II Kings 2:1 And it came about when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be still.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
Elijah, the waters of the Jordan and ascending into heaven … In II Kings 2 we are told that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, to Bethel, Jericho and then to the Jordan. Three times Elijah entreats Elisha to leave him, three times Elisha refuses to leave. When they traveled down to Bethel and then Jericho they were met at each stop by the “sons of the prophets” … likely the two communities of prophets rescued from Jezebel by the prophet Obadiah (I Kings 18:4,13). When Elijah and Elisha came to the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantle, struck the waters of the Jordan which divided and Elijah and Elisha passed through the waters of the Jordan on dry ground.
Elijah, the waters of the Jordan and ascending into heaven … The parting of the Jordan River and passing through the waters on dry ground is reminiscent of two other similar events in the life of Israel:
Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea … Israel was baptized in the Red Sea (I Cor 10) on her journey to the Promised Land
Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River on her entrance into Canaan, a reenactment of the baptism in the Red Sea … those who crossed the Jordan were the descendants of the generation of Israel who perished in the forty years wandering in the wilderness … They were led by Joshua (Yeshuah or Jesus) through the waters of the Jordan (a baptism) before entering Canaan
Elijah passes through the waters of the Jordan before being taken up into heaven. This is a type of Holy Baptism in which the newly baptized is raised up to newness of life (Romans 6), raised up to heaven where our lives are hid with Christ in God (Colossians 2 and 3). As the Church Fathers have written:
Origen … We must observe again that Elijah, when he was about to be carried into heaven by a whirlwind, … having taken his mantle … struck the waters with it … So he was made more fit to be taken up to heaven, having been baptized in the Jordan. For has not Paul actually called Baptism the miraculous crossing of the water? (Co Jo VI 46)
** Origen sees in the Jordan River a figure of Jesus Himself. To plunge into the Jordan is to immerse oneself in Christ … Jesus is the river “which rejoices the city of God. … This is why those who wash themselves in Him are delivered from the shame of Egypt and become capable of being raised to heaven …”
St Cyril of Jerusalem … Elijah is taken up, but not without water. He begins by crossing the Jordan, and it is after this that the chariot carries him to heaven. (Mystagogic Cat. XXXIII 33A)
Gregory of Nyssa … described Baptism as “what carries us to heaven.”
Elijah passes through the waters of the Jordan and is carried up to heaven. The story of Elijah, passing through the waters and ascending to heaven does not end here. … The spirit and power of Elijah, the waters of the Jordan and the opening of heaven are also at work in the NT. When John the Baptist came baptizing at the same location of the Jordan River (Luke 1:13-17; John 1:19-28; Matthew 3:13), he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17 and Matthew 11). After he baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus came up out of the waters and “lo the heavens were opened unto Him” (Matthew 3). And as it was with Jesus so also it is with us — in Him, through the waters of Holy Baptism, the heavens are opened unto us!
JSH+