OVERVIEW
What really happened in first-century Galilee and Judaea? Join author and historian John Dickson on a journey throughout the length and breadth of modern Israel—from the Dead Sea to Lake Galilee, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. We will investigate the key sites of Jesus’ life, explore his cultural background, separate fact from fiction, and piece together how a peasant preacher changed the course of history.
Rather than a spiritual pilgrimage, this tour is a historical and cultural adventure, complete with daily onsite lectures from Dr Dickson covering the Varieties of First-Century Judaism, the Social and Political Influence of Rome, Jesus the Healer, the Causes of his Death, How Christianity Spread, and much more. Find out more about John Dickson at www.johndickson.org
Dr John Dickson
John’s story is eclectic. Starting out as a professional singer-songwriter, he now works as an author, speaker, historian, and media presenter. He has published 15 books, two of which have become television documentaries, with a third (For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse than you Ever Imagined) released in cinemas and on ABC TV in late 2018. He teaches a course on the Historical Jesus at the University of Sydney, Australia, and researches the origins of Christianity in the Roman empire. For 2017-19 he is also a Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University in the UK. He is the newly appointed Distinguished Fellow in Public Christianity at Ridley College Melbourne. In all that he does, whether in the media or the church, creative or academic, he strives to be a public advocate for the Christian faith in doubting times. Having lost his father in an air disaster at 9, John is mindful of the sorrows and doubts of our world, and values his wife and three children above all other gifts of this life.
ITINERARY
Included Meals: None
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
Start the day at the Tower of David Museum for an overview of Israel’s history and the geography of Jerusalem. Leave Jerusalem through the Judean wilderness to the fortress of Masada built by King Herod. Continue to Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947 and home to an exclusive Jewish sect known as ‘Essenes’. We then travel to the Dead Sea for a swim and the spectacular view from the Wadi Qelt, the famous road from Jericho to Jerusalem. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
Lecture topic: ‘The Judaism(s) of Jesus’ Day’.
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
The afternoon will be spent in the New City of Jerusalem at the Israel Museum where you can see the Dead Sea scrolls and an impressive model of Jerusalem as it was in the period just before its devastation by the Romans in AD 70.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
Lecture onsite: “Galilee and the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry”.
Continue to Tiberias before Shabbat celebrations begin. Rest of the day free.
Hotel: Sea of Galilee Hotel, Tiberias
Included Meals:
Today we visit Gamla, known as the Masada of the North. Here you will see an impressive first century synagogue and hear an onsite lecture: ‘Jesus and the Zealots’. Continue to the Golan Archaeological Museum in the town of Katzrin before we stop at
We discover how radical Jesus’ message was to his fellow Galileans. End the day at Mt Arbel (for magnificent views of Galilee) in the late afternoon.
Hotel: Sea of Galilee Hotel, Tiberias
Included Meals:
This morning after breakfast and check out, enjoy a boat trip on Lake Galilee to Capernaum. Brief lecture on site:” Jesus among the healers of his day.”
Travel by coach to Magdala, the home town of Mary Magdalene and the site of recently discovered first century building including a synagogue.
Brief lecture onsite: “The women in Jesus’ life”. Beat Shean (Scythopolis), an impressive Greco-Roman Old Testament city. Continue to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
Sunrise at Mount of Olives gives you an exceptional overview of the Old City of Jerusalem. Return to the hotel for breakfast. We then visit the impressive Davidson Archaeological Park, located next to the Temple Mount. The Centre combines an exhibition of a rich archaeological content and computerized media, artefacts exhibitions, and an illustrated and visual exhibition following events spanning 5000 years from the Canaanite Age through to the First Temple period.
Onsite Lecture: ‘The Causes of Jesus’ Arrest and Death’
We then visit the Western Wall which is the site for Bar Mitzvahs every Monday.
Lunch in Old City followed by the afternoon free to explore the Old City.
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
An early morning visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with a lecture on “What can historians say about Jesus’ resurrection”? Return to the hotel for breakfast and check out.
Farewell Jerusalem and drive to the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea Maritima, the port that the apostle Paul departed from on his missionary journeys. Enjoy lunch here and a tour of the site. Dr Dickson will deliver a lecture onsite “How Christianity became a world religion’.
Return to Jerusalem for our final night of the tour with a farewell dinner on the rooftop of the Notre Dame.
Hotel: Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem
Included Meals:
Included Meals:
Highlights
- Dr John Dickson as your expert leader with onsite lectures and insights
- Learning about the different sects of Judaism
- Travelling to Judeo sites to gain a greater understanding of where Christianity was birthed from
TOUR INCLUDES
Travel with
like-minded people
Christian
Tour Leaders
Option of land
only package
Option of upgrading
to single room
Meals
Sights and entry
fees listed
