Why did John the Baptist continue to have disciples after he publicly identified Jesus as the son of God?
John 1:35 - 46
NKJV - 35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!
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Tim Maas
Supporter
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.)
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