Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on an overnight flight.

Once you arrive, you will be welcomed at the Tel Aviv airport by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Netanya to enjoy dinner and overnight.

Visit the Roman aqueduct and theatre at Caesarea, a center of early Christianity (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned for two years (Acts 23:33). View Mount Carmel and recall Elijah’s dramatic victory over the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Follow an ancient caravan route through the Jezreel Valley to Tel Megiddo, an exciting archeological dig with layers of twenty different cities, all built on top of each other. Conclude your day in Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matt. 2:23).

Begin your morning with a visit to Nof Ginosar to see the ancient boat dating to the time of Christ. View the Sea of Galilee from Mount Arbel. Explore Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilaean region. Visit the synagogue, which stands on the site where Jesus taught. Visit the peaceful Mount of Beatitudes. On this hill, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Stop at the Chapel of the Primacy, where Peter confessed his devotion to Christ 3 times. At Tabgha, the traditional location for the calling of the disciples and the feeding of the 5,000, visit the Church of Loaves and Fish. Recall His teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Remember your baptism at the Yardenit Baptismal site, where the Jordan River exits the Sea of Galilee on its journey southward (Matt. 3). Overnight in Tiberias.

At the ruins of Tel Dan, see the altar built by King Jeroboam I (I Kings 12:25 -30) and learn about where the “House of David” fragment from the First Temple Period was discovered. Continue on to Caesarea Philippi, where Peter told the Lord, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!” (Matt. 16: 16). A scenic drive along the Golan Heights will give you some beautiful views of Syria and Jordan as well as Israel. In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene, visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue.

This morning, travel to Beit Shean, where the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and Jonathan on the walls. A little later, go directly to Bethlehem, gaze out over Shepherds’ Field and visit the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace (Luke 2:1 -20). Visit the Church of the Nativity, built above the cave and considered the world’s oldest functioning church (Luke 2). Continue on to Jerusalem, where you will overnight.

Stand on the Mount of Olives for a remarkable view of Jerusalem (the Golden City); Jesus stood here before ascending into heaven forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-12). In the Kidron Valley across from the walls of Jerusalem, pray as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:57). Recall the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14:12-26). Spend time in prayer at the Western Wall (the only remnant of the Second Temple of Jerusalem) and sit on the Teaching Steps where Jesus taught.

Walk the Temple Mount (conditions permitting) once the site of the Temple of Solomon (II Chronicles 3) and home to the Dome of the Rock. See where Jesus healed on the Sabbath at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5: 1-18). Walk the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of the Cross”) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (John 19), built over the traditional sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. In Jerusalem, visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, with its poignant exhibits honoring the lives lost during the Holocaust.

Head to Jericho to visit the ruins of the ancient city Joshua conquered (Josh. 6:20). Off in the distance, you can see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1). Stop in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. You can enjoy lunch on your own here at Jericho. We make a stop at Ein Gedi, where David and his band of men hid from Saul. Then, enjoy a visit to Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod that later became the final tragic stronghold of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. Ride the cable car to the top to explore the fortress and look down upon the remains of the Roman camps and siege ramp below. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

This morning, take a journey through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, an amazing engineering feat that was dug from either end and met in the middle! Visit one of the most exciting archaeological digs in Israel, the Herodion, the palace-fortress and final resting place of Herod the Great. Explore the Israel Museum and its first-century model of the City of Jerusalem. Another highlight is the museum’s Shrine of the Book exhibit showcasing the Dead Sea Scroll book of Isaiah. At the Garden Tomb, share communion together and experience the reality of the Resurrection (John 20). This evening, we will enjoy our final dinner and head to the airport for our flight back to the USA.

Return to the USA