John the Baptist

[DeistPaladin]

No, you’re a critic. Note your name and tag-line.

Your point?

Incorrect. You’re reading in words like “starts with,” “begins to gather,” and “kickoff” that aren’t in the texts. I’m sticking with the actual texts.

So am I. That's how the story reads to me. I'm reading what's there and not trying to rationalize away the continuity gaffes.

The time in the wilderness wasn’t in the original analysis. It would come between between the booming voice and the extra bit of ministry, due as you note to the “immediately” in the text.

Fail!

Jesus can't immediately go into the wilderness for 40 days AND also spend the next three days after his encounter with JtB gathering disciples and attending a wedding.

Either he went to the wilderness afterwards (and John is wrong) or he spent the next three days with the disciples and the wedding (and Mark is wrong).

No, now we have a 5-point timeline to make:

1. Spirit like a dove (checked and didn’t see booming voice in John)
2. Immediately went to the wilderness for 40 days.
3. Ministry specific to john
4. JtB thrown in prison.
5. Jesus comes to Galilee preaching

Point #3 fails.

John specifies that Jesus spent the next three days gathering disciples and attending a wedding. John's timeline specifically doesn't allow for the 40 days in the wilderness in between because he specified "The next day" and "the day following".

You lose. sir! Bite the bullet and admit the continuity gaffe.

OK, I’ll concede a conflict between Mark (not et al, the others don’t say immediately) and John on this.

Your concession of loss is acknowledged.

Matt and Luke based their work on Mark and distinctly imply right away after the baptism.

Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Matt 4:1 Then [in context, right after the booming voice] was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

"Then" and "and" would imply right away. Especially since Luke has Jesus going to the wilderness in the same sentence.

I’ve addressed it by noting your misunderstanding of the word disciple. Again, Jesus gathered disciples throughout his ministry. “Disciples” aren’t limited to the twelve apostles.

Jesus had no disciples OR apostles when he went into the wilderness. He was alone, tended to by angels and tempted by Satan.

But, if the chronicler thinks these things were legitimate, you dismiss his account as Christian mythology.

Only if they were Christian authors writing religious tracts. A mention by Philo or Josephus, just to toss out a few non-Christian names, or by a rival sect (a Jewish reference) would have been convincing.

We’re still discussing Jesus today, so he obviously got attention.

Yeah. Constantine's. But that was three centuries later.