Bear Grylls has spoken of his joy after being baptised in the Jordan River at the site where Jesus was baptised.
The TV adventurer shared the happy occasion on his Instagram along with a photo of himself waist-deep in water, eyes closed as he was about to be plunged.
In the caption, he said that being baptised in the same place as Jesus was baptised by his "hero" John the Baptist was a "dream".
He also shared a little about Luke and his admiration for his Gospel, which records the baptism of Jesus in chapter 3.
Grylls said that the story of Jesus' baptism was "amazing" and that Luke's account was "reliable" and "poignant".
Luke 3:21-22 says, "Now when all the people were baptised, and when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"
The baptismal site is known as "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" and is located in al-Maghtas on the east bank of the Jordan River. It is a World Heritage Site visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Grylls wrote, "It had always been a dream of mine to get in the water that Jesus was baptised in by my hero John the Baptist.
"The story is so amazing, & it seems wherever Jesus went, that new birth, new life, a new vision followed. Luke (in the bible) was probably a Syrian doctor before he met Jesus.
"He writes a reliable, poignant account of his life. It's short. I like it."
