Today we will go touring where Jesus was tested By Satan. In other words, we will go exploring the Judea Desert. First, we’ll pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan, viewing Jericho. Then on our way down to the Dead Sea Area; we’ll talk about the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan and its importance to Christian Ethos. After that, we’ll head down to the River Jordan to Qasr el Yahud where John the Baptist, baptized Jesus. It’s worth mentioning that Baptism is one of the most ancient Christian sacraments that all Christian denominations accept. So we’ll discuss its importance to Christianity and its relationship to Judaism.
QASR EL YAHUD WHERE JESUS WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST
Another tradition regarding Qasr el Yahud that it is considered as the location where the Israelites after roaming the desert for forty years (a Typological Number in the Bible), entered the Promised Land; headed by Joshua, After Moses died on top of Mount Nevo; he not allowed to enter the Land of Israel. So as you can see, not by chance the British Empire when they divided up the Middle East in the 20th century under the Sykes-Picot Agreement. In other words, the British took into account the Biblical Borders. So since the River Jordan is an ideal natural border; that is why it was used in the past as such and also today.
SAINT GEORGE MONASTERY IN THE JUDAEAN DESERT
The Wilderness Where Jesus Was Tested By Satan
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven By Satan Into the Judea Desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister him (Matthew 4).
Touring Where Jesus Was Tested By Satan: Stones Into Bread
Satan is tempting Jesus telling him to make bread out of stones to relieve his own hunger. The temptation occurs in the same desert setting where Jesus had been fasting. Alexander Jones in his book The Gospel According to St. Matthew reports that the wilderness mentioned here since the fifth century been believed to be a rocky and uninhabited area between Jerusalem and Jericho, with a spot on Mount of Temptation traditionally being the exact location where Jesus was Tempted for the Third Time by Satan: the Devil takes Jesus to a high place, “where all the kingdoms of the world can be seen” (Matthew 4). From the summit, Satan offers Jesus dominion over all earthly kingdoms in return for worshiping Satan.
THE RUINS OF ANCIENT JERICHO AND MOUNT OF TEMPTATION IN THE DISRANCE
The desert has been seen as outside the bounds of society and as the home of demons such as Azazel (Leviticus 16:10). Robert H. Goundry, a known biblical scholar, states that the desert is likely an allusion to the wilderness through which the Israelites wandered during the Exodus, and more specifically to Moses. In response to Satan’s suggestion, Jesus replies, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (a reference to Deuteronomy 8:3).
