Holy Land

Depart via scheduled air service. The destination is Tel Aviv.

Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. Travel to Jaffa for a panoramic orientation and walking through Jaffa’s picturesque alleyways. Here Peter had a vision that led him to convert Cornelius (Acts 10) and initiate the church’s mission to the Gentiles. Drive through Tel Aviv on the way to our hotel in Netanya on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea for check-in. Evening dinner and overnight

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, follow in the Footsteps of Paul by traveling up the Plain of Sharon to Caesarea. Visit the aqueduct, the ancient Herodian harbor, the remains of the seaside palace of Pontius Pilate and the theater. Continue to the altar of Elijah at Muhraka atop Mount Carmel. Lunch, on own. Continue to Megiddo, the ancient Tel and future site of the battle of Har-Megiddo or Armageddon (Revelation 16). See the walls of Solomon and the impressive 8th-Century BC water tunnel. Drive across the Valley of Jezreel and climb to Nazareth, to visit Nazareth Village, a reconstructed first-century village that tells the story of the hometown of Jesus. Continue to the Church of Mary’s Well. Arrive at the Sea of Galilee for evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin the day boarding a wooden boat for Ginnosar – sailing in the footsteps of Jesus! Drive to the Mount of Beatitudes to reflect on the new commandment Jesus taught here. Then descend the hillside (twenty minutes by foot or by bus) to Tabgha (Heptagon, visiting the Church of Loaves and Fishes as well as the Church of Mensa Christi, where, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples on the lakeshore.
Proceed to Capernaum to see the house of Peter and the synagogue where Jesus preached and cast out demons. Lunch, on own. Continue to the headwaters of the Jordan at Banias – Caesarea Philippi, where Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Christ. Return to the Sea of Galilee. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Depart the Sea of Galilee and stop at the Jordan River for baptism or renewal of baptismal vows
Then on to Beth Shean, a magnificent Roman town, with its colonnaded streets, bathhouses, and theater with outstanding acoustics. Pass Mount Gilboa, where King Saul and his sons were slain in battle, and head down the Jordan Valley to Jericho, the world’s oldest city, climbing the Tel to view the ancient towers and the Mount of Temptation, marking Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness. Lunch, on own. We travel up through the Judean Desert to Jerusalem and continue to the Garden of Gethsemane Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Western (Wailing) Wall, a remnant of the Temple in which Jesus preached and a sacred place of prayer for Jews. Continue to the Temple Mount, viewing the Dome of the Rock, built on the site of the Second Temple. Proceed to Mount Zion to visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, where Jesus may have been questioned before the High Priest Caiaphas. Conclude the day at the Upper Room, the traditional site of the Last Supper. Lunch, on own. Travel to the Shepherds’ Fields to rejoice over the glad tidings of the birth of Jesus and remember the faith of Ruth who gathered grain nearby. Continue to Bethlehem to visit the 5th-century Church of the Nativity. Return to Jerusalem for evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, Visit the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man paralyzed for 38 years. Then proceed up the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Conclude the voyage with a communion celebration at Golgotha and the Garden Tomb. The tomb is empty! He is risen! Lunch, on own. The rest of the afternoon is free for shopping, individual sightseeing or relaxation. The more adventurous might want to walk through the knee-deep waters of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Evening dinner and overnight.

Transfer to the airport for return flight home.