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

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

Visit the Roman aqueduct and theater at Caesarea, a center of early Christianity (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned for two years (Acts 23:22). 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 archaeological site with layers of 20 different cities, all built on top of each other. Conclude your day in Nazareth. Look out from Mount Precipice, where Luke describes how Jesus was rejected by those in the synagogue 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).

Walk a portion of the Valley of the Doves and see Mount Arbel (Isaiah 9:2) on your way towards the Sea of Galilee. This was a major pathway in the time of Christ. He and his disciples passed through this valley as they walked through Galilee. In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1 -3), visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue. Enjoy lunch together before crossing the waters of the Sea of Galilee on a very special boat ride, complete with an onboard worship service. At Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, see the 2,000-year-old “ancient boat,” a rare example of the kind of boat in which Jesus might have sailed. 

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 text of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached there (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).  Stand at the shore of the Sea at the Chapel of the Primacy of Peter, built in remembrance of Peter’s restoration after the Resurrection. 

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 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. Remember your baptism at the Yardenit Baptismal site, where the Jordan River exits the Sea of Galilee on its journey southward (Matt. 3).  

Start the day in Beit She’an, a city continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years. This is the city where Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung from its walls (1 Sam. 31). The uncovered ruins date back to the Greek / Roman city that was part of the Decapolis of Jesus’ day. See colonnaded streets with marble sidewalks, Roman public baths, and a theater. Stop in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. 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. Overnight at the Dead Sea and have an opportunity to experience the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on Earth, and its mineral-laden waters.

You’ll journey to the oasis of Ein Gedi, where David and his men sought refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 23). In Bethlehem, gaze out over Shepherds’ Field and visit the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace (Matt. 1:18-25). Visit the Church of the Nativity, built above the cave and considered the world’s oldest functioning church (Matt. 1:18-25). 

Wander through the excavations of the City of David. Walk the steps to the Pool of Siloam, recently uncovered at the foot of the city. Explore Hezekiah’s Tunnel, an amazing engineering feat that was dug from both ends and met in the middle! (Note: Those who are claustrophobic may want to meet the group at the other end of the tunnel!) Stand on the steps of the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed the blind man (John 9). 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 Scrolls’ book of Isaiah. 

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). 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. 

See where Jesus healed on the Sabbath at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-31), and 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. At the Garden Tomb, share communion together and experience the reality of the Resurrection (John 20). Prepare for your return flight home this evening.

Return to the USA