The Jordan River: A Boundary, a Crossing, and a Place of Christian Origins
A historical exploration of how the Jordan River became one of the most significant locations in the development of Christian history.
The Jordan River is a natural waterway of the eastern Mediterranean world that acquired lasting importance in Christian history because of the events that took place along its banks and the symbolic role it played in the earliest narratives inherited by Christianity. Flowing from the region of Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee and continuing south to the Dead Sea, the river formed both a physical boundary and a cultural meeting point in antiquity. For Christianity, the Jordan River became notable not simply as a geographic feature, but as a place where foundational moments of sacred history unfolded and where the transition from older traditions to the beginnings of the Christian movement became visible.
