Today was quite cold, with rain in the air. Rick and Anne kindly offered to take me on an outing to a couple of places that would be fairly hard to get to by public transport - Mt Nebo, where Moses looked out over the promised land, and the baptism site at 'Bethany beyond the Jordan' where John baptised Jesus.
We stopped for lunch on the western slope of Mt Nebo.
Just behind Rick and Anne and family, in the background, you can see some of Jordan's rugged terrain. The view towards the summit of Mt Nebo from this spot is shown below.
The guardians of this site were the Franciscan order, who have the role of looking after many of the sacred sites in the Holy Land, apparently as a result of St Francis' own visit to that area. I had this picture taken especially for Jean Malcolm. Above Mt Nebo Siyagha, the sign says, "Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land".
It was from Mt Nebo that Moses looked over to the Holy Land (Deuteronomy 32:49-52). He would have seen a sight pretty much like this.
While Moses could see the promised land, he died before he could enter it, and is buried in the valley close to the mountain (Deuteronomy 34:1-8). His gravesite is not known.
From Mt Nebo we quickly descended over 1,000 metres to the Dead Sea, where a discovery in the 1990s has led to a fairly definite identification of the specific site where John the Baptist was baptising "at Bethany beyond the Jordan" (John 1:28). This is where he would have baptised Jesus, and where Jesus had the experience of the Holy Spirit descending upon him like a dove and a voice from heaven saying, "This is my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). This appears to have been a pivotal event in his own life and ministry, and as a result this must be one of the most significant historical sites for the Christian faith. For more information see: http://www.baptismsite.com/ .
It was raining by the time we arrived at the entrance to the site, so I left my togs in the car! In any case, our visit had to be in a group and guided, as the Jordan River is the border to the occupied territories/state of Israel and is under tight security. An unexpected fact about the baptism site is that it is no longer exactly at the River Jordan. It is understood that the River flowed through the site at an earlier time, but has now changed its path. The site is not even filled with water sometimes, although the recent rains in Jordan had resulted in a large baptismal pool.
(The pillars are left from an early church, further remains of which are under the wooden roof structure that you can see at the top of the picture.)
We were hurried along by a very uninterested guide, but the connection with such a significant event in the life of Jesus at this very spot had a major impact on me.
On the way back to Amman we went up from the Jordan Valley, where we had been below sea level. We passed this sign that says it all:
3 comments:
it seems so real even just from the photos hx
So you haven't become famous by finding the Ark of the Covenant yet? Mt Nebo was a possibility, I heard.
Pity about not getting a dip in the River, but then again, a further baptism would create theological difficulties...
Enjoying your technologizing!
~ Jude
Gee, fantastic to see photos, commentary and biblical excerpts. Makes it very real. Must be amazing. Five baptisms at St James on Sunday 4th.embubra
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