Luke 2:21
I’ll wager to say that some of you were surprised to read the bulletin today and see the word “circumcision”. And yet, the Christian church has long held this holy day to observe, 8 days after Christmas (at least by Jewish reckoning) the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised according to Jewish custom. We know precious little about the life of Jesus before his public ministry, and here we have only one verse, which tells us simply that on the 8th day he was circumcised.
And on the 8th day, coinciding with this, is also the day on which Jewish baby boys would officially be named. So we read that Jesus was named Jesus that day – the name given by the angel even before he was conceived.
That name, “Jesus” meaning, “God Saves”. The savior is named “Savior” on this 8th day after his birth.
So what to make of all this?
First let’s consider circumcision – the Old Testament sign of the covenant.
If the thought of circumcision makes you a bit squeamish, sin should make us far more uncomfortable. And your own sins, especially. For it is sin that brings all pain and suffering, violence and death into the world. Sin was the cause of the first shedding of blood – the animals slaughtered by God to provide skins of covering for Adam and Eve’s shame. Sin also brought the first blood shed by man against a man – as Cain killed his brother Abel. Sin marred the perfection of a very good creation and the wave of blood that followed has never really stopped flowing.
But God takes what is bad and makes it good. He turns death into life. And he makes even bloodshed serve his own purposes. Whether in the covenant sacrifices of animals, the circumcision of Hebrew males, or the shedding Christ’s blood for the sins of the world.
Circumcision was first given to Abraham, along with God’s covenant promises. It served as an outward sign marking Israelites as God’s people – and setting them apart in a very physical way from the pagan nations among whom they lived. It was an unmistakable distinction, an outward sign of the inward promise. Even when an adult male wanted to become a part of God’s people, circumcision was in order – painful as it would be. Nonetheless, circumcision was a gracious gift by which God not only identified his people but reminded them of his promises to them and his gift for them.
And perhaps that’s one thing to notice. That here, already on the 8th day of his earthly life, our Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood. The first time we know of that he felt pain. And he did it, not for his own benefit or blessing, but for ours. Just as he fulfilled all of the law on our behalf, and submitted to everything we are commanded to do under the law – so did Christ. Here, he sheds the first precious drops of his blood in a foreshadowing of his greater shedding of blood on the cross.
Circumcision is also an Old Testament type of New Testament baptism. Paul calls Holy Baptism a “circumcision of the heart”. It serves much the same purpose as circumcision did – marking and identifying people, even infants, just as unchangeably, as members of God’s kingdom, part of the Church, and an heirs of all the treasures of heaven. We might notice the 8-sided baptismal font, which is common in many churches, and which reminds us of the 8 souls God saved in the flood – Noah and his family. But we might also point to the connection of the 8th day – for circumcision, and now an 8 sided font for this circumcision of the heart.
But Christian baptism is even more – it unites us with Christ in death and resurrection. Paul writes:
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12).
And one last baptismal connection with the “8”. Christ was raised on a Sunday, which is the first day of the week. But many have said it is like unto a new day of the week – an 8th day, if you will. And so all the more for us to consider our baptism along with our resurrection to a new creation, and also a nice connection that Christ’s circumcision falls on the first day of our secular year.
Your baptism forgives your sins and is a daily blessing, as the Old Adam drowns by repentance and faith, and the New Man arises. Your baptism is an external act of God upon you – a gift – and it brings you great blessings your whole life through.
Now, just as Jesus was circumcised for us, so he was also baptized for us, to fulfill all righteousness. He becomes like us – born under the law – like us in every way, yet without sin. And so he fulfills the law, and all righteousness for us. And by identifying with us, he identifies us with himself – and brings us all the inheritance that is rightfully his.
Naming quite naturally goes along with circumcision. It, too, is a marker of who you are. And it is those who have authority over you who name you. Therefore Jesus’ name came from God, not Joseph. He is named for who he is – and for what he will do for us. The savior sheds his blood, and the savior will shed his blood. The infant is brought to fulfill the law, and the man will have fulfilled all righteousness until it is finished. The infant is marked and named, so that he may mark and name you as his own.
In our Old Testament reading we have the Aaronic Benediction. You might call this the “Three-fold Yahweh”. That’s the Hebrew behind the word LORD in all capitals. Yahweh bless you and keep you. Yahweh make his face shine on you… Yahweh lift up his countenance upon you. This is how God told Aaron to dismiss the people, and so it is how we dismiss the congregation today. Gathered in the name of the Triune God in the invocation, dismissed with a blessing in the name of the Triune God in the Benediction.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them” Yes, the name of Jesus, the name of Yahweh, the name of the Triune God, is upon us. It is really the same name placed upon us in our Baptism. It is the name in which we gather and depart in blessing and peace. It is the only name given under heaven by which we must be saved. It is the name that will cause every knee to bow, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
And everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved. It is a holy name. It is set apart from all other names. It is a powerful name. It is a name that does what it says, “God Saves” us in that name, Jesus.
The Second Commandment teaches us not to misuse the name of the Lord. Luther tells us what that means: We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
While there are many ways we break this commandment, and so many other laws, look what Luther says at the end about God’s name: that we should “call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks.” That’s a law, sure, but it’s also an invitation and a blessing. That God gives us his name, that we know our Lord Jesus Christ at all, and that we are invited to call upon him – by name - is a blessing, a privilege, and a gift.
In fact, dear Christians, people who are called by the name of Christ, this is exactly why we end our prayers, “in Jesus’ name”. We are saying, “Dear Father, hear my prayer not for my own sake, but because of Jesus. Regard me and my requests – large or small – not on my own merit, or because I have done anything worth your approval. I bring nothing to you but my own sin and filth. But hear me, Father, for the sake of your Son, my brother in the flesh, Jesus Christ. He was born into our human nature, fulfilled the law down to every last point, suffered and shed his precious blood for me. Hear me for the sake of his cross. Grant us your blessings because of him, not because of me. And remember all your promises to us, your people, in his holy name.”
So blessed be the name of Jesus. The name by which we pray, the name placed ever upon us, the name by which we are saved. And blessed be the blood of Jesus, which washes away our sins, and by which we are saved. For he is Jesus, Yah-shua, God’s son, our Savior. In his name, amen.
