The Jordan River was muddier than I expected. But when you stop to think about a river running through the middle of a desert, it makes sense. 

So why did people need to be baptized in this muddy water? They could've been cleaner in the Sea of Galilee or the Mediterranean Sea. They could've even moved up river out of the desert and it would've been cleaner. Why out here in the dusty desert?

 

The river in the desert points to the reality of what happens when we are forgiven, when we are Baptized. The desert is humbling. In the desert you have to remain close to the water source or you die. 

Similarly, when we sin, we must strip ourselves of pride and be humbled. We have to realize that without the water, we are dead. 

Even in a desert, life flourishes near the water. 

In our Baptism, in our forgiveness, we are given new life and we flourish. 

At our Baptism, the Heaven is opened to us. 

 

Read Matthew 3:1-17