When was the last time God spoke to you? It may have been a revelation, an impression, a prophetic word or even a miracle.

Every now and then we need to revisit those moments of revelation.

Jesus did. He not only remembered, but returned to the very spot where it happened. 

In John 10: 39-41, we read:

Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing and He was staying there. Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” (NASV)

When the Pharisees plotted to seize Jesus, the Lord left and returned to the place where John baptized Him. It was also the place where God spoke to Jesus.

It had been a rough few weeks. The pharisees were challenging Jesus at every opportunity — questioning His call and ministry. They harassed, persecuted and hated Jesus for all He taught and did.

When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees proclaimed Jesus wasn’t a man of God, because He broke the Sabbath (John 9:16). They even  called Him a sinner (v 24)

Some said Jesus was demon possessed and others called Him insane (John 10: 19, 20).

They accused Jesus of blasphemy and were ready to stone Him, because the Lord claimed to be the “Son of God” (John 10:31-34).

By withdrawing, the Lord was escaping the rabid Pharisees trying to seize Him, but Jesus could have gone anywhere to do that.

Instead, Jesus returned to the place where God first spoke to Him. It was at this spot, John the Baptist prophesied:

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me … I have seen the spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him … ‘I myself have seen and have testified this is the Son of God.’ (John 1: 29, 30, 32 & 34 NASV).

It was here as Jesus came out of the waters of baptism that God said: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat 3:17).

Jesus needed to return to the very geographical point where God first spoke to Him. He needed to stand on the ground where it all started.

The Pharisees had angrily challenged every word spoken over Jesus.

Now, Jesus needed to remember and perhaps even relive this prophetic moment. It was a time to regroup and refocus on what God had said to Him and called Him to do.

He needed a moment to recharge His call for the final push to His ultimate destiny — the cross. Jesus needed to remember.