Caesarea Maritima was built by Herod the Great between 22 and 10 BC on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The city had an artificial harbor, a theater, a hippodrome, and a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus, and it became the administrative capital of the Roman province of Judea.
It was in the house of the centurion Cornelius, a resident of Caesarea, that the apostle Peter saw the Holy Spirit fall upon the first Gentile converts, a milestone that opened the doors of the gospel to all nations.
Years later, King Herod Agrippa I addressed the people in this city dressed in royal robes. For accepting acclaim as a god and not giving glory to the Lord, he was struck by an angel and died.
Philip the evangelist also lived in Caesarea with his four prophesying daughters, and he received Paul into his home. Later, Paul himself was brought to the city under armed guard, remained imprisoned there for two years, and appealed to Caesar before the Roman governors.
Caesarea reminds us that God’s plan to reach all peoples does not depend on human borders. Romans, Jews, and Gentiles met there with the gospel, a sign that the Good News was always meant for every nation.
