1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. 4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.
5Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
6All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”
7He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! 9Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
11He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
13He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”
14Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”
He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”
15As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, 16John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, 19but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, 20added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized and was praying. The sky was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
23Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Other than designating that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, the writers of the 4 Gospels (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23; John 1:29-39) do not tell us the exact location of the event.
Around A.D. 333 the anonymous Pilgrim of Bordeaux stated that from the Dead Sea to where the Lord was baptized in the Jordan River was about five Roman miles. He says there is a small hill nearby, on the east bank, that he marks as the spot Elijah was taken up. [1] This description agrees with the traditional location of Elijah’s ascension, retained in the name: Jebel Mar Elyas (Mount of St. Elijah). Later (c. 530) Theodosius agrees with this description, saying that it was five miles up the Jordan from the Dead Sea to the spot Jesus was baptized and that the spot was marked by a marble column topped with an iron cross. He also says there was a church there and mentions that the hill of Elijah was nearby.[2] Forty years after Theodosius the Anonymous of Piacenza says that people would come down to the Jordan at Epiphany to be baptized at the same spot.[3]
Jordanian Department of Antiquities excavator Mohammad Waheeb has argued he found the “Bethany beyond the Jordan” in John’s Gospel (John 1:28) based on excavations there.[4] Although the site is not directly on the Jordan River, it is near enough that if it is the “Bethany beyond the Jordan” of John’s Gospel (1:28), then John must have baptized Jesus in the Jordan near this site.
Excavations have revealed Byzantine churches on the east bank of the Jordan river, confirming the memory of the site as the place of Jesus’ baptism. Although there are churches and monasteries on the west bank today, this is probably the result of political situations during the Crusader period and the modern era. During the Crusades, the Jordan River was the de-facto border between the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Muslim Sultanate of Damascus. It is likely Christians (who had already mostly abandoned churches on the Jordan River) could not use the east bank and built churches on the west bank. In modern times (after 1967) the River was once again a tense border, between Israel and Jordan. Once again this necessitated the use of the west bank of the river as the site remembered as the spot where Jesus was baptized. After 1994 the area on the east bank was once again accessible and various Christian groups have built or have plans to build churches there. [5]
[1] LPPTS 1-b, 26; Geyer, 24.
[2] LPPTS 2-b, 14-15; Geyer 145-146.
[3] LPPTS 2-d, 10-12; Geyer 166-168.
[4] Jordanian Department of Antiquities, “The Baptismal Site (Bethany beyond the Jordan)” Online: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1556/ (accessed January 30, 2010).
[5] Michelle Piccirillo, “The Sanctuaries of the Baptism on the East Bank of the Jordan River,” in Jesus and Archaeology, edited by James H. Charlesworth, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s, 2006) 442-443.