CVTS Biblical Israel Study Tour

Theresa Casados shares some of her observations about the trip in this Q & A. Some of the sites she mentions are noted in our Google CVTS Biblical Israel Study Tour map.

Love and blessings, Elaine J. Jacobs


What day stands out when you remember your trip to Israel? What did you see? What did you learn?

The most memorable day of the trip for me was the day we went to a museum to see a boat that is about 2,000 years old that was recently found in the Sea of Galilee. It could possibly be a boat that Jesus rode in, and if not, as our tour guide would say, “it’s a great visual” to see a boat from the time of Jesus.

After visiting the museum, we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was so peaceful and as I sat there I thought: “This is where my Savior walked on water and where he calmed the storm” – and it brought tears to my eyes. On the boat, we spent some time in praise and worship. It was a beautiful experience.

Later that evening, some of us were baptized in the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing – it’s hard to find words to capture what I felt that day, but I know the presence of the Lord was there in a very real way.

Prior to the baptism, we learned that “baptism” or “baptize” in Hebrew means “I immerse myself.” Usually when people were being baptized, the rabbi or teacher would stand on the shore and direct the person in the water and people would be baptized in the name of their teacher.

Later in Jerusalem, our tour guide Yoni Gerrish explained that Jewish people did not baptize in the name of someone who was not there, or in the name of a dead rabbi. So in Acts 2 when all of the people were baptized in the name of Jesus, it shows that they felt his presence and truly believed that he had risen from the dead.

Yoni Gerrish was a knowledgeable tour guide as he took the group to various biblical sites. Can you describe a stop on the tour when what Yoni was saying and what you were learning about God really “clicked”?

This truly was the case every day of the trip. One stop that stands out in my mind was near Capernaum, Yoni began to tell us about the woman with the issue of blood. He reminded us that during the time when she encountered Jesus, according to the culture, she should have been outside of camp. However, she had heard about Jesus and his teaching and she made the decision to risk everything to “touch the hem of his garment.” Yoni explained that in Hebrew, tzitzit are actually the tassels that Jewish men wear with knots that symbolize the teachings and the law. When the woman reached to touch Jesus, it is very possible that she was reaching for his tzitzit and that represented the Word.

More and more Christians are starting to understand the importance of discovering the Hebraic roots of the church. What did this trip teach you about the Jewish origins of our faith in Jesus?

I learned how so much of what Jesus did and said is better understood when you know about the culture and beliefs of the Jewish faith. There are so many words that have a different meaning within the culture that we can’t fully grasp unless we know the Hebrew word and the context in which it was used. Knowing the Hebrew also allows us to see connections between passages of Scripture that wouldn't otherwise connect for us, for example we learned about parallels in the book of Exodus and the Gospels.

While you were in Israel, you interacted not just with its history by visiting ancient sites; you interacted with Israel as a modern country. What did you observe?

Israel is a beautiful place with such a rich history. A lot of the recent history includes religious separation/segregation. The country itself is divided in many ways. Throughout our trip we crossed a lot of security check points – from Israel proper, where Israel maintains control, to places like Bethlehem that are occupied by many Muslims and Palestinians. As Christian tourists we were allowed to visit places where some citizens of Israel are not allowed to go.

Jewish Israelis are not allowed in certain places, Arab Christians are not welcome in particular areas and Palestinians are also not allowed in Israel proper. To see the division among different faiths was very interesting, especially since the land, particularly Jerusalem, is very important to so many groups of people.

How did this trip change you as a believer in Christ?

The trip will definitely have an impact on me forever, as a believer in Christ and as a student and doer of the Word. I now know the importance of knowing Hebrew meanings of words, as well as some of the cultural things that help me understand the context of the Bible. Best of all, I will have beautiful pictures in my head when I read about places like Galilee, Capernaum and Jerusalem in the New Testament. I can also see what the wilderness looks like when I read the Old Testament and the Psalms. I have visuals for springs that never fail, as well as a sun-scorched land. Now I know what a gate and fortress looked like thousands of years ago and that helps me to understand what the Word says about God.


Wikipedia photo of Galilean boat courtesy of Jack1956.