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Luke does not specify where the baptism of Jesus took place, but John alludes to it: "It happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing" (Jn 1:28). The tradition has correctly located the episode in Bethabara, the ford where the people of Israel, guided by Joshua, crossed the river and entered the Promised Land. The gestures of Jesus contain explicit references to the passage from slavery to freedom and the beginning of a new exodus to the true Promised Land. Bethabara also has another recall, less obvious but equally significant: geologists assure it is the lowest point on earth (400 meters below sea level).