Sunday, July 13, 2008

Israel Day 8: Jordan River

"Just south of Tiberias and at the lower part of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River continues its downward flow. It extends sixty-five miles to the Dead Sea but meanders 200 miles to get there. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has arranged a pleasant spot for Christians to be baptized here; but John, it seems, immersed Jesus in the Jordan River closer to Jericho, further down the Jordan Valley." Daniel Rona, Memory Book of the Holy Land, p. 21.

John 1:28 These things were done in aBethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 ¶ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the aLamb of God, which taketh away the bsin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John abare record, saying, I saw the bSpirit descending from heaven like a cdove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the aHoly Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare arecord that this is the Son of God.

This really is a beautiful and peaceful spot. Even though it is commercialized, it is not gaudy. Even though numerous Christian groups come here for their baptisms of different formats and styles, there seems to be a general spirit of reverence and respect.

There is a wall with these verses from the Gospel of Mark that show the translations is many languages.

While we were there, there was a small group that were in the river. They were all in white. Some were immersing themselves, some bathing, some sprinkling, some just hung out. It was very interesting to see.

Interestingly enough, because there is no font in Israel, including the Jerusalem Center, when baptism for our church take place either for children turning eight who are members of the branch or the rare convert, they come here for the baptism. Our guide had a couple of his children/grandchildren baptized here. Every so often, a family of ex-pats has a child who turns eight, and this is the place they come.

There is a continuous video being made, so people can purchase their portion and bring it home to remember it by. They are locker rooms for changing and the site can accommodate several hundred at once. I had no idea this place even existed and it was fascinating. It does have a reverence to it, both in it's environment and the focus on what all Christians have in common.

The gift shop had a few quirky items: Jordan Almonds & The First Miracle Wedding Wine. Sorry, I did not buy either one. The Jordan Almonds apparently tasted the same as the ones sold in America at ten times the price.

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