Dr. Geikie admits that John and Jesus were strangers to each other. He says: “Though cousins, the Baptist and the Son of Mary had never seen each other” (Life of Christ, vol. i, p. 389).
This is not only a rejection of Matthew’s statement, but a repudiation of the first chapter of Luke, one of the most important chapters of the New Testament; for it is utterly impossible for reason to harmonize these alleged revelations concerning the miraculous conceptions and divine missions of John and Jesus to their parents and the fact that John remained for thirty years in absolute ignorance of Jesus’ existence.
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What did John say regarding Jesus?
“He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear” ([Matthew iii, 11]).
“There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose” ([Mark i, 7]).
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What other testimony did he bear concerning Jesus?