Note 2 at Joh 1:35: It is stated very clearly in Mr 1:12 that Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted "immediately" after He was baptized by John. However, the instance recorded here is prefaced by "the next day," inferring that these two disciples of John stayed with Jesus the day after His baptism. Joh 1:43 and 2:1 further complicate things by showing a succession of events that covered three days after this recognition by John. This would mean that Jesus' forty-day temptation began at least three days after His baptism.

The harmony of these two accounts is that Joh 1:32-34 was simply John referring back to the baptism of Jesus and actually took place after Jesus returned from His temptation. As far back as Joh 1:15, John's testimony of Jesus was spoken of in the past tense. Joh 1:15-51 all took place after Jesus' baptism.