Upon arrival to Ben Gurion Airport, you will travel to your hotel located on the Mediterranean coast. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Our morning begins at the port city of Caesarea, built by Herod the Great (Matthew 2). This was the second-largest harbor in the Roman Empire during the first century. At Caesarea, Peter visited the Gentile centurion Cornelius (Acts 10), who with his household became the first Gentile followers of Jesus. The Apostle Paul remained under house arrest in Caesarea for two-and-a-half years. Here he stood before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II (Acts 23-25). From the harbor of Caesarea Paul sailed to Rome, leaving Israel for the last time. While at the site, we will visit the ancient theater with its magnificent view overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We will see Herod the Great’s palace that served as the residence of the Roman officials in the land, such as Pontius Pilate. After departing, we travel to Mount Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). We will then journey through the Valley of Jezreel. Our day concludes in Nazareth, at the boyhood home of Jesus. We visit the Church of the Annunciation, built over the traditional place where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-37). The church is built on top of the ancient village of Nazareth, and we will visit a small museum that shows some of the finds and homes from the village. We will end our visit in Nazareth with an overlook of the Jezreel Valley from Mount Precipice. From this vantage point, we will see the settings for a number of biblical stories. Dinner and overnight at our hotel on the Sea of Galilee.

Our journey today focuses upon the ministry of Jesus around the Sea of Galilee. Our morning begins at Yardenit, which provides an opportunity for you to be baptized in the Jordan River. Next we travel to Almagor, which overlooks the Beitsaida Valley—where the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and where Jesus fed the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17). We journey to Chorazin, one of the three cities cursed by Jesus (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13). At this site, we see the ancient homes and Jewish ritual immersion pools, as well as the magnificent basalt synagogue from the fifth century A.D. Inside the synagogue is a replica of a Seat of Moses (Matthew 23:2). We travel next to the ancient town of Capernaum, where Jesus made His home by the lake (Matthew 4:13). Here, He healed the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13). We will see the modern church built over an ancient church, which was built over a first-century home that has been identified as the home of Peter. The magnificent limestone synagogue of the fourth century A.D. has been partly reconstructed and looms over the site. From Capernaum, we travel to one of the most exciting and important ongoing archaeological excavations in Israel: Magdala. Here we will visit one of the few excavated first-century synagogues in the land of Israel. Its date coincides with the time of Jesus’ ministry in the area. We will also see wealthy homes from the village, as well as the first-century harbor. We then journey to the small museum at Kibbutz Ginnosar that houses an ancient boat discovered in the 1980s in the Sea of Galilee. This boat dates to the first century and was used by fisherman on the lake. Our day concludes with an evening boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The ancient fishermen fished the lake at night. Riding on the waters of the lake in the evening offers a unique opportunity to connect with Jesus and His disciples on the lake. Dinner and overnight at our hotel on the Sea of Galilee.

Today we drive from the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh-water lake in the world, through the Jordan River Valley to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Our first stop is Masada, the desert palace-fortress built by Herod the Great. During the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-73), Jewish rebels lived on Masada until they were surrounded by the Tenth Roman Legion. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, the rebels chose to commit suicide rather than face slavery and death at the hands of the Romans. While visiting the site, we will see the palaces, bathhouses, and storerooms of Herod the Great. We will also see buildings converted by the Jewish rebels for their use, like the synagogue. Evidence of the Roman siege can be seen in the siege ramp and Roman camps that surround Masada. We travel next to the site of Qumran. The world-famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves around the site. Qumran was the settlement of the community that produced many of the Dead Sea Scrolls. After visiting Qumran, participants can have the experience of floating in the Dead Sea. Our day ends with an overlook of the Wadi Qilt, the ancient road between Jerusalem and Jericho. This was the setting for Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). On Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, He used this road as He traveled from Jericho to Jerusalem (Luke 19:1-11). Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.

Our morning in Jerusalem begins with a visit to the Israel Museum. Here we will see a scale model of Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction in A.D. 70. We will visit the Shrine of the Book, which houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including some of the oldest copies of the Old Testament. Our tour of the museum concludes with a walk through the archaeological wing to visit the two galleries dedicated to Israel in the Old and New Testament periods. We will see original artifacts found in sites we visited, as well as other artifacts that make the Bible come alive. Next, we journey to the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem, the city David conquered and made his capital. We walk into the Jewish Quarter and visit the Herodian Quarter, a series of priestly homes from the first century. We conclude our day visiting the Western Wall, the most sacred site for Jews, and a private tour of the Western Wall Tunnels with the chief archaeologist in charge of the excavation. Dinner at the hotel with an evening program of CBN Israel projects and ministries. Overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.

We begin our morning visiting Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust. We then travel to Bethlehem, the hometown of David. In Bethlehem, we remember the birth of Jesus and visit the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the Holy Land, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. We will eat lunch in Bethlehem and have time for shopping. We then return to the Old City of Jerusalem, where people can shop and wander the city streets. Dinner at the hotel with an evening program of CBN Israel projects and ministries. Overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.

Our morning begins with a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We walk down the mountain following the modern path used by pilgrims on Palm Sunday visiting the church of Dominus Flevit—which remembers Jesus’ weeping over the city as He rode into it—and the traditional location of the Garden of Gethsemane. Our journey continues at Jaffa Gate, where in the first century Herod’s palace stood. Here, the story of Jesus begins (Matthew 2) with the visit of the wise men to Herod, and here His story ended—because at Herod’s palace Jesus stood before PontiusPilate (Mark 15). From Jaffa Gate, we walk along the Byzantine Cardo and see the walls of Jerusalem from the eighth and first centuries B.C. Passing the Gennath Gate, we follow the historic route Jesus traveled from Pilate to His place of execution at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Our day ends along the southern wall of the Temple Mount. On the first-century street, we see the shops and markets around the Temple, a possible location for the money changers (Luke 19:45-46). We then proceed to the southern entrances of the Temple, where we walk the steps ancient pilgrims took to ascend to the Temple. After a farewell dinner at Satya, we will then depart Jerusalem and head to Ben Gurion Airport, where you will return to your home country refreshed, challenged, and renewed in your faith.

Arrive back in the U.S.