Jesus departed Nazareth and travelled until he arrived at Bethany beyond the Jordan, seeking to be baptised by John. He joined the line of penitents, despite being pure and free from all sin. John understood Jesus from the inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit (John 1:32). However, he still objected to baptising Jesus stating, "I am the one that wants you to baptise me!" But upon Jesus's continued persistence, John agreed. As a result, the water of the Jordan River is considered holy, and all streams that flow by the baptism site are purified, restoring the souls of believers.

As Jesus was getting out of the water, he witnessed the heavens open up, and the Holy Spirit came in the shape of a dove. From above, He heard a voice say, "You are my precious son with whom I am well pleased." Then, the Spirit guided Jesus into the wilderness where he travelled the desert for forty days while Satan tempted him. In the wilderness, Jesus was also among wild animals and other natural dangers, but the angels watched over him and kept him safe.

When Jesus returned to Bethany, He saw John meeting with two of his students. When John noticed Jesus, he told his students, "That is the Lamb of God who will get off the sin of the world." (John 1:29). The two students chose to follow Jesus and were in turn joined by three others, marking the first meeting of the five apostles when the foundations of early Christian faith were laid.

Jesus took the light of faith from John the Baptist, the light that had also been carried by Elijah, Moses, and other prophets. Of Bethany beyond the Jordan, Jesus announced the good news of God, stating, "The Hour moves near, at hand, Kingdom of God is! So, lament and have belief in the good news of God!"

After going back to Jerusalem, the Jews and Jesus came to a confrontation during the festival of the restoration of the Temple. Jesus escaped back to where John was in Bethany. The people welcomed Jesus, and many came to see him from the surrounding villages and towns such as Salt, Madaba, Amman and Hisban. They carried their sick and injured to him where He healed them, and the people’s faith in him increased dramatically.

Elijah's Hill is one of the most notable sites in Bethany. It is the place where Elijah rose to heaven in the 9th century BC.

It was said that Elijah would come back before the return of Jesus, and so when John the Baptist started baptising people, it created a huge stir in the surrounding villages. The villagers came to investigate to see if he was their messiah. He responded, "I'm a crying sound in the wilderness, serving the way of the Lord."

There is a cave (Saphsaphas, now known as Wadi al-Kharar) on the western side of Elijah's Hill where John lived and Jesus frequently visited him. A church was built around this cave marking it as a holy site.

A monastery was also built in the 5th century, which served the Christian pilgrimage route to the west between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and to the east in Mount Nebo. During the Islamic rule, monks lived in the monastery doing their daily duties freely, representing the kind of coexistence among Christians and Muslims that is still evident in modern-day Jordan.

Saphsaphas is depicted in the 6th century mosaic map of the Holy Land in Madaba. The site rests east of the Jordan River at the village of Al-Kafrayn, within sight of the legendary town of Jericho.

The Baptism Site’s significance is not restricted to religious reasons, however. Scholars consider the baptism of Jesus one of the only historically certain facts mentioned in the Bible, along with his crucifixion. Archaeologists have also uncovered hordes of historical artefacts and sites from the Byzantine and Roman periods including: churches; baptismal pools; mosaics; evidence of monks and hermit dwellings; and medieval accounts of pilgrims. These sites can be explored in the Baptism Archaeological Park.