JORDAN RIVER
Image of Northern Jordan from I Am Israel: Mountain of the King
My phone rang. It was my friend Joshua Aaron, so I answered.
“Hey! Grab your swimsuits! I’ll pick you up in five minutes!”
“…What’s going on?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“It’s a surprise! You’re gonna love it!”
There were only about 90 minutes left before sunset, when a delicious Shabbat dinner would launch the long-awaited Day of Rest. My ten-year-old son Nicky and I were spending the weekend just down the street from Joshua and his family, high on a hill overlooking the stunning Sea of Galilee. Doing my best to “go with the flow” (not easy for me), we grabbed our suits and hopped in the car along with two of his kids—Emma and Max…
A few minutes later, we pulled off the main road and wound our way into a tree-covered, dirt and gravel parking lot, full of cars, haphazardly arranged in no logical order. The air was full of the sounds of live music, singing, and children’s laughter; the smell of roasted meat and freshly brewed coffee was intoxicating. What was happening?!
Apparently, every Friday night, a hodgepodge of bohemian Israelis gather along a certain bank of the Jordan River to welcome the Sabbath with family and friends for an evening of good clean fun! We lingered for about an hour, enjoying the live music and sipping on remarkable coffee as the sun sank lower and lower. We sat on the banks and watched the kids playing in the water: the common language of laughter creating no barriers.
Nicky’s turn to launch off the Jumping Log!
Miracles occurred on this river all throughout the Bible! Not only is this where Elijah, Elisha, and the entire Nation of Israel experienced divine, miraculous crossings, and Naaman the Syrian received his healing from leprosy, this is exactly where another bohemian spirit, John the Baptist, called for Israel’s repentance, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!” All who embraced his message were immersed in the Jordan as a symbolic act of cleansing: a concept not unfamiliar to his audience!
Image from I Am Israel: The Mountain of the King
Some scholars believe when John would immerse the people, he had them cross from East to West, the same path Israel took when entering the Promised Land almost 1,440 years earlier, as a symbol of a new beginning, a fresh start, and a journey into the faithfulness and providence of their Almighty God!
Then of course Jesus arrived on the scene, and John was more than ready to pass the baton! “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
On the banks of this very Jordan (where my son played with his friends!) Jesus stepped foot into the soft, silty riverbed and approached His reluctant cousin. “Let it be this way now, because we should do everything righteousness requires.”
Baptism of Christ by Jorge Cocco
“As soon as Yeshua (Jesus) had been immersed, He came up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, He saw the Spirit of God coming down upon Him like a dove, and a voice from Heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with Him.” (Matt 3:15-17)
What an stunning moment when Father, Son, and Spirit were manifest all at once!
Miracles continue to occur in the Jordan River on a daily basis. People continue to follow God’s Word, the Spirit’s promptings, and the Son’s command to be baptized in Their Name. Thousands of symbolic gestures declaring that they have decided to follow Jesus!
“I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”
I stood in the Jordan River in 2018, up to my knees, with my guitar in hand, singing those very words over my friend Jon Shabaglian and his family as they were baptized. When his son Christopher burst out of the water, he took one step toward the shore, then suddenly turned to fling himself into the arms of his mother and wept, then he jumped into his father’s arms… My voice got stuck in my throat, but I keeping strumming, and weeping—knowing full well I was witnessing this young boy’s heart determined to follow Jesus. No turning back!
On a cold February night in 1992, twelve years after I decided to follow Jesus, I was baptized in my small home church in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. But, since I still need daily—if not hourly—repentance, I have every intention of passing through the symbolic waters of cleansing again this coming October. This time in the same river as Jesus!
So grab your suits, you’re gonna love it!
