Transitions at Bethany Beyond the Jordan and the Judean Wilderness
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.” Mark 1:9-13
There is no archeology to mark the place where Jesus was baptized. We know it was in the Jordan and that it was near “Bethany beyond the Jordan” and the area where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing. There have been places of worship and Christian pilgrimage on the Jordanian side of the river at this site since the 3rd c AD. The first major church building commemorating the baptism of Christ here was built in the 5th c AD and there has been a church here ever since. Our photo is of the current church of Saint John the Baptist, taken from the Israeli side of the Jordan River. This general area near Jericho is the site of pivotal transition scenes in our salvation history. It was here that Elijah was taken up into heaven and Elisha assumed his mantel as prophet. It was in this area that Moses at the command of the Lord appointed Joshua as leader of the Israelites and where they crossed into the promised land at last.
Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the gospels tell us that he was led into the wilderness by the Spirit for 40 days and was tempted by Satan. The photos illustrate how even today the Judean wilderness is a forbidding place - remote, dry, barren and beautiful. Jesus resisted all temptation where we, and the people of Israel, could not. From here Jesus began his public ministry and the revealing of his identify as the Messiah!
The wilderness
