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Cornelius |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 3, p. 132. |
The Traditional House
of Simon the Tanner
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The traditional house of Simon the Tanner furnishes, from its flat roof, a fine
point of view for this charming scene. And there is reason to believe that the
tradition is not far wrong. The house is ‘by the sea-side;’ the waves beat
against the wall of its courtyard. An ancient well, fed by a perennial spring,
furnishes the water needful for the tanner’s trade; and tanneries of immemorial
antiquity probably go back to the time of Peter’s visit or even earlier. The
vision here vouchsafed to the apostle gains a new appropriateness on this spot.
Joppa has always been the port of Jerusalem. It is, indeed, the only port of
Southern Palestine. Thence ‘the ships of Tarshish’ were seen coming and going.
The ‘isles of Chittim’ (Cyprus) lie just below the horizon. It was the point at
which the Jewish and Gentile worlds came into contact. Peter, looking out over
the waters of ‘the Great Sea’ towards Greece and Rome, where the gospel was to
win its greatest victories, would be at no loss to apply the lesson taught by
the vision. (Source: Those Holy Fields, pp. 13-14.) |
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Jaffa, Church of Simon the Tanner |
Source:
Photographs of Charles Lee Feinberg. |
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Descending from the highest part of Jaffa
to the extreme northwest corner of the city,
we find the house of Simon, the Tanner, "by
the sea." Tradition says, it was here Peter
prayed about the sixth hour, fell into a
trance, saw heaven open and the great sheet
let down. A distinguished writer says, "We
Gentiles should regard this vision of Peter
with special interest, and I see no reason why
tradition may not have preserved the knowledge
of the site. Both Christians and Mohammedans
reverence the place. The roofs of the houses
even now have a wall or balustrade around them
where a person may sit or kneel without
exposure to the view of others." Dr. Hackett
says, "At Jerusalem I entered the house of a
Jew early one morning and found a member of
the family sitting secluded and alone, on one
of the lower roofs, engaged in reading the
Scripture and offering his prayers." When
surrounded by battlements, and shaded by vines
trained over them like those of the present
day, they would afford a very agreeable
retreat even at the "sixth hour." (Source:
Earthly Footsteps
of the Man of Galilee, p. 94.) |
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Source:
Survey
of Western Palestine: The Maps. |
Caesarea
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"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band
called the Italian band; a devout man, and one that feared God with all his
house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a
vision, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to
him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid,
and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are
come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one
Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house
is by the seaside: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do."-- Acts, x: 1-6.
It was upon this visit of Peter to Joppa that he saw "the heavens opened” . . .
. God taught Peter that he was no respecter of persons, "But in every nation he
that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." It was at
this time that the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Gentiles, and Cornelius
was baptized. (Source:
Earthly Footsteps
of the Man of Galilee, p. 264.) |
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The Castle of Caesarea |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 3, p. 108. |
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CĘSAREA SEBASTE . . . was planned and
completed by King Herod the Great within the
short space of ten or twelve years, and was
inaugurated with great pomp and splendour in
the twenty-eighth year of his reign, B.C. 12.
. . . “It contained sumptuous palaces and
splendid edifices, all built of white stone
brought from a distance,” now represented by
shapeless mounds, fallen columns, and
dislocated masses of masonry. . . . Cęsarea
soon became the most important city in
Palestine, and its chief port. It was the
official residence of the Herodian kings and
of the Roman procurators. Repeated mention is
made of Cęsarea in the Acts of the Apostles .
. . . Eusebius, the celebrated ecclesiastical
historian, was Bishop of Caesarea early in the
fourth century, and towards its close the city
was visited by Sta. Paula, the friend of
Jerome. It is recorded that she saw the house
of the centurion Cornelius, which had been
converted into a church. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine,
vol. 3, pp. 126-27.) |
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See
Jaffa (Joppa),
Caesarea,
Marketplace,
Travel in Palestine,
or
Paul in Damascus |
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