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

You will be welcomed at the Tel Aviv airport by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Bethlehem to enjoy dinner before retiring for the night. Tonight, you can participate in the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Nativity Square.

In Bethlehem, visit the cave where Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-7) and the Church of the Nativity. Gaze out over Shepherds’ Field, where angels first proclaimed the Good News.

Travel to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Visit the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. Stop in Jericho to view the ruins of the city conquered by Joshua (Joshua 6:1, 2, 20). In the distance, you can also see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11).

Worship as you sail across the Sea of Galilee. Visit Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the 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). In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene, visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue. Recall Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan River.

Visit Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matthew 2:23). Look out over Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) to view one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel. Today’s last stop is Caesarea, 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.

Stand on the Mount of Olives and enjoy a remarkable view of the Golden City of Jerusalem. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven from this place (Acts 1:9-12). Walk to the Garden of Gethsemane and pray beneath the ancient olive trees (Matthew 26:36-44). On Mount Zion, visit the Upper Room, revered as the site of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-26) and St. Peter in Gallicantu, the home of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was held after His arrest (Matthew 26:57). Explore the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall Excavations, including the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall.

This morning, enjoy a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem along the Cardo, once the main street of the city. Remember how Jesus healed on the Sabbath when you visit the Pool of Bethesda (John 5: 1-18). At Herod’s Antonia Fortress (Luke 23:1), see where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate. Walk the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of the Cross”) and remember the Lord’s sacrificial love at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Share communion together at the Garden Tomb in celebration of His Resurrection. Enjoy a free afternoon to explore Jerusalem.

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