Can You Imagine...

It's lush and beautiful, the foliage full of color. Narrow, a stream that is shallow and emerald.

And I just keep thinking, Jesus walked here. Like, literally here. Where my feet are.

And before Jesus, we encountered many others in our Biblical history who have been here before.

In the days before the wall came down at Jericho, Joshua was here.

In Joshua 3, it tells of the time the Jordan River was at flood stage. Much different than it is right now. It was raging. The water was high, carrying debris from upstream down to where it meets the Sea of Galilee, as it always is at the time of harvest.

On this day, around 1300 BC (the later part of the Bronze Age), Joshua was to be exalted in the eyes of all of Israel.

God was about to use the Jordan River as a powerful tool to show the Israelites that God was with Joshua, just as He was with Moses.

And what happens next is one for the record books...

Twelve priests, representing the 12 tribes of Israel would carry the "Ark of the Covenant," this wooden chest which not only at one time held the tablets of the Ten Commandments, but also was a representation of the presence of God, into the Jordan River.

"See, the ark of the covenant, of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you." 

Israel packed up all their belongings to cross the Jordan. The priests went on ahead. The water was raging, white water, rushing. 

Can you imagine? 

In faith, the priests continued toward the raging water. What was going through their minds? What were they getting themselves into? Afterall, Joshua is new at this. The leader of Israel for what... a few hours? And at his command they are headed straight for the turbulent waters. 

Scared or not, confused or not, trusting in their new leader, they stepped into the dangerous waters. 

"Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing." 

That's right. The water stopped. It piled up a great distance away in a town called Adam. 

Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry land, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry river bed, holding the ark, until each person had made their way across.

And my mind keeps going back to the verse in Joshua 3. The Lord, of all the earth, the Lord of the Israelites and of me, went into the Jordan ahead. He went first. And this boggles my mind because in times when I feel alone (even with this rambunctious household of mine), I feel like I'm on this journey solo. But I'm not. The Lord saw it fit to enter the waters before Israel, and He sees it fit to walk before me in my unstable mediums of life.

And then, we find, some 1400 years later, Jesus came. He heard of this man, his cousin, who was preaching to those in the desert of Judea, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." And with that, people would confess their sins and were baptized in the Jordan. 

Jesus, hearing of this, came. His intent? To be baptized.

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he was ready. He knew who Jesus was. The One who would come after him, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

John the Baptist was only baptizing with water. And when Jesus presented himself to be baptized, John was confused. How could he, an unkempt man, with clothes of camel hair, (and I imagine his hair was a tad on the wild side), be the one to baptize the Messiah? 

But at Jesus' request, he did. 

The waters were calm that day. And, for the first time in the New Testament, we see the Holy Trinity. 

Upon being baptized, when Jesus came out of the water, heaven opened up. The Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) descended on him like a dove. In my mind, the gentle dove rests on Jesus' shoulder. And then at the same moment, a voice from heaven spoke.

"This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased." 

Can you imagine what that scene would have looked like? For those watching on the river banks. Never, in their lifetime, had they experienced God. Just previously, there had been 400 years of silence, and even when the silence broke, only an Angel of God appeared to a select few. 

But here were are, waist deep in the Jordan River, and God, and His Spirit show up for Jesus' baptism. And God, issues a public statement, affirming His Son. For Jesus, although having a wonderful and faithful step-father, this is the first time Jesus, hears publicly from God, from HIS Father. 

And quite quickly, the entire scene was over.  

Now, today, here I am. Standing, my own feet in these waters. The smooth, slimy rocks, sanded down by the water's current over thousands of years. This water is calm. Quiet. 

 I am standing upstream, away from the crowds. And I watch the fish mosey through the water. Catfish, Barbel fish, and St. Peter's Fish, (known to Americans as tilapia).

These fish don't know the history of these waters, and based on hydrology, this water is not the water that Joshua nor Jesus encountered. (I googled it, just to double check.) But this place remains. And it remains quite untouched by tourists, by profiteers, by the world.

As I walk away, I can walk a little lighter, knowing not only in my head the One who goes before me, but having the physical experience of history coming to life and reminding me that He goes before all of us, every single day, as long as we are willing to walk in faith.