Pure Jordan

The water looked ice cold, so I wasn’t sure if I would go through with being baptized in the Jordan River. After all, I don’t like swimming in cold water, and I was immersed years ago in ninth grade. I told the rabbi, doing the baptizing, about my hesitation, and then said confidently, “I meant it the first time.”

However, holy water, like that of the Jordan River, carries a different meaning in the Jewish culture. Immersion into its waters represents a desire for holiness, and purification in one’s life. While it is considered a renewal of one’s baptism, it is more a renewal of one’s desire to have a clean heart, and right spirit before God. It’s appropriate for this ritual, called bathing in a mikveh by the Jews, to happen repeatedly.

That shed a new light on my decision.

Years ago, and further down the Jordan from our location, an oddly dressed man, clothed in camel’s hair, with an unorthodox diet of locusts and wild honey, also baptized individuals in the Jordan River. Just like today, he was calling for people to confess their sins, and be purified by the flowing waters, in advance of the coming Messiah.

Then something miraculous occurred.

The Messiah appeared, and he desired to be baptized in the Jordan River by John.

John, unsettled, tried to dissuade Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14)

But Jesus insisted, and John obliged, perhaps with shaking hands and legs, immersing the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, in the Jordan River.

I thought, There’s nothing in Scripture that said Jesus thought the water was cold. He didn’t have a second thought about entering the Jordan. He desired what the water represented, holiness.

And once Jesus came out of the water, the heaven opened up, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove on him. God also spoke from the heavens saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

What an experience for John, and Jesus, and for those of us who can only imagine what that scene was like.

Then I realized I was at the same Jordan River where the miracle occurred. I would be a fool not to be baptized in the river Jesus was baptized, where the spirit descended, and where God spoke. I also wanted to renew my desire for purity, and holiness in the waters of the pure Jordan. Almost every day, I pray Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

So I changed my mind, and entered the Jordan River with a clean attitude, and the right heart. Yes, the water was cold at first, but God in his graciousness turned the temperature up, as I forgot about the December coolness, and immersed my entire body in the waters, desiring every ounce of purity, and holiness the Lord would give me.

When I emerged from the water, I did not hear God say, “This is my daughter, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased,” but I believe my Father in Heaven was thinking that, and was pleased, as I chose him over physical comfort.

The Jordan River is special for a lot of reasons, but to achieve physical, and spiritual purity, we don’t need its waters to achieve that goal. We just need to follow Christ’s footsteps, and let the living waters of Jesus wash over us, through our time in the Word, and through our prayers and meditation. Just as it was in the time of John the Baptist, we need to be ready, spiritually, for the coming of the Messiah, a time fast approaching. If it’s your desire to live out Psalm 51:10, ask God to help you fulfill it in your life as a daily discipline. He will be faithful to bathe you in his righteousness.

On Thursday, The Jordan River Miracles.