Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on your overnight, international flight.

You will be met by our representative and transferred to your Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight.

Conditions permitting, walk the Temple Mount. Walk the museum and grounds of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, as a reminder of why we must never let this happen again. 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. The museum itself houses 10,000 years of archeological artifacts. Visit the Southern Wall Excavations of the temple, including the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. See the ancient Jewish Quarter and Walk the Cardo, the ancient main street of the Old City, once lined with shops, now partially restored.

Look from the Mount of Olives over Jerusalem as Jesus did and enjoy a remarkable view of the “Golden City”. Forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1: 9 - 12). Pray in the Garden of Gethsemane amongst Olive Trees in the Kidron Valley across from the walls of Jerusalem. Outside of the modern city walls, visit the City of David and journey through time to see the Gihon Spring, and the Pool of Siloam (John 9). Stand in the Upper Room, revered as the site of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12 - 26). View the Pool of Bethesda (John 5: 1-31), where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle, and sing a hymn in the Church of St. Anne. Visit Herod’s Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23: 1 - 11). Walk the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of the Cross”, and stand in reverence at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Visit and worship at the Garden Tomb, the possible site of the garden of Joseph of Arimathea and experience the reality of the Resurrection. Check into your Bethlehem hotel for dinner and overnight.

Cross over into Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (Luke 2). Enter the Church of the Nativity, the oldest continuously functioning church in the world. See the cave where tradition holds Jesus was born. Look out on Shepherds’ Field, where angels spread the Good News. This afternoon, travel the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It twists for miles as it drops from the Judean Mountains to below sea level. Jesus traveled the nearby Roman road, the setting of His parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30 - 36). 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). Pass the Essene community of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves nearby. Check into your Dead Sea hotel for dinner and overnight.

Enjoy a visit to Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod and 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. Continue your journey to the oasis of Ein Gedi, where David and his men sought refuge from Saul (1 Samuel 23). Return to your Dead Sea hotel, where you can experience the mineral-laden waters and therapeutic mud from the lowest place on the face of the Earth.

Cross the Allenby Bridge into Jordan. Look out over the Promised Land like Moses from the top of Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34), where on a clear day, you can see a vast portion of Israel. See the masterpiece mosaic of Jerusalem and the Holy Land at the Orthodox church of St. George in Madaba. We’ll continue our journey down the King’s Highway through the ancient lands of Moab and Edom. Continue on to Petra for dinner and overnight.

Wander and wonder at the rose-red city of Petra, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Journey back in time through the Siq to see the Treasury Building (made famous by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), amphitheatre, and other public facilities and private tombs carved directly into rock! In the distance, the traditional site of Aaron’s tomb can be seen. In the town of Wadi Musa is the spring that tradition holds sprang up when Moses struck the rock (Numbers 20). Enjoy dinner and overnight in the Petra area.

Today, you will travel to Jerash, one of the cities of the Decapolis. You’ll see the Hippodrome as well as the remains of the city and theater. Cross the Sheikh Hussein Bridge into Israel, and check into your Galilee Hotel for dinner and overnight.

With your Bible in hand, cross the waters of the Sea of Galilee aboard a Kinnereth Sailing Company boat. Along the way, you will enjoy a special onboard worship service. You’ll arrive in Capernaum, where Jesus chose to center his ministry. Visit the synagogue site where Jesus most certainly taught and worshiped (Matt. 4:13; Mark 3:1, 8:5 and 14). Travel to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached to the people (Matt. 5-7). Also, stop at the Chapel of the Primacy, where Peter confessed his devotion to Christ three times (John 21). Visit Kibbutz Nof Ginosar and learn about the “ancient boat”, a rare and excellent example of the kind of boat in which Jesus would have sailed.

We’ll journey to Caesarea Philippi, where Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ” (Matthew 16). You will also visit the ancient remains of Tel Dan and the altar built by King Jeroboam I (I Kings 12:25 - 30). Pass through the Golan Heights back to the Galilee. Remember your baptism or have a chance to be baptized in the Jordan River at Yardenit (Matthew 3). Return to your Galilee hotel for dinner and overnight.

Travel the ancient caravan route to Nazareth, the birthplace of Jesus. Wander through the Roman aqueduct and theatre at Caesarea, a center of the early Christians. Here, Cornelius became the first Gentile convert to the new covenant (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned before being taken to Rome for trial (Acts 23). Enjoy dinner in the Tel Aviv area as we prepare for the return flight.

Return home with memories of the people and places of the Holy Land!