Tomorrow I will embark on a journey through "Biblical
Jordan", organized by CIEE. We will
be visiting four sites tomorrow: the site of Jesus' baptism, Mount Nebo, St.
George Church and Mukawer. Growing up as
a Christian I have heard the stories of these places my whole life. I decided to write this post before I go so
that I will have done some research for the journey and have a better
appreciation and understanding for what I see. I have attached hyperlinks to
the names of the places I will be visiting.
Those will give you much more information about what is at each
place. These are really good websites
and I suggest skimming them at least because they have great information. Most
of what I personally will write will transitions and biblical references when available
for each location.
Our first stop is the baptism site.
There are many biblical references to this area of the Jordan. The most common is of course the location where
Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the
Jordan to John, to be
baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let
it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he
consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water,
and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Matthew
3:13-17(ESV).
Another story that occurred in this area of the Jordan was
the ascension of the Elijah into heaven.
"Then Elijah said to him, "Please stay here, for
the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives,
and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went
on. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance
from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his cloak
and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side
and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. When they
had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I
am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double
portion of your spirit on me." And he said, "You have asked a hard
thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you,
but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." And as they still went on
and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of
them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he
cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its
horsemen!" And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes
and tore them in two pieces." 2 Kings 2:6-12 (ESV)
Hopefully both of these sites will be visited tomorrow.
Our next stop on the trip is Mount Nebo.
"Then Moses went up from the
plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of
Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead
as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of
Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley
of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him,
"This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with
your eyes, but you shall not go over there." So Moses the servant of the
LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word
of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of
Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this
day." Deuteronomy 34:1-6 (ESV)
From what I have read it is no secret as to why God told
Moses to look from Mount Nebo. The view
is supposed to be breath taking. There is apparently also a church at this
location with some amazing mosaics on the floor.
Our third stop on the journey through Biblical Jordan takes
us to St. George Church in Madaba . Madaba is mentioned a few times in the Bible,
in Numbers and Joshua specifically, but the most significant thing in this town
is the mosaic map on the floor of St. George Church.
"With two
million pieces of colored stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages
and towns in Palestine and the Nile Delta. The mosaic contains the earliest
extant representation of Jerusalem, labeled the "Holy City" (Η ΑΓΙΑ
ΠΟΛΙC). The map has been a major key in developing scholarly knowledge about
the physical layout of Jerusalem after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD."
(sacred-destinations.com)
This map was also used in helping identify the location of
the baptism of Jesus.
Our final stop on the trip is Mukawer. Honestly I could not find much on line about
this location so there is no link for this.
Here is what I know about it though.
Mukawer was once the location of a palace of Herod. This is believed to
be the location where John the Baptist met his final days.
"For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound
him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because
he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod,
"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias
had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When
he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an
opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his
nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias's
daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the
girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And
he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my
kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I
ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came
in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to
give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king
was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want
to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with
orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought
his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her
mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it
in a tomb." Mark 6:14-29 (ESV)
From here we are to return to Amman.
I hope you enjoyed reading this because I am very much
looking forward to visiting these sites.
Salaam.
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