I recently had the opportunity to visit the country of Jordan and contrary to my preconceptions, the people there were warm, friendly and very hospitable to Americans. One of the areas I wanted to see was ‘Bethany Beyond the Jordan.’ Prior to my trip I read about new archeological discoveries found here in the area that the New Testament identifies as the location where John the Baptist lived and where Jesus was baptized.

My first look at the Jordan river was not as I had expected. It looked more like a small muddy creek. But many visitors were there filling water bottles and dipping their feet and sometimes entire bodies into these waters. Even though this has long been considered one of the traditional sites of Jesus baptism, new evidence suggests that the actual spot was in an area where ruins of a Byzantine monsastery built at the time of Emperor Anastasius (491-518 AD) have been discovered. This church had a baptistery with steps leading right down to the now dry riverbed and is now thought to be the location where Jesus left his clothes during baptism.

The archeologist who showed our group of journalists around was very excited about these new discoveries and he also took us to other notable biblical sites such as Elijah’s Hill (thought to be the spot where Elijah was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot) and some caves where it is possible John the Baptist lived. Some of this is speculation of course, but the evidence is compelling.

Looking across the Jordan River I could see the blue and white flag with the Star of David flying only a few hundred feet away. The river separates Israel and Jordan that have peace treaties with each other and are on good terms. I left Bethany Beyond the Jordan with a renewed sense of history and am looking forward to returning some day. You can read about this area at www.baptismsite.com.