NAME and CIRCUMCISION of CHRIST -1st Jan

The circumcision, Rembrandt, 1630, London, British Museum.

CIRCUMCISION, THE LAW, AND FAITH.

The practice of Palestinian Judaism at the time was to name the child at birth; the usual practice was to name the male child after the grandfather; the naming a male child after the father was not completely unknown; Jesus was named by the angel :"You shall name him Jesus"( Luke 1:31).

JESUS: in first-century Judaism, the Hebrew name Joshua (Greek  Jesous) meaning"Yahweh helps" was interpreted as "Yahweh saves".

CIRCUMCISION is the surgical removal of the foreskin from a male's penis. It was a sign of the covenant (agreement) between Israel and God ( Genesis 17:2). As Gentiles became Christians, many Jewish Christians claimed they had to live by Jewish religious laws, including circumcision.

Paul constantly insists that such rituals are not necessary for Gentiles converts. He says that "real circumcision is a matter of the heart"(Romans 2:29), which leads to "faith working through love" (Galatiens 5;6).

In Romans, capter 4, Paul sheds further light on this by considering the case of Abraham. Abraham was considered the father of the Jewish faith. He was made righteous by God before he was circumcised. Why? Because of his heroic faith in God. Christians are called to this kind o faith in God, whose plan of salvation is now fully revealed in Jesus Christ.

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