Jaffa

We have only visited Jaffa once and it was late at night, but our brief visit gave us perspective for the biblical city of Joppa. 

It was at Joppa, now known as Jaffa, that Jonah caught the slow boat to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). 

Joppa was Tabitha's hometown. She died and disciples called for Peter who was in Lydda, a nearby city. He prayed for Tabitha and God raised her from the dead (Acts 9:36-42).

Peter was in Joppa when God gave him a vision to let him know that the gospel was not just for the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. Cornelius, a Gentile, obeyed the voice of God and sent men to Joppa and asked Peter to come to his house in Caesarea and teach him about God. 

As a result of these events, Cornelius and his household were baptized in Jesus' name and filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10). This was the first record of Gentiles receiving "the promise" given to the Jews in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:1-4).