Standing Where Jesus Stood

One thing I have not written about on the race so far is adventure days. I’ve had adventure days where we got to go to the Black Sea, I’ve gotten to visit some castles, and sometimes they are just used as a day to not do anything. But I wanted to write about the first adventure day that we had in Jordan because it was an amazing day.

I was with half of my squad when we went. The first thing that we did was visit Mt. Nebo. Mt. Nebo was the place where Moses made the bronze serpent that God commanded him to make after one of the many times that Israelites complained against God. 

“The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” Numbers 21:9

Me next to a recreation of the Bronze Serpent with John 3:14-15 on the inscription underneath.

View of the Promised Land. It’s hard to see but the Dead Sea is on the left side and in the distance is Jericho.

Mt. Nebo is also the place where Moses got to see the Promised Land. From the top, you could see the Dead Sea and the outskirts of Jericho. As I was looking at that viewpoint admiring the sight that Moses saw one of my squadmates pointed out to me a shepherd in the valley below. The reason my squadmate was pointing him out to me was that he was literally leaving his flock to get the sheep that was straggling behind the rest. It was so beautiful to see both the old and the new testament all at once at that moment.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

After we left Mt. Nebo, we then went to the Jordan River at the site where Jesus was baptized. I honestly didn’t feel anything at the moment that I was there mostly because I was so in shock. I was standing where my Lord and Savior stood. I can see the exact spot where it is believed that He was baptized. It just makes the Gospel feel so much more real being in places where my God physically stood. The only downside to that experience is that at the baptism sight we had to have a tour guide who was pushing us along. So we didn’t get time to sit there and let it sink in that my God was here and all that He had done. 

The site where Jesus was baptized. The river has shifted since then.

Me at where the Jordan River is now.Group photo at the Jordan River. In the background, you can see Palestine, the West Bank.

I can’t really put into words what these experiences were like. Being able to be where Moses and more importantly Jesus stood. Being able to see the places that are talked about in the Bible. It is really something that you have to visit yourself to understand.

Finally, after visiting the Jordan river we then got dinner then we got to swim in the Dead Sea. I expected it to be freezing cold given that it’s December but the water was actually warm. In case you don’t know, the Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because it is so salty that life can’t survive there. When you go swimming you don’t really swim, you float. I wasn’t able to touch the bottom but it doesn’t matter. I can stand straight up or sit criss-cross and be perfectly fine. It’s so much fun and something else you have to experience to understand. Just don’t get the water in your mouth or eyes. It is not a fun time.

A group of us swimming in the Dead Sea.