For Christians, the third most holy site in the world, after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity in Jerusalem, is the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptiser.
The precise location is unknown, but excavations at Wadi Al-Kharrar carried out after the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan found evidence of a complex of churches, hermit cells, and other buildings described in the writings of Christians who have visited the site on pilgrimage since the 2nd century AD.
Pilgrimage. What does that word mean to you?
In Scripture, pilgrimage is an enduring image of the life of faith. Although it may involve travel to places of spiritual significance, its deepest meaning is the lifelong journey of following God. Christians are not merely people who affirm a set of doctrines; they are pilgrims whose lives are oriented towards the kingdom of God. Nonconformist preacher John Bunyan famously took up this image in his allegory of the Christian life, titled The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678).[1]
The grand narrative of Scripture is shaped by pilgrimage from beginning to end. Abraham left his homeland in obedience to God’s call, journeying towards a land he had never seen. Israel’s exodus from Egypt began a forty-year pilgrimage through the wilderness, where God formed a community of faith through hardship, worship, dependence, and commitment to a covenant. This time in the wilderness was a profound training experience, preparing the harried but hopeful people of Israel to trust in God rather than relying on their own ingenuity and strength.
The crossing of the Jordan River, recounted in Joshua 3:14-17, marks the culmination of this pilgrimage from Egypt to Canaan, and from slavery to freedom and rest. Just as they passed through the waters of the Red Sea to leave slavery behind, so they crossed the Jordan River to enter the land of promise. Yet this was not quite the end of the journey. Life in Canaan brought new challenges to Israel as they conquered and settled the land, and adjusted to living as God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.
The New Testament deepens this pattern of pilgrimage, this metaphor of a spiritual journey in which we participate as the people of God. Jesus calls us to leave the security of the familiar and follow him. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews describes Christians as “foreigners and temporary residents [“strangers and pilgrims,” KJV] on the earth” (Heb 11:13).
We are citizens of the coming kingdom of God. Discipleship is a move, a journey, toward that excellent future. There is a place for patriotism, here and now, rightly framed, but the calls we hear for “Christian nationalism” are a distraction and a distortion of our true vocation as Christian pilgrims.
There are some of us who have actually gone on a physical pilgrimage, and others (like me) for whom such an experience is an aspiration. Pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, or other places of spiritual significance and memory have the power to enrich faith by connecting us with the history of God’s people.
But no holy pilgrimage and no sacred destination can serve as a substitute for the miracle of a transformed heart. The true pilgrimage is the continual journey of repentance, faith, holiness, and service. And for that we need the wisdom of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian life is a pilgrimage from creation to new creation, from baptism to resurrection, from grace received to promotion to glory.
Through this earthly pilgrimage, as we are sustained by Scripture, a life of prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, the fellowship of the people of God, and purposeful service to others, we journey together in hope, remembering God’s faithfulness in the past while pressing forward towards our eternal inheritance.
Now, in mentioning the crossing of the Jordan as the culmination of Israel’s pilgrimage, I passed over a crucial detail: as Israel crossed the Jordan River, Joshua paused to perform a significant task: he arranged for twelve great memorial stones to be placed at the location, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
These twelve memorial stones erected at Gilgal (Jos 4:1-9) signified the decisive climax of their long pilgrimage, and served to remind future generations to remember with gratitude the faithfulness of God.
Joshua 4 presents one of Scripture’s richest reflections on memory, identity, and faith. It’s a reminder that faithful remembrance is essential for ongoing spiritual formation. It’s why some people wear a crucifix, and Orthodox believers hang icons in their homes. It’s why Catholics venerate Mary, and some Protestants display Bible texts on the walls of their home.
Some Christians object to religious icons and statues, fearing that they may become objects of worship. But like the memorial stones in Joshua 4, the objects themselves are neutral, and what counts is how they are used to deepen our spirituality and draw us closer to God.
In the time that remains, I want to share six brief reflections drawn from today’s text.
