Jordan River baptism is popular but warrants a closer look. Discover why one pastor has a pet peeve about people flocking to the Jordan to be baptized.
The Jordan River is an indispensable stop on any tour of Israel. Sadly, today the river runs at only about 2% of its erstwhile capacity. As I stood on the banks of the piddly stream, I had to use my mind’s eye to see why Joshua needed to miraculously part the waters when Israel crossed into the Promised Land (Joshua 3).
Of course, this river is most famous as the location where John baptized Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17). Visiting that remote area gives a sense of how determined people had to be to satisfy their curiosity about John. They flocked from great distances to be baptized.
Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6)
The significance of Jesus’ Jordan River baptism makes the site a magnet for “tourist baptisms.” After all, it’s the very river Israel crossed to claim their kingdom. It’s where the Spirit descended and people heard the voice of God.
Thoughts on Jordan River Baptism
If you visit the river, you’ll likely find people being baptized at designated spots. There are special platforms, changing rooms, and T-shirts for sale. They declare “I was baptized in the Jordan River.” (I’m not making that up.)
These people tend to fall into two groups. Either they’re non-Christians being dunked by a tour guide as a re-enactment photo-op, complete with giggling, splashing, and selfie sticks. Or they’re believers who’ve already been baptized upon conversion (as the Bible says to) but are getting rebaptized.
Some get rebaptized as a sign of their recommitment or renewed desire to obey. Others just want the T-shirt or have a touristy reason. They want to say they were baptized in the same water as Jesus (which is not how rivers work).
I really wish they wouldn’t. Unbelievers have no right to take the mark of Christian commitment. It would be like a Taliban terrorist taking the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance on YouTube. It’s a mockery of the significance.
Baptism is such an important ordinance. Christ instituted it as the sign of a very important spiritual reality that can happen only once. It’s the moment you die to your old life and are born again to a new life in Christ. Going under the water unites you to Christ in his death and burial (which is why Baptist churches practice full immersion). Emerging symbolizes your inclusion in Christ’s resurrection and the commencement of your new holy life.
For an unbeliever to do that is inappropriate. And for a believer to do it again for a T-shirt or photo-op seems, at the very least, a monumental missing of the point.
