
As you can see, there are no contradictions or misunderstandings here. Straight after Jesus’s baptism, he was led into the wilderness where he spent 40 days, and after that, he and his disciples attended a wedding in Cana.
