Learning the Land: Caesarea

Now that we have students here at the discipleship center part of what we are doing with them is teaching them the land of Israel and how it relates to their Bibles. This past Friday, we took them to the Mediterranean coast to see Ceasarea. I was a history teacher before I became a pastor and the historian in me gets excited to go to the places where important events happened.

Caesarea was Herod's capitol city. He built it in Greco-Roman style with aqueducts, bath houses, and theatres. The city, which has a very limited natural supply of fresh water, was made possible by Roman engineering. They built an aqueduct that brought water from Mt. Carmel, over 70 miles away.

The Romans also invented hydraulic concrete, concrete that hardens under water. Herod made extensive use of this substance in Caesarea. He built two giant piers that extend out into the ocean and create an artificial harbor to facilitate shipping. He also built a palace that extended out into the ocean. One of its many luxuries was a swimming pool that was bordered by the sea on three sides. Herod built his palace extending into the sea because it was beautiful, but also because he was paranoid. He kept a boat docked at the end of the palace at all times. The boat was there so that he could escape if he needed to.

The palace was later taken over by the Roman governors. I wondered as I walked there Friday, just where Paul stood before Felix and Festus. The Bible says that Paul was sent for, so probably somewhere in the palace. It's pretty cool to walk around thinking "maybe Paul stood here" and trying to imagine the scene.

Caesarea is also important in recent Biblical archeology. For years, critics of the Bible complained that there was no extra-Biblical source naming Pontius Pilate. They pointed out that the Romans were great record keepers and that there should be some document somewhere with his name on it. They used the absence of such a document as evidence against the Bible.

When Israeli archaeologists began to excavate Caesarea they made an interesting find. The found a cornerstone for one of the buildings there. The cornerstone had an inscription. In Latin it said roughly, " built under Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea." It's funny how the truth defends itself.

As the weeks go by, and as we visit more of the country's sites, I'll keep you posted on what we see and learn.