Forty Days of Preaching 

John baptized Jesus on January 14, 26 CE. After Jesus came up out of the water, he left John’s camp and was not seen again for forty days. The events of the baptism had a profound effect on John; and when he returned to his followers, they were in deep discussions among themselves, wondering what it all meant. To add to the mystery, John told them – as he had told Jesus – the story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary before Jesus was born. They wondered at the fact that Jesus had made no comment upon hearing the story from John and just walked off to the hills alone. It was a starlit night, and John and his followers talked together for hours and hours about Jesus; where he might have gone and when he might return.

John remained at Pella, continuing to preach and baptize. Even though there was quite a bit of tension during these days of not knowing where Jesus was and when he would return, John’s preaching was powerful with an added excitement and certainty to his message as he renewed his proclamations about the coming kingdom and the awaited Messiah. Thousands of people gathered about him, and his disciples began to preach to the overflowing crowds. They had come to see the supposed new Messiah but were told he was not there, causing many to disbelieve the whole story. The entire countryside was awash in rumors that spread even to Jerusalem.

One day, several weeks after Jesus’ departure, a group of religious leaders from Jerusalem came to Pella to question John about the events that were causing such a stir among the people. They asked John whether he was Elijah or some other prophet. John replied that he was not. Then they asked him directly if he was the Messiah and John said that he was not. Subsequently, the priests asked John why he was baptizing and creating such a disturbance if he was neither a prophet nor the Messiah. John replied: "It should be for those who have heard me and received my baptism to say who I am, but I declare to you that, while I baptize with water, there has been among us one who will return to baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

During these forty days, John and his disciples had many discussions among themselves. They all wondered about John's relationship to Jesus in light of these new developments. Issues of politics and personal ambition surfaced, leading to intense debates surrounding the nature of the Messiah. Would Jesus assume a role as a military leader and a Davidic monarch? Would he emulate Joshua's conquest of the Canaanites against the Roman armies? Or was his purpose to establish a spiritual realm? John adopted the latter minority view, that Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven. Yet, he himself was not entirely certain about the specifics of this mission and what it might entail.

John prayed that Jesus would return soon. His disciples organized search parties and wanted to go out looking for the Master. But John advised them against it, saying that all things were in God’s hands and the Father would direct his Son.

Finally, on Saturday, February 23, CE, Jesus returned from his sojourn in the hills. When John saw the Master approaching, he stood on a rock and loudly proclaimed: "Behold the Son of God, the deliverer of the world! This is he of whom I have said, 'After me, there will come one who is preferred before me because he was before me.’ For this cause came I out of the wilderness to preach repentance and to baptize with water, proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And now comes one who shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And I beheld the divine spirit descending upon this man, and I heard the voice of God declare, `This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.'"

The next day, Jesus left John and his disciples and went to Galilee. He did not tell them if or when he might return. Before he left, John questioned Jesus about the next steps for his own preaching mission, but Jesus only said: "My Father will guide you now and in the future as he has in the past." Then the two men parted, and they never saw each other again while they were in this world.