Caesarea Maritima
Dear Friends,
After visiting the art museum, we (three friends and I) went to see Caesarea Maritima. It has a long-ish history (long by US standards, but way shorter than places like Jerusalem or Jericho); the city was founded in 568 B.C. by Phoenicians (during Persian Period, if you care). Now, it is a nice, touristy collection of ruins. Like many places in Israel, though, it has some Biblical connections.
Herod the Great, a.k.a. Herod who killed all the little boys around Bethlehem, built a massive harbor in honor of Augustus Caesar — hence the name: Caesarea. The city then became the center of Roman power for the region. It is where Pontius Pilate lived generally since he only visited Jerusalem during the high-tension times of year (a.k.a. holidays).
Later, Paul spent several years in Caesarea. It all started after Paul was arrested for the last time and this time in Jerusalem (Acts 21:31–36). When the Romans found out that there was a plot to kill him, they decided to send him to Caesarea because it would be more difficult for the Jews to enact an assassination there under the Roman governor’s nose (Acts 23:16–22).
So, the tribune in charge, “called two of the centurions and said, ‘At the third hour of the night get ready two hundred soldiers with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.’” (Acts23:23–25)
The tribune wrote a letter to the governor to the effect of Dear sir, the Jews want to kill this guy because of some religious dispute, but I don’t know what the issue is and don’t really want to deal with it. Also, they really want to kill him, so I’m sending him and his accusers to you to deal with. Yours truly, Claudius Lysias (very free paraphrase by me of Acts 23:26–30). Then they all go down to Caesarea and talk with the governor, Felix.
Felix kept hoping Paul will bribe him to get free and so left him in prison for two years. Then the new governor Festus was appointed. He wanted to please the Jews and was going to just hand Paul over to them; to avoid that, Paul appealed to Caesar which meant the Romans had to send him to Rome (Acts 25:11–12).
But they were slow, and then King Agrippa and his sister arrived for a visit. They wanted to hear what was going on, and Paul had to rehash everything — from why he was arrested to his personal history to what the deal is with Christianity — for them. After which Festus said, “Paul, you are mad; your great learning is turning you mad.” (Acts 26:24) This a fantastic line and is followed by Agrippa saying, “In a short time you think to make me a Christian!” (Acts 26:28).
Then. they decided that it was finally time to actually send Paul to Caesar. Thus, after two or more years in Caesarea, Paul left for Rome. After a shipwreck and detour through Malta, Paul arrived before Caesar and was executed even though all the Romans in Caesarea believed he was innocent (Acts 26:32).
While in Caesarea, Paul had a “some liberty” and was able to see his friends regularly (Acts 24:23). So, he could — hypothetically — have wandered any of these ancient streets that I explored. If he didn’t, then his friends certainly did. What a happy thought!
The next Biblically related port I need to see is Jaffa from which St. Peter departed for Rome. (Incidentally, Jaffa is also called Joppa, Yafo, and Yafa depending on the language and transliteration.)
Pax!
Debora
