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

You will be welcomed at the Tel Aviv airport by our representative and transferred to your hotel to enjoy dinner before retiring for the night.

At Caesarea by the Sea*, visit an ancient Roman aqueduct and theatre. See Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus (Matthew 2: 23). Visit the Church of the Annunciation and the Synagogue Church, built by the Crusaders. Enjoy the view from Mount Precipice, where Luke describes how those in the synagogue rejected Jesus after He taught them. Filled with anger, they “led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong” (Luke 4: 29). Worship as you sail across the Sea of Galilee. Visit Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and visit the synagogue built on the site where Jesus taught (Matt.4:13, 23). On the Mount of Beatitudes, contemplate the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5-7). Explore the Church of the Loaves and Fish at Tabgha, the traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9:10). See the Chapel of the Primacy, where Peter professed his devotion three times to the risen Christ (John 21). In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene, visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue. Recall Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan River. *Time Permitting

Explore Hazor, a 3000-year-old site where Joshua fought against Jabin (Josh. 11: 1-11). Near Tel Dan, see the mud brick arch constructed in pre-Israelite (Canaanites) times and where “The House of David” fragment from the First Temple Period was discovered. Visit Caesarea Philippi, where Peter made his great confession to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Continue to Mount Hermon, the traditional site of the Lord’s Transfiguration (Matt. 17: 1-9). Travel through the strategic highlands known as the Golan Heights.

As you stop in Jericho to view the ruins of the city conquered by Joshua (Josh. 6: 1, 2, 20), in the distance, you can also see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11). Continue to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. End your day with a group picture taken from the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1: 9-12).

In Bethlehem, visit the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace and see the Church of the Nativity constructed over the site (Matt. 1: 18-25). Gaze out over Shepherds’ Field before you return to Jerusalem. Pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and envision the scenes of the night before Jesus’ crucifixion (Matt. 26: 36 - 44). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned on the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26: 57). Meditate on the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14: 12).

Walk the Cardo, the ancient main street of the Old City. Explore ancient Jerusalem at the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. View the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle (John 5: 1-31). Sing a hymn in the Church of St. Anne and experience its rich acoustics. Visit Herod’s Antonia Fortress, where Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1), and follow in Christ’s steps on the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of the Cross”). At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, take time to reflect on His sacrificial love.

Today, you will visit Masada and the Dead Sea. Ascend by cable car to Masada, Herod’s legendary mountaintop fortress, which became the last desperate stronghold of the Jewish Zealots against the Romans. You can still look down on the remains of the Roman camps and the siege ramp below. End your day with a dip in the salt and mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea.

Travel to Ein Karem, birthplace of John the Baptist and where Mary visited Elisabeth (Luke 1: 26-40). Learn about the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day by looking at the first-century model of the City of Jerusalem, now housed at the Israel Museum. The museum contains 10,000 years of archeological artifacts and the Shrine of the Book exhibit that displays the Dead Sea Scroll containing the book of Isaiah. Visit the Garden Tomb for a time of reflection and communion.

Return to the USA