For Isaiah, the Plain of Sharon was the ultimate symbol of beauty. It was also the region from which Christianity set sail to the world. Today, the Sharon region boasts beautiful farmland as well as flourishing cities, while the biblical names endure and the sites still tell their ancient tales.
Lydda (today called Lod) in the southern Sharon is where Peter healed Aeneas, and “all those who lived Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned toward the Lord” (Acts 9:34).
In the seaport of Joppa, where King Hiram of Tyre sent the Cedars of Lebanon to Solomon to build the Temple, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-40). Joppa was also the scene of Peter’s rooftop vision at the house of Simon the Tanner (Acts 10:9-16). The vision led him straight to the great city of Caesarea in the northern Sharon, and to Cornelius, who, thanks to Peter, became the first gentile to accept Christianity.
From Caesarea’s busy port, ships set sail far and wide; many Christians must have embarked on their journey from here, carrying their new faith to distant lands. Paul’s missionary journeys brought him to Caesarea (Acts 18:22; 21:8); he was also imprisoned there, appeared before King Agrippa II, and then boarded a ship for Rome (Acts 25 and 26).
The Sharon, with its beauty, historical and spiritual riches, is still a region of splendor and of glories yet unseen (Isaiah 35:2).