Chorazin – This city has a great representation of insula housing, and the synagogue provides a wonderful teaching on first-century synagogues. This is one of three cities of the “evangelical triangle” (Capernaum & Bethsaida) where Jesus taught/preached. A “Seat of Moses” was found during excavations, and Jesus referenced this position of authority, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat (Matt 23:2-3).” Mount of Beatitudes – Commemorating the Sermon on the Mount, the octagonal chapel contains many numerical symbolisms to the Beatitudes (Matt 5:3-11). We will visit the octagonal chapel, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee on the hillside, commemorating the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:3-11). We will then take a walk to nearby Eremos Heights for devotion and communion. Bethsaida – This is one of the three cities of the “evangelical triangle” where Jesus ministered. The feeding of the 5,000 likely took place on the Plain of Bethsaida. Mark 6:39 says that the people sat down on “the green grass.” After this, Jesus made his disciples “go over to Bethsaida.” Capernaum – This was a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee from 2 BC to 7 AD. Jesus made his home here during his ministry (Matt 4:13). Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew, the tax collector, also dwelt here. Capernaum is one of the three cities of the “evangelical triangle” in which Jesus taught/preached (Bethsaida & Chorazin). Time permitting, we will visit Tabgha, the traditional location for the calling of Jesus’ disciples. The Church of the Loaves and Fish commemorates the feeding of the 5000. The Chapel of Peter’s Primacy commemorates Jesus’ question to Peter, “Do you love me?” (John 21). After a late lunch, we will visit and explore the recent excavations of Magdala – the town and the home of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene); archaeologists have discovered a first-century synagogue where it is certain that Jesus taught. Inside the synagogue, they also found The Magdala Stone, a discovery many archaeologists call the most significant archaeological find in the past 50 years. Here lies an entire first-century AD Jewish town, of which only 10% has been uncovered. Our day ends as we journey to Ginosar. Visit the Jesus Boat and then end our day with a sunset boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias, where the bus will take us back to our hotel.

Tel Dan – Dan Spring is the largest spring feeding the Jordan River. A Middle Bronze Age gate was used when Abraham visited the city of Laish and an Iron Age gate from the time of Omri and Ahab with the king’s seat sits nearby (2 Samuel 18:4). It was in this plaza that the “House of David” inscription was discovered. The site also contains the “High Place” from Jeroboam’s cultic worship site, where he placed one of his golden calves. Banias/Caesarea Philippi is one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. Known as Ba’al Hermon & Ba’al Gad in OT, the name was changed to Panias after the Greek god Pan worshipped here. Peter’s confession and the transfiguration both occurred in the vicinity of the city (Matt 16:13) then known as Caesarea Philippi. We will travel up on the Golan Heights to a Druze village for lunch. After lunch, time permitting, we will visit Kursi/Gergesa (Gergesenes), located on the other side of the lake where Jesus sailed. Here, he met a demoniac filled with a legion of demons. He drove out the demons into the sea. The Byzantine (5th-6th century AD) church commemorates this event as well as the feeding of the 4000 Gentiles. Return to the hotel in Tiberias for dinner and your overnight stay.

We leave the Galilee and travel to Beth She’an, almost continuously settled from the Chalcolithic period; the site contains the OT tel and the NT Roman city of Scythopolis, the capital city of the Decapolis. The city was destroyed on January 18, 749 AD, by an earthquake. After walking the Cardo and visiting the theatre to see what Roman life was like, we will travel to Samaria/Sabaste for lunch. After lunch, we will visit Jacob’s Well, where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her “living water.” The well lies in the crypt of a modern Greek Orthodox church at Nablus in the West Bank. It is often considered the most authentic site in the Holy Land since no one can move a well that was originally more than 40 meters deep. We will then travel to the Dead Sea to our hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

