Section 27
John's testimony to Jesus as the Son of God
Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River
John 1:29-34
29On the next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained upon him. 33I myself did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Notes
Jordan River
The name Jordan, or yarad in Hebrew, means “to go down...to descend.” From the time it leaves its main sources at the foot of Mount Hermon, it drops 2,600 feet to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth’s surface. Its course follows the largest fault zone on earth, the Great Rift Valley, which begins in Turkey and extends to East Africa.
The melted snows from Mount Hermon which spring forth at Dan and Caesarea Philippi are the main source of the river. As the river runs down toward the Sea of Galilee, the volume of water increases as several small tributaries and springs contribute to the flow. About 264 billion gallons of water flow through the Jordan River each year.
After the Jordan River exits the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, it meanders 125 miles (although the distance in a straight line is only 65 miles) to the Dead Sea. The depth of the river varies with the season as well as by region. At some points it is as shallow as three feet, in other places 10 to 12 feet. In the spring, however, the Jordan used to be “at flood stage all during the harvest” (Joshua 3:15). Today about 90 percent of the Jordan flow has been diverted for domestic or agricultural use.
The southern part of the Jordan attracts few tourists because it straddles Israel and the country of Jordan. Just above the Dead Sea, across from Jericho, near what the Bible calls “Bethany beyond the Jordan,” John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River (John 1:28).