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

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 (Matthew 4:13, 23). On the Mount of Beatitudes, contemplate the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). Explore the Church of the Loaves and Fish at Tabgha, the traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17). 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.

Begin your day in Jesus’ boyhood home (Matthew 2:23), Nazareth. Visit Sepphoris, the cosmopolitan Roman capital of Galilee, until Herod Antipas built Tiberias. It is heralded as the traditional birthplace of Mary. Today’s last stop is Caesarea, a center of the early Christians where an angel visited Cornelius, the first Gentile believer (Acts 10), and where Paul was imprisoned for two years before appealing to Caesar.

Learn about the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day with a look at the first-century model of the City of Jerusalem, now housed at the Israel Museum. The museum itself contains 10,000 years of archeological artifacts, as well as the Shrine of the Book exhibit that displays the Dead Sea Scroll containing the book of Isaiah.

In Bethlehem, visit the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace and see the Church of the Nativity constructed over the site (Matthew 1:18-25). Gaze out over Shepherds’ Field before continuing to Bethlehem Bible College to meet Christians who descend from the first-century Christians and who are the living embodiment of our heritage in the land today. Enjoy dinner with a local Palestinian family before returning to your hotel.

Begin your day with a group picture taken from the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-12). Walk the Palm Sunday Road and pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and envision the scenes of the night before Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 26:36 - 44). On Mount Zion, visit St. Peter’s Church in Gallicantu, built over the ruins of the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where Jesus was tried (Luke 22:54-71). See the dungeon where Jesus was beaten and imprisoned and the courtyard where Peter betrayed his Lord. After lunch, wander through the excavations of the City of David. Explore Hezekiah’s Tunnel, an amazing engineering feat that was dug from either end and met in the middle (Note: Those who are claustrophobic may want to meet the group at the other end of the tunnel). Visit the Pool of Siloam, recently uncovered at the foot of the city.

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. Continue to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. End your day with a dip in the salt and mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea.

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. Explore ancient Jerusalem at the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. View the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle (John 5:1-18). 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”). Stop for a strudel and coffee at the Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family. At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, take time to reflect on His sacrificial love. Visit the Garden Tomb for a time of reflection and communion.

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