En Gedi – This is the largest oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea. Here, David hid from Saul in a cave and David cut off the corner of Saul’s robe (1 Sam 24). The earliest remains at En Gedi are of a temple from the Chalcolithic Period (about 4000 – 3150 BC). If time allows and one is so inclined, you can hike back to David Falls, providing a beautiful view of the falls and the Dead Sea back the canyon. Weather and time permitting, we will visit the Dead Sea for anyone who wishes to take a swim (Optional). Masada – Herod’s fortress along the shore of the Dead Sea is located here. Accessible only by the “snake path,” the Roman General Flavius Silva built a siege ramp to the top. Nine hundred Jewish Zealots committed mass suicide rather than yield to Roman capture. We will have lunch before riding the cable car to the top of the mountain. Return to the Dead Sea for dinner and your overnight stay.

Qumran – This is believed to be the community where the Essenes created & copied the Dead Sea Scrolls; nearby caves contained many of the scrolls discovered. Time permitting, we will visit the Jordan River baptismal site and then proceed to Jericho for lunch. Tel Jericho – “The oldest city in the world” is the location destroyed during Joshua’s invasion of the region. The NT city resides southwest of the tel. Herod’s winter palace has been excavated at the mouth of the Wadi Qelt. Travel up to Jerusalem to our hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

Bethlehem – The Church of the Nativity stands over the birthplace of Jesus. Next, we will visit an olive wood factory, the primary business of Christians in Bethlehem. After lunch, we will visit Beit Sahour (Shepherds’ Field) and then end the day at the Herodium, Herod the Great’s fortress designed as an escape in case of citizen revolt. Herod’s mausoleum was discovered here in 2007. Herodium contains a vast water system enlarged by the rebels during the Bar Kokhba Rebellion (132 AD). Return to our Jerusalem hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

Mount of Olives - Across the Kidron Valley from the Temple Mount and the City of David, there has been a cemetery since the 3rd millennium BC. Visit the Church of Pater Noster (where the Lord’s Prayer is displayed in over 180 languages). Visit the Church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem). Then, walk down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed to the Father before his arrest. After lunch, the bus will take us to the Lions’ Gate, where we will begin the walk along the traditional Via Dolorosa. We will stop at St. Anne’s Church next to the Pools of Bethesda. We will walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 AD. The church commemorates Golgotha and the tomb of Christ’s burial. Return to our Jerusalem hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

Temple Mount – Beginning in 20 BC, Herod the Great began construction to expand the Temple area to 35 acres. Construction continued for 83 years until 64 AD. The precise location of the first and second temples is unknown. Today, the Dome of the Rock sits on the approximate location of the Jewish Temples. At the south end of the plaza sits the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Friday worship occurs. Next, we will visit the Western Wall and the Southern Wall Excavations (Teaching Steps). Before lunch, we will visit with our Jewish brother for a Q&A on Judaism, then lunch is on our own in the Jewish Quarter. We have a 2:30 appointment at the Davidson Center for a 3D movie, the City of David Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and the Pool of Siloam. Return to our Jerusalem hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

St. Peter’s in Gallicantu is the church built over the likely home of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas and former High Priest in the time of Jesus. Visit the Israel Museum, established in 1965 as Israel’s national museum. Here, you will visit the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the oldest Biblical scrolls ever found. Adjacent to this is an amazing model of Second Temple Period Jerusalem, reproducing the topography and architecture of the ancient city prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 AD. Time permitting, visit the archaeological section of the museum, which contains many of the finest artifacts found in the land. The bus will then travel back to the hotel, stopping at the Jaffa Gate for anyone who wishes to have free afternoon time in the Christian Quarter. Lunch will be on your own in the Christian Quarter or the Armenian Quarter. Your rooms will be kept so that you may have some free time in and around the Old City. Those who want to be dropped off at the Jaffa Gate and walk the Rampart Wall of the Old City can do so. You can shop in the Christian Quarter, schedule a Western Wall Tunnel Tour, or simply return to the hotel to rest, pack, shower, and have dinner before transferring to the airport for a flight home to the USA.

Arrive home to the USA.