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Spiritual Journey to
Holy Land March 18-26 2013
Led by Pastor Russell
Smith
Day 1: Monday, March 18 Depart USA
Our
spiritual pilgrimage begins as we depart Virginia/Orlando/Boston on an
overnight flight (12 hours) at 11:30
pm from JFK in New York to Tel Aviv. Flight was delayed leaving due
to snow storm. We arrive in Tel Aviv 2:50 PM the next day.
Day 2: Tuesday, March 19 Arrival Tel Aviv
3:50pm We are welcome to the Holy Land by our Guide Meir Elia
and Driver Roni who will assist us
through passport control and provide transportation to our hotel. First visit
to Old Jaffa located on Mediterranean
Sea, home of
Simon the Tanner. .We will
check in and enjoy our first dinner in Israel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv x 1
Day 3: Wednesday, March 20 Nazareth / Tiberias x 2 After breakfast, depart hotel and drive to Caesarea built by Herod the Great. Here Paul
was imprisoned and tried, and where he converted Cornelius first gentile. Paul was imprisoned here for two years until he was sent to be tried in
Rome. Ahaziah was slain here by Jehu and
Josiah fell in a battle with Pharoah
Necho of Egypt. Proceed to
Megiddo (Armageddon), one of King Solomon’s Chariot Cities. On to Nazareth where Jesus spent his early years,
and visit Mary’s Well and the Church of the Annunciation. where the Angel Gabriel told
the 14 year old Mary she would
become the mother of the son of
God. Continue to the Village
of Cana home of
the Apostle Nathaniel . This is the site of Jesus first miracle where the 12 year old boy Jesus would turn
water into wine at a marriage ceremony
at this church . Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight in Tiberias x 2
Day 4: Thursday, March 21 Tiberias: Tabgha & Jordan River
After
breakfast, begin the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus calmed its stormy waters. Then from Tiberias
to Nof Ginossar.
View the remains of a boat from the time of Jesus. Continue to Capernaum, center of Jesus’ Ministry. Located
here are the ruins of an ancient synagogue and the site of Peter’s House on Shore
of Sea of Gallilee. Proceed to Tabgha, the site of the Miracle of the Loaves ad Fish and see the fish mosaic from the 5th Century Byzantine Basilica. Drive to
the Mount of Beatitude, site of Jesus “Sermon on the Mount.” Take some time for personal meditation. Travel through the
Upper Galilee to Banias Springs (Caesarea Philippe) where Peter made the confession of faith. Drive to Yardenit on the shores of the Jordan
River and renew Baptismal
promises. Dinner
at hotel and
for introduction of members and prayers.
Day 5: Friday, March 22 Tiberias: Capernaum, & Mount Tabor / Jerusalem
After
breakfast, Visit Mt Tabor, site of the Transfiguration. Drive through the Jordan Valley River Rift to Beth Shean, where excavations have
revealed 18 levels of history. Continue
to Jericho, the oldest and lowest inhabited city in the world. In midst of sand
storm from North Africa ascend the Judean Hills
and see Shepherds
herding sheep to reach Jerusalem the City of Peace, home of the three monotheistic
religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) . For Christians, it is the place
where Jesus was crucified, for Moslems it is considered the third holy place in
the world where their prophet Mohammed was sent to heaven, and for Jews it is
the site where the First temple and Second temple was built. Check in and enjoy
dinner at the hotel.
Day 6: Saturday, March 23 Jerusalem: The Old City
After
breakfast, drive to the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking view of the entire city of Jerusalem. Pose for group picture on top of Mount of Olives with backdrop of the city of
Jerusalem. Walk down Palm Sunday Route where Jesus
enters the west Gate of the Holy City on a donkey to the Church of All Nations and Garden of Gethsemane. Witness oldest Olive Tree that was present in garden of Gethsemane during the time of
Jesus. Visit Bath of Beshida and tour Old Jerusalem
and witness the Holy City and walk Fourteen Stations
of Jesus to his cruixifiction. Drive via the Kidron Valley to Mt. Zion and visit the Room of the Last Supper and David’s Tomb. Enjoy the panoramic view of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. Continue by foot in the Walled City. In the Jewish Quarter see the Cardo
and Western Wall.
In the Christian Quarter
visit St. Ann’s Crusader Church, Ecce Homo
(Lithostrotos), Antonia Fortress and
the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre.
End the day with a communion service in The Garden Tomb (Cordon’s Calvary). A Catholic Priest show of the hill where the
cruxification took place and quotes the seven last sayings of Jesus. They are
as follow.
Then
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
do".
This first saying of Jesus on the cross is traditionally
called "The Word of Forgiveness".[ It is theologically
interpreted as Jesus' prayer for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him:
the Roman soldiers, and apparently for all others who were involved in his
crucifixion.
And
he said to him, "Truly, I say to you today you will be with me in
paradise".
