Jaffa, biblical Joppa, sits atop a hill jutting out into the sapphire Mediterranean, Israel’s ancient seaport and historic gateway to the world.
Restored today, Old Jaffa’s cobblestone alleys wind past buildings older than America. Filled with art galleries and restaurants, the sights and smells are worth experiencing, but you probably couldn’t afford to live there. I saw a house presently listed for just over $17 million.
The first time we read of Joppa in the Bible, King Hiram from Tyre offered cedar trees for Solomon’s temple project. (2 Chronicles 2:11-16) The massive timbers were floated down the coast to Joppa, then brought inland up the Yarkon River.
The Lord made it clear He didn’t want to be Israel’s private God. Jesus reminded them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL nations’?” (Mark 11:17)
To drive the point home, the temple was built of stones from Israel and wood provided by Gentiles. And the man who oversaw the project was half Jewish and half Gentile.
If through Abraham “ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed,” (Genesis 12:3) the message must be spread worldwide: “Look to Me, and be saved, ALL you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22) But they were reluctant missionaries, as Christians often are today.
The next story about Joppa has to do with Jonah. Remember him? That’s a whale of a tale! God sent him with heaven’s message to Nineveh. He decided on a Mediterranean cruise instead.
Down to Joppa he went. (Jonah 1:3) Just like the world’s promises, he paid the fare but never arrived where they said they’d take him.
Thankfully, the Lord—after a slight detour—gave him a second chance.
Remember another unwilling preacher at Joppa? God offered Peter the honor of opening the gospel door to the Gentiles, but he was appalled at the thought of entering a Gentile’s house. The Lord gave him a special object lesson to convince him otherwise. (Acts 10:1-23)
Joppa (Hebrew, YAFO) means “beautiful,” and the Bible says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)
Do you have beautiful feet? Maybe you’ve never been asked that, but, if you’re saved by God’s grace, it’s far more important than having a beautiful face! Beautiful feet put the go in the gospel.
Of course, you’ve no message to tell if you haven’t believed God’s Good News. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, BLB)
Saved? Saved from what? When the Savior was to be born in Bethlehem, the angel said, “You shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
Saved through faith? That simply means agreeing with God’s Word when it says you personally are a sinner, the sinner for whom Jesus died.
And saved by grace? The gift of salvation is absolutely free to you—undeserved, unearned. You can’t have it any other way.
ALL need to hear this, and someone needs to hear it from you! They’ll be so glad you had beautiful feet.
Article published June 28, 2025 in the Commercial Dispatch.