Old Testament reading: Genesis 35-37
Jacob gets a new name. Upon commanding Jacob to return home to Bethel live there, God gives this great patriarch a new name – Israel. This name means “one who contends with God.” The name comes from Jacob’s wrestling with God back in chapter 32. In this account, the Lord says to him, “You have struggled (contended) with God and with men and have prevailed” (32:28; cf Hos 12:4). Each of the three great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had names assigned to them by God. Only Isaac’s name was given at birth (Gen 17:19). Each name was associated with some event connected to their lives. Abram (high father) became Abraham (father of a multitude). Isaac means laughter, as both of his parents laughed at the idea of having a child at such a late age. Also in our reading we see Reuben going in to his father’s concubine (35:21-22), and Israel says nothing of it until he speaks to his sons at his death (49:3-4). Unlike his name, Jacob seems to be a man not given to contention or confrontation, perhaps even to the point of what some might call cowardice. You recall Genesis 34 and Jacob’s reluctance to deal with Shechem and his treachery with Dinah. When his sons finally took matters into their own hands to defend their sister’s honor, Jacob appears more concerned with what others think of him than Dinah’s defilement.
New Testament reading: Mark 1-2
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” So opens Mark’s gospel account. While some might think that Mark would begin with the birth of Jesus, he instead goes straight to the ministry of John the Baptizer, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (1:3). Of note is the reference to John’s baptism as being “for the remission of sins” (1:4). John was the forerunner of Jesus, therefore those things which he taught and enjoined upon his listeners would have been consistent with what the Lord and His disciples would teach afterward. John’s baptism paved the way for that of Jesus’ in that God connected it to the forgiveness of sins. Baptism “in the name of Jesus” (Acts 10:48, 19:5) is the baptism commanded by Jesus, which makes one a disciple (Matt 28:19) and brings salvation (Mark 16:16).
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