Joshua 3:13
And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
The moment the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark rested in the waters of the Jordan, its current was stopped so that Israel could cross over. The water coming down from upstream stood up in a heap, piled up above the crossing place. The water downstream swept on away, leaving the riverbed dry for passage. The priests with the ark stood in the middle of the channel, in the bed of the river, until all Israel had passed over.
The waters were cut off before the presence of Jesus the Son of God, before the presence of Christ. He went ahead of the ark to the Jordan, followed by heavenly angels. Four heavenly angels always traveled with the ark in all its journeyings, to guard it from danger and to fulfill any mission required in connection with it. Christ and the angels stayed beside the ark and the priests in the riverbed until the whole nation had crossed over.
The stopping of the Jordan showed Israel that the same power that had opened the Red Sea for their fathers was acting for them. The crossing took place near Bethabara where John later baptized, and its memory stirred hope that God would again display His power to deliver Israel.