Jesus, Esau, Jacob and James

I thought of this the other day. Let me start by saying that this is NOT a doctrinal statement, and it's only conjecture.

The Scripture says that "the older shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25). If I recall correctly, these were God's words to Rebekah when referring to Esau and Jacob. This passage is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 9, where he talked about God's choice of Jacob (Israel) over Esau.

We also know that James was a younger brother of Jesus. The name James is actually a variation of Jacob.

And also that Jesus said that He "did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many".

So indirectly, Jesus (as the Son of Man) served His younger brother. In the cases of both Jesus and Esau, the younger brothers being "served" are named Jacob.

Like I said above, I'm not claiming this is some kind of new doctrine, so I hope that no one here starts arguing over it.

It's just an interesting observation.

Blessings.

NMBH

Some interesting things I read about the name James.

From the Latin Iacobus, which was from the Greek Ιακωβος (Iakobos), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".

The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.

In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages, though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'.

https://www.behindthename.com/name/jacob

Romans 12:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Mark 9:
34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all,
and servant of all.

That as well reminds me in scripture of the wife of zebedee asking Jesus about her sons.

One thought I would state is that Christ (God the Son) did come to serve. He came to serve the will of God the Father.

You can trust me on this one, in the next world it is WE who will be serving Him, as we now are suppose to do in this world..........just saying

Matthew 20: (ESV)
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and
one at your left, in your kingdom.”
24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant
27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”