This saying is traditionally called "The Word of
Salvation".[ According to Luke's
Gospel, Jesus was crucified between two thieves (Dismas and Gestas), one
of whom supports Jesus' innocence and asks him to remember him when he comes
into his kingdom. Jesus replies, "Truly, I say to you.
3. Behold your son: behold your mother
Jesus
saw his own mother, and the disciple standing near whom he loved, he said to
his mother, "Woman, behold your son". Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold your mother". And from that hour, he took his mother into his
family.
This statement is traditionally called "The Word of
Relationship" and in it Jesus entrusts Mary,
his mother, into the care of "the
disciple whom Jesus loved
Around
the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli Eli lama
sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?"
And
at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama
sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?"
It is the only saying that appears in more than one
Gospel, and is a quote from King David in
Psalm 22:1. This saying is taken by some as an abandonment of the Son by
the Father. Other theologians understand the cry as that of one who was truly
human and who felt forsaken. Put to death by his foes, very largely deserted by
his friends, he may have felt also deserted by God.
He
said, "I thirst".
This statement is traditionally called "The Word of
Distress" and is compared and contrasted with the encounter of Jesus with
the Samaritan
Woman at the Well in John 4:4-26.[12]
As in the other accounts, the Gospel of John says Jesus
was offered a drink of sour wine, adding that this person placed a sponge
dipped in wine on a hyssop branch and held it to Jesus' lips. Hyssop branches
had figured significantly in the Old Testament and in the Book of Hebrews
This statement of Jesus is interpreted ] as
fulfilment of the prophecy given in Psalm 69:21 (cf Psalm 22:15
Jesus
said, Tetelestai, meaning "It is finished".
This statement is traditionally called "The Word of
Triumph" and is theologically interpreted as the announcement of the end
of the earthly life of Jesus, in anticipation for the Resurrection.
Pastor Hamilton from "24 Hours": "These last
words are seen as a cry of victory, not of dereliction. Jesus had now completed
what he came to do. A plan was fulfilled; a salvation was made possible; a love
shown. He had taken our place. He had demonstrated both humanity's brokenness
and God's love. He had offered himself fully to God as a sacrifice on behalf of
humanity. As he died, it was finished. With these words, the noblest person who
ever walked the face of this planet, God in the flesh, breathed his last.
The verse has also been translated as "It is
consummated.
And
speaking in a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit".
From Psalm 31:5, this saying,
which is an announcement and not a request, is traditionally called "The
Word of Reunion" and is theologically interpreted as the proclamation of
Jesus joining God the
Father in Heaven.
Pastor Hamilton from "24 Hours": "When
darkness seem to prevail in life, it takes faith even to talk to God, even if
it is to complain to him. These last words of Jesus from the cross show his
absolute trust in God: 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit'. This has
been termed a model of prayer for everyone when afraid, sick, or facing one's
own death. It says in effect:"
Day 7: Sunday, March 24 Masada / Dead Sea /Jerusalem
After
breakfast, drive via the Good Samaritan Inn (Luke 8:25-37) to Qumran – the Coty of the Essens – where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a cave by a Bedwin shepherd. From there travel to
the mountain fortress of Masada,
the stronghold of the Jews in the war against the Romans. Here a mass suicide
took place of the 960 defenders. Ascend to the fortress by cable car to visit
the palaces of Herod the Great with its Roman
hot baths and pools. On the way back to Jerusalem stop : the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. Dip and float in the most salty
body of water on earth. Return to your
hotel in Jerusalem and enjoy dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Monday, March 25 Jerusalem / Bethlehem
After
breakfast, tour the New City of
Jerusalem beginning with the Shrine
of the Book at the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed. See the Hold Land Model – a scale model of ancient Jerusalem
in the time of the Second Temple. Continue to the Yad Vashem Memorial of the Holocaust. Today is a special
day: the evening of Passover – a Jewish festival that commemorates the story of
the Exodlus in which the ancient Israelites were free from slavery in Egypt.
You will get a unique opportunity to
see how Jerusalem is getting ready for the festivities. In the afternoon group say farewell to guide(Meir
and Roni) and meet with a local tour guide (Wally) who
will accompany you on your tour to Bethlehem*;
visit the Church of the Nativity and the Milk Grotto. Return to Jerusalem and drive to a local restaurant to enjoy a farewell dinner. A Personal Pilgrim
Certificate will be presented to each of you. Transfer to the airport for your
flight departing after midnight.
Day 9: Tuesday, March 26 Tele Aviv / USA
6:40 am
arrive at JFK and proceed with your domestic flight back home. Had the pleasure to meet and
say farewell to fellow group members and
especially to Hugh and Dorothy Brockington.
Please see the interview of their book Unbroken This is the epitome of triumph over tragedy manifested from her
faith in God.
Though we have left the Holy Land it
shall never leave us!