1. Remembering is a spiritual discipline.
Israel was repeatedly warned against forgetting their Lord, because spiritual amnesia leads to self-reliance, disobedience and apostasy. Spiritual memory is more than simply recalling past events; it is an act of covenant faithfulness. Those memorial stones, and the memory of them, and the retelling of the story of crossing the Jordan, ensured that God’s mighty act at the Jordan remained a living reality in the life of the community.
Likewise, as we engage in worship, Scripture reading, prayer, and especially the Lord’s Supper, we are renewing our faith by reminding ourselves of the many aspects of our salvation and our hope in Christ.
2. God is active in history.
The crossing of the Jordan, like the earlier crossing of the Red Sea, demonstrates that history is not governed by chance but by God’s covenant purposes. The Israelites reach the Promised Land not through human achievement alone but through divine faithfulness.
The same pattern of divine faithfulness emerges in the historical events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
3. Shared memories strengthen identity.
The twelve stones represented the twelve tribes, reminding Israel that their unity rested not on ethnicity or political organisation but on a common experience of God’s grace.
Strong communities are sustained by the stories they tell. We find our identity in the shared story of the death and resurrection of Jesus, remembered in corporate worship and embodied in a common life and shared spiritual practices.
4. Faith is for sharing.
A fourth theme is the responsibility to pass faith to the next generation. The story of placing the memorial stones is designed to provoke children’s questions: “What do these stones mean?” (vv. 21f).
We pass on our faith to the next generation through storytelling, conversation, and shared practices. Our spiritual formation depends upon homes and congregations where God’s faithfulness is regularly recounted and embodied.
5. Objects convey spiritual truths.
In Joshua 4, the stones possess no sacred power, but they point beyond themselves to God’s historic saving action. Throughout Scripture, God employs tangible signs – altars, sacrifices, the Passover feast, baptism, bread and wine – to communicate spiritual truth.
Such practices recognise that humans are embodied creatures who remember through visible and physical symbols as well as words.
6. Pilgrimage and memorials have a missional purpose.
In verse 24, Joshua explains that the memorial exists so that “all the peoples may know that the Lord’s hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.” He’s not talking about terror but reverent awe, expressed in worship, humility, and obedience.
All of God’s mighty acts bear witness not only to Israel but to the nations; they reveal God’s saving purposes for the whole world. God acts in history, forms a covenant people, and commands them to preserve the memory of his saving deeds. For Christians, this pattern reaches its fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Just as Israel remembered the exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the Jordan River, we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus through regular preaching of the Word and sharing in communion.
I have no idea how long those original twelve stones remained in place to tell their story. But they continue to serve, through the telling of the story, as a lasting reminder that spiritual vitality depends upon remembering the faithfulness of God, sharing our faith story with others, and trusting that the same God who has been faithful in the past will remain faithful in the future.
Sermon 862 copyright © 2026 Rod Benson. Preached at North Rocks Community Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday 12 July 2026. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020).
Rev Dr Rod Benson is General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council and a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia serving at North Rocks Community Church in Sydney.
Reference:
[1] The work’s full title is The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come.
Image source: visitjordan.com. More information: Wikipedia
Taking it further…
Reflection questions
- Why did God instruct Joshua to have twelve stones taken from the Jordan River and set up at Gilgal? What purposes did these stones serve?
- The sermon emphasises that the stones were intended to provoke questions from future generations. Why is asking questions an important part of passing on faith?
- What connection does the sermon make between Israel’s memorial stones and Christian practices such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or sharing personal testimony?
Application questions
- What “stones of remembrance” exist in your own life—events, places, objects, or practices that remind you of God’s faithfulness? How do they shape your faith today?
- The Israelites carried stones out of the river after crossing through it. How has God used a difficult or challenging season in your life to become a lasting testimony rather than merely a painful memory?
- What is one concrete way you could establish a new “memorial” this week—a journal entry, family tradition, celebration, photograph, act of worship, or testimony—that would help others remember God’s faithfulness in years to come?
All Told 