From Galilee he came where Jordan ran,

To John in the water among every man.

The preacher who warned of the axe and the flame

Looked on the One who had come to his stream.

“I have the need,” was the Baptist’s reply,

Yet Jesus would enter where sinners stood by.

To fulfill all righteousness, no step withdrawn,

John yielded his hands in the hush before dawn.

Down through the water, then up to the sky,

Jordan beneath him and heaven spread wide.

The Spirit descended, the Father made known:

This is the beloved, this is the Son.

No royal pavilion, no guard at the shore,

No marble beneath him, no trumpet before.

The Son stood among them and entered the flood,

Not stained by their guilt, yet beside flesh and blood.

He rose from the river; the heavens were torn,

The dove-like descent marked the One who had come.

And over the waters the testimony rang,

Not whispered by crowds and not granted by man.

The wilderness preacher had pointed ahead,

To One who would baptize with Spirit and dread.

Now John saw the answer before his own eyes:

The Son in the river, the Spirit from skies.

Down through the water, then up to the sky,

Jordan beneath him and heaven spread wide.

The Spirit descended, the Father made known:

Beloved and pleasing, the promised Son.

The river kept moving.

The witness remained.