EAST OF THE JORDAN: THE FORGOTTEN ‘HOLY LAND’
By By JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Florida Baptist Witness, FL
Nov 15 2006
Photo by James A. Smith Sr.
The Serpentine Cross stands at the promontory of Mount Nebo where Moses
looked into the Promise Land God forbade him from entering. The Dead
Sea and Jordan River Valley separate Israel on the west from Jordan
on the east. The Cross represents the brazen serpent God directed
Moses to use in the wilderness to stop a plague among the rebellious
children of Israel.
AMMAN, JORDAN (FBW)-I’m not much for international travel, but one
of the places I have always wanted to visit is the "Holy Land" to
personally observe where my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ministered,
as well as the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles who
built the New Testament church.
In my mind, the modern-day borders of Israel were the extent of my less
careful thinking about the Holy Land. That changed on a 10-day tour
of Jordan with nine other Baptist newspaper editors in late September.
Sponsored by the Jordan Tourism Board and the Royal Institute
of Inter-Faith Studies, our hosts sought to expand the horizons
of Christian pilgrims as they think of travel to the Holy Land to
include sites east of the Jordan River, the demarcation today for
Israel and the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority from
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
In fact, many events of biblical history actually occurred in what
is modern day Jordan-the land of Old Testament times known as Edom,
Moab and Ammon, and during New Testament times known as Nabatea,
Perea and the Decapolis.
Modern day Jordan is the land where critical biblical figures,
including Abraham, Ruth, Job, Elijah spent pivotal time and where
important biblical history took place, including the destruction of
the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the place where Jacob
wrestled with the Angel of God and his name was changed to Israel.
No discussion of travel to Jordan can exclude the breathtaking site of
Petra, known as the "red-rose capital" of the Nabateans. Most famous
for its part in the Hollywood blockbuster, "Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade," Petra’s elaborately chiseled edifices carved out of mountains
were actually tombs for important leaders of the Nabatean kingdom,
most prominently, the so-called "Treasury" featured in "Indiana Jones."
There appear to be several biblical references to Petra (or
Sela/Joktheel: Judg. 1:36; Is. 16:1; 42:11) and tradition holds that
Moses’ striking of the rock that brought forth water (Num. 20;10-11)
during the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel took place
near Petra. Some scholars believe Petra could be the location where
Israel will flee during the end times’ tribulation (Matt. 24:15-16;
Rev. 12:6).
During our travels in Jordan, three sites of biblical significance
were of particular interest to me-Gadara, the disputed location of
Jesus’ healing of the Gaderene demoniac; Mount Nebo, the place where
God allowed Moses to view the Promise Land he would not be permitted
to enter; and, most significantly, Bethany beyond the Jordan, the
possible location of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.
Gadara
Umm Qays-biblical Gadara-is one of the cities of the Decapolis with
Graeco/Roman ruins is located in extreme northern Jordan from which
one can view the Sea of Galilee to the northwest and the area today
known as the Golan Heights, contested territory between Israel and
Syria. There is scholarly debate about whether this city is the
location of the healing of the demoniac (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-17;
Luke 8:26-37) or whether Gergesa, a city directly on the eastern
shore of the Sea of Galilee, is the proper location.
Photo by James A. Smith Sr.
Looking northwest from Umm Qays – biblical Gadara – the Sea of
Galilee around which much of Jesus’ ministry took place can be seen
about six miles away. Although there is scholarly debate about the
precise location, Jesus’ healing of the Gadarene demoniac may have
taken place in this extreme northern region of modern day Jordan.
New Testament scholars are divided on which location is the most likely
place of the miracle since the names used by the Gospel writers were
not the same, owning to the differences in how the original audiences
of the Gospels would have understood regional names.
The argument for Umm Qays/Gadara is built in part on the name itself,
but also on the fact that a 4th century Byzantine basilica’s location
suggests that faithful believers of that era believed this city to
be the location of the miracle. The distance of the Sea of Galilee
from the site-some six miles-causes me to wonder whether the location
directly on the Sea of Galilee seems more likely since the swine into
which the demons were cast by Jesus ran off a cliff into the Sea of
Galilee. Our tour guide answered that it’s impossible to know how
much larger the Sea may have been in Jesus’ day.
