Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA. Meals are served on the 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.

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). After enjoying a delicious St. Peter’s fish lunch, have a time of worship as you take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

Visit Caesarea Maritima, 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. Continue on to Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matthew 2:23), and view the site where tradition says the local community attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff after preaching in their synagogue. Look out over Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) to view one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel. Drive through Cana, where the water was turned into wine before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

We leave Galilee and begin our journey south. Stop at Gideon’s Spring where God showed Gideon how to select his 300 men to fight the Midianites. Then, it is on to Bet Shean, a city continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years. 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. We will journey south through the Jordan Valley, passing by Jericho, which was the first city conquered by Joshua and the nation of Israel. In the distance, you can also see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). Turn west and drive through the Judean Wilderness on our way to the capital city of Jerusalem, where we take some time to view the city before arriving at our hotel for check-in, dinner, and a good night’s sleep.

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). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned on the night of His betrayal (Matthew 26:57). Meditate on the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14:12-26).

Walk the Cardo, the ancient main street of Jerusalem at the time of the Roman occupation. Enter the Davidson Center and stand on the Southern Steps, which was one of the entrances into the Temple complex 2,000 years ago. Pray at the Western Wall, then take the short walk to the Pool of Bethesda where the lame man was healed. The Antonia Fortress offers us an opportunity to reflect on what the Lord endured for us as preparation for His crucifixion for our sins. Walk the Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross, through the city of Jerusalem.

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 before returning to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Visit Ein Karem, where John the Baptist was born. Explore the poignant exhibits of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial with the idea of never allowing something like this to happen, again. Visit the Garden Tomb for a time of reflection and communion.

Return to the USA