Your journey begins when you depart the USA on your overnight international flight.

Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and journey to Caesarea by the Sea. Stand in the place where it is believed Paul addressed King Herod and Festus (Acts 25, 26). Explore the extensive ruins of this port city including the massive theater and Roman aqueduct (If time permits). Afterward, continue to your hotel in the Galilee area for check-in, dinner, and a good night’s sleep.

Stand atop Mount Carmel overlooking the Jezreel Valley, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Ba’al. Travel the ancient caravan route to Tel Megiddo where 20 different cities lie superimposed upon each other. View Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus (Matthew 2) from Mount Precipice, where Jesus was rejected by those in the synagogue. Recall Jesus’ first miracle as you pass through Cana (John 2).

Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, passing the area of Magdala, home of Mary Magdalene. With your Bible in hand, enjoy a boat ride crossing the waters of the Sea of Galilee and enjoy a special onboard worship service. Travel to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Visit the synagogue that stands on the site where Jesus taught. Recall His teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Visit the peaceful Mount of Beatitudes that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. On this hill, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Stop at Magdala, the hometown of Mary of Magdala, and see the ruins of the synagogue that existed during the timeframe of the ministry of Jesus. Enjoy a St. Peter’s Fish lunch (included). End the day with a stop at the Jordan River, where you can remember or renew your baptism.

At Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, see the famous “ancient boat”, a rare example of the kind of boat in which Jesus would have sailed. Travel north to Tel Dan, one of ancient Israel’s boundary markers - “From Dan to Beersheba”. Visit Caesarea Philippi (Banias), where Jesus traveled with His disciples and where nearby Peter made his great confession to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Walk the streets
of Bethsaida, one of the “cities of woe” mentioned by Jesus and where Jesus chose five of His disciples (Matt. 4; John 1). Travel through the Golan Heights and better understand their strategic importance to the security of Israel.

Begin your morning at Beit Shean, a city continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years. The ruins uncovered date back to the Greek/Roman city that was part of the Decapolis of Jesus’ day. Travel through the Jordan River Valley, the route often taken by Jesus and other Galileans as they traveled to & from Jerusalem. Take time at Qsar el Yahud, a site on the Jordan River more commonly associated with John the Baptist and the location where the newly formed nation of Israel made its entrance into the promised land. Travel to Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scroll discovery, to discuss the mysterious community of the Essenes who once lived on the shores of the Dead Sea. Pass through the Judean Wilderness paralleling the ancient Roman road to view the Valley of the Shadow (If time permits). From here, you can see St. George’s Monastery across the gorge. Continue to Jerusalem and take some time to view the city before continuing to your hotel for check-in, dinner, and overnight.

This morning, we traveled to Herodium, which was the burial site of Herod the Great. View Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and look out on the Shepherds’ Field, where angels spread the Good News. Back in Jerusalem, understand better the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day with a look at the first-century model of the City of Jerusalem, now housed at the Israel Museum. Stand atop the Mount of Olives as Jesus did and enjoy a remarkable view of the “Golden City” of Jerusalem. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1). Pray in the Garden of Gethsemane amongst olive trees in the Kidron Valley across from the walls of Jerusalem. At Dominus Flevit Church, which means the cry of the Lord, you will visit the place where Jesus mourned for Jerusalem (Luke 19).

Journey south to the oasis of Ein Gedi, where David and his men sought refuge from Saul (1 Samuel 23). Enjoy a visit to Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod, which is famous as the last stronghold of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. Ride the cable car to the top to explore the fortress. Peer down upon the remains of the Roman camps and siege ramp below. On the way back to Jerusalem, stop at the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth, where those who desire may take a quick dip in the mineral-laden waters.

Conditions permitting, visit the Temple Mount, once home to the Jewish temple, where the Dome of the Rock now stands. Travel to Mount Zion to stand in the Upper Room, revered as the place of the Last Supper (Mark 14). Nearby is the site of King David’s Tomb. Step back in time in the Rabbi’s Tunnel, where stonework survives from the Second Temple! Walk through some of the ancient rooms of Caiaphas’ High Priest’s house beneath the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Here, it is believed by many that Jesus was held overnight before His crucifixion (Luke 22). Continue to modern Jerusalem and If time permits, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and be touched by its poignant images (If time permits).

Peer down Warren’s Shaft is thought to have served as a freshwater drawing point for the city and could have been how Joab entered the city and opened it to David’s forces (2 Samuel 5). Stand on the steps of the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed the blind man (John 9). View the road of Emmaus where Jesus, after His resurrection, met two of His disciples who did not recognize Him until He later broke bread with them (Luke 24). Today, journey through the Valley of Elah, where David defeated Goliath (I Samuel 17). Travel to Bet Shemesh, the first city to encounter the Ark of the Covenant on its way back from being captured by the Philistines (I Samuel 6). Pass through Beersheba, where Abraham made a pact with Abimelech (Genesis 21).

Start out with a visit to the Southern Steps of the ancient Temple Mount complex where the Lord would have exited and met the man born blind to send him to the Pool of Siloam for his healing (John 9). Walk through the Old City and enjoy the preserved, ancient culture found in the narrow streets, as well as the modernized Cardo in the Jewish Quarter. Take time to reflect on the agony of the cross at Gordon’s Calvary and the exhilaration of the resurrection at the Garden Tomb. At the end of your time in the Holy Land, prepare for our return journey to the USA.

Return home with a transformed faith and memories to last a lifetime!