gospel · 28 · Bethany beyond the Jordan
At the Jordan, at the place called Bethany beyond the Jordan, Jesus came to John and was baptized. The Gospels open the public ministry here — the heavens opened, the Spirit as a dove, the voice naming the Son. Even the skeptical count the scene bedrock: no one invents a story of the master baptized by the forerunner.
The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas, today located in Jordan.
The ministry begins: the voice from heaven and the Spirit descending.