“And a voice came from heaven” Mark 1:11

The placenames Saint Mark uses in the story of the baptism of Jesus would have meant much more to the people of his time than they do to people reading his words today. The verses mention five places: Judea, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee and the River Jordan and for Mark’s contemporaries each of those places would have meant particular things.

Saint Mark Chapter 1 Verse 4 says, “John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of …