In preparation for a trip to Israel I’ve been reading about Joppa (modern day Jaffa). Here are some choice morsels from my notes (which are, as usual, indebted to James B. Jordan and the apostolic fathers of the early church):
Jonah prepares to sail from Joppa when he flees the word of the Lord (Jonah 1:1-3). This is the opposite direction of God’s mission. When the fish vomits Jonah back onto land he fulfills his journey to Ninevah. That journey would have taken him up north of Joppa to the northern borders of Israel and Syria before turning east to Ninevah.
Peter has his vision of the sheet being lowered from Heaven while on the roof of Simon the Tanner’s house (Acts 9:36-10:48). Simon the Tanner lives in Joppa. We’re back in the Jonah story: A new word of the Lord has come to a new messenger —will the new emissary receive the word with joy and carry the mission to the gentiles, or will he flee?
While in Joppa, having the vision, Peter hears that men have come from the north (Caesarea), to bring him to Cornelius.
Peter reverses Jonah’s flight. Instead of fleeing from bringing the good news to the gentiles, Peter receives the men, eats with them, and then journeys with them to Cornelius’ house.
The road that Peter followed from Joppa to get to Cornelius’ house is not dissimilar from the road that Jonah would have had to have taken had he been obedient on the first time to the word of the Lord… and it is very similar, the same in general direction, to the road Jonah would have taken before turning east to Ninevah.
In both cases, the word of the Lord goes from out of Zion, out of Judah, to the gentiles who dwell in darkness beyond Galilee and those gentiles to whom the word of the Lord come repent and receive salvation.
Both the penitent of Ninevah and the penitent of Cornelius’ house repent on every level of society. In Ninevah even the cattle fast and mourn, and Cornelius’ whole household receives the Sprit. The Gospel engages the world at every level of society, just as it engages every tribe and tongue.
The question in both cases is not a question of whether the Gentiles are hungry for the word of the Lord, but a question of whether or not Israel will be faithful to proclaim it, and if they will be glad over the inclusion of the gentiles in the gifts of God’s salvation. Like the parable of the laborers int he vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16), it is a question of whether the servants hired earlier will rejoice at the later workers’ inclusion in the goodness of the Master.