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© Erich Lessing

A voice cries out near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. With clothing of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, John the Baptist lived and preached in the wilderness of Judea, baptizing people in the Jordan River: “He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). This view of the Jordan Valley north of Jericho illustrates the harsh conditions in which John lived. It was a desolate landscape. The Gospel of Matthew records that John survived on a diet of locusts and wild honey.