Like many sites in the Holy Land, certainty is probably not within
reach, until further evidence can settle the matter. Of course,
the exact location of the miracle does not call into question the
historical reality of Jesus’ healing of the demoniac.
Mount Nebo
Although it’s impossible to know precisely where Moses stood to
look into the Promise Land he was not permitted to enter, there’s no
disputing that the area identified today as Mount Nebo is very close
to the vantage point Moses viewed the Dead Sea and Jordan River Valley.
Located on the Northeast end of the Dead Sea, Deut. 34:1 records,
"Now 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 … ." The Bible reports that God Himself buried Moses in
the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor "but no man knows
his burial place to this day" (34:6).
Photo by James A. Smith Sr.
A sign at Mount Nebo shows the distance and direction of important
sites in Israel, including Jerusalem/Mount of Olives, Jericho and
Bethlehe.
The hazy day we stood on Mount Nebo did not permit us to see very
much-although I understand that on a clear day it’s possible to see
far into Israel. One can imagine what Moses would have thought as he
viewed the Promised Land that the children of Israel would soon enter,
fulfilling the promise God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
West of the Dead Sea lies the ancient cities of Jericho (16 miles),
Bethlehem (31 miles), and, of course, Jerusalem (28 miles). The site
has long been recognized by Christian pilgrims and includes a church
which was originally built in the 4th century with later additions
in the following two centuries.
Bethany beyond the Jordan
The site I was most interested in seeing was saved for last-Bethany
beyond the Jordan, what some scholars believe Jesus was baptized by
John the Baptist. As with Gadara, there is some dispute among scholars.
John 1:28 reports, "These things took place in Bethany beyond the
Jordan, where John was baptizing," and John 10:40 records, "And
[Jesus] went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John
was first baptizing."
Our tour of the baptism site was personally guided by Rustom Mkhjian,
the assistant director of the Baptism Site Commission of the Ministry
of Tourism and Antiquities. This was a special treat because Mkhjian
has played an integral role in the recent excavation of the site. As a
self-professed Armenian Christian, Mkhjian clearly had the passion of
not just a professional scholar, but of a personal follower of Christ.
Although some scholars believe Jesus was baptized much further north,
the Baptism Commission has excavated the site opposite Jericho on the
east side of the Jordan since 1996, making a number of archeological
finds which seems to strongly point to its validity as the place where
John the Baptist baptized Jesus, with close links to the ministry of
the prophet Elijah.
Mkhjian told our group that he used four factors to validate the
findings: what the Gospel accounts record, what later Christian
pilgrims recognized, archeological work, and the 6th century mosaic
map of the Holy Land in Madaba (located only 10 minutes by car from
Mount Nebo).
What was most striking to me about the site was how modest the Jordan
River is-at the observation deck it was probably less than ten yards
across to the Israeli side. Unlike some pilgrims, I did not take
the occasion of being baptized in the Jordan, since I do not believe
there is any thing spiritually significant about the water and since
I believe baptism is a one-time event of one’s public profession
of faith.
Photo by James A. Smith Sr.
The Jordan River at Bethany beyond the Jordan is the approximate
location of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. The river at this
point is barely ten yards wide and separates Israel, to the left,
and Jordan, to the right.
Still, it was inspiring to know that I was at the river where Jesus
was baptized-no matter what precise location was. Thankfully, one does
not have to go to the "Holy Land" to find God; but also, thankfully,
the fact that the biblical sites exist provide encouragement to
faithful followers of Christ today.
One day, I hope that I will be able to visit the rest of the Holy
Land-west of the Jordan, but my tour of Jordan was an invigorating
encouragement of the historical reality of what the Bible teaches us
about God’s plan of redemption. In the person of Jesus Christ His Son,
God invaded time and space in the place we call the Holy Land so that
human beings could be reconciled to Him.
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth"
(John 1:18). Hallelujah, what a Savior!
For more information on sites of biblical interest in Jordan, see
and
Photos: