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Peter
The ancient city of Joppa lies on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, mostly underneath buildings from much later periods, in modern-day Tel Aviv. It served as a seaport for delivering Phoenician cedars to Israel, and was a jumping off point in Jonah’s flight to distant Tarshish. Peter would later receive Cornelius’s emissaries after healing Tabitha in this seaside town.
I have always enjoyed the TV show M*A*S*H. As everyone knows, it was a 1970's comedy about a group of surgeons and nurses in the Korean War. The show wasn't just a comedy. It had great writers that were able to make serious points amidst all of the jokes. In one scene, Hawkeye Pierce (one of the surgeons) approaches a Korean woman who is leaving her village with a bucket.
Hawkeye: Where are you going? Woman: To get water from the spring about a mile away. Hawkeye: A mile away? Why are you walking that far? Woman: That's where the water is.
If you are like me, we take our access to water for granted. Including the outside spigots, I have seven locations around my house where I can turn a knob and out flows water.
Think about all of the major cities in the United States: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tampa, Miami, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Detroit, Boston, Washington DC, Houston. Why are those cities located where they are? It's simple: water. Even cities that are not located by large bodies of water, were founded in their locations due to water. (Ever been to the River Walk in San Antonio?)
The same thing occurred in Bible times. Jerusalem had the Gihon Spring. Capernaum, Magdala, Tiberias, Bethsaida all had the Sea of Galilee. Caesarea Philippi had the (what we now call) Banias River.
Caesarea Martima was built in its location due to two things. A local spring to supply fresh water and the Mediterranean Sea to help with the economy. However, what happens with the city's population grows to a point so that the small spring can no longer sustain the people? (At the time of King Herod, Caesarea grew to be one of the biggest cities in the region, with a population of over 100,000.) Well, you have to get water from somewhere else. In the First Century BC, King Herod determined that the other location would be Mount Carmel, about seven miles to the north-northeast.
So, how do you get water from Mount Carmel, seven miles away, to Caesarea Maritima? If you are King Herod, with basically unlimited resources and "free" labor, you build an aqueduct. Now, think about how this aqueduct had to work. There are no electric pumps. And, water doesn't flow uphill. So, the aqueduct had to flow downhill continually for seven miles. In many places the slope of the aqueduct is so indiscernible that you literally have to put water in it to determine that the water will flow. Like many of King Herod's building projects, the architectural mastery is amazing given their primitive tools and equipment. And, he built it so well that it transported water almost continually for 1200 years.
Since the aqueduct is never mentioned in the Bible, you may be wondering why this is important. It's important because it helps us to better understand the people and places of the day. I would guess that Cornelius and his family was very happy that King Herod built the aqueduct. As was Peter when he visited the city. And Paul when he was imprisoned there for two years. You can not live with out water.
In my last post, I showed a picture of St. Peter's Church in modern day Jaffa (ancient Joppa). This church sits on the traditional location where Peter raised Dorcas from the dead. In that post, I quoted from Acts 9:26-42. In this post, I wanted to discuss the next verse.
So it was that he [Peter] stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner. - Acts 9:43
After Peter raised Dorcas from the dead, he stayed with a gentleman by the name of Simon. In the next chapter, we learn a little more about Simon's house. An angel speaks to Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea, and tells him to go find Peter.
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.” - Acts 10:4-6
From this verse, we learn that Simon's house was by the sea.
As you walk through the narrow corridors of the Old City of Jaffa, you come across a humble door (pictured above) which is marked as the "House of Simon the Tanner".
Often, when you are the Holy Lands, you see churches or markers denoting the "traditional" locations of many Biblical events. Some of the locations are rooted in a thread of fact, so there is some justification to their claim. Others have to scrutinized a little more closely in light of Scripture. (And there are some, which are just plain wrong.)
Is this home in the ancient city of Joppa? Yes. Is it on the seashore? Yes. (The west side of this building is almost directly on the shoreline.) Is this the real house of Simon the Tanner? Probably not, especially given the fact that the architecture is clearly much more recent. Does it sit on the location of the original house? There is no way of knowing.
Regardless, it is interesting. And, seeing this locations, even if they are not exactly correct, help you to understand the Scriptures more.
In Acts 9, we read an interesting story involving the apostle Peter and a woman by the name of Dorcas. Dorcas died and her friends sent to the nearby town of Lydda to contact Peter. Seeing how distressed the people were, Peter raised Dorcas from the dead.
At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. - Acts 9:36-42
As is mentioned, this event took place in Joppa (modern day Jaffa). Today, St. Peter's Church (picture above) sits on the traditional location of this story. The church was originally built in 1654, but later destroyed. The current structure was rebuilt in the late 1800s. The church sits high on the tel of ancient Joppa and has a stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea.
