The Circumcision Of Our Lord
Luke 2:21
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Luke 2:21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord…It is unfortunate that the Festival of the Circumcision of our Lord falls on January 1, the day of the civil new year. It is unfortunate because there is a great temptation to replace this important Festival with talk about the coming new year. The Christian Church has never connected this day, January 1st, with the beginning of a new year. The new year for the Church, of course, has always been the First Sunday in Advent.
The Lutheran Reformers deplored that the idea that the civil new year made the Festival of the Circumcision of our Lord secondary. In one of his sermons on this topic, Martin Luther wrote, “This day is called the New Year’s Day after the custom of Rome. This and other things which we have received from Rome, we now let pass away. Since, however, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ has been appointed to this day, it is proper that we preach about this event today.” Of course, Luther was correct; the focus for the Church this day is not on the beginning of the civil new year, but on the circumcision and naming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Gospel reading from the Evangelist St. Luke, the shortest Gospel of the entire Church’s year, two things are spoken of that happened to the Baby Jesus: He was circumcised and He was named. In His circumcision it is revealed that He is truly man. In His Name it is revealed that He is truly the Lord God. Tonight we examine both of these points.
As you may recall, circumcision was established by God with Abraham. This was a sign of the covenant between God and His people. Every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life. It is now eight days after the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, which is why this holiday falls on the first day of the civil calendar. Our Lord Jesus was circumcised on this day. In His circumcision He places Himself under the Law; He places Himself into the family of Abraham. He becomes part of the seed of Abraham.
All the male descendants of Abraham were circumcised on the eighth day; and by virtue of the cutting off of the flesh, they were made heirs of the promises given to Abraham. This circumcision of the descendants of Abraham was a sign that God would deliver them from their sins – that He would not count their sins against them. The very organ of procreation was cut as a testament that the image in which we were created had become corrupted, and on account of that a payment needed to be made in order to appease God’s wrath. The circumcision of the male children was a testament that they belonged to God, and He had claimed them as His own.
Our Lord Jesus, however, is without sin. In His circumcision the Law of God has overreached – it has stepped over its boundaries. Jesus required no payment for sin. Therefore, the payment for sin that He makes is gifted to us; it is given to all those who cling to Him in faith.
Circumcision was a precursor to Holy Baptism. The cutting of the flesh signified that that person belonged to God, that he was a part of the family of God. In Holy Baptism there is now no longer a cutting of flesh but a “washing of new birth and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” as St. aul says in Titus chapter 3 (5-6). Holy Baptism, unlike circumcision, is not just for the male children, but it is for all nations who are brought to the font to receive this washing away of sins.
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The children of Abraham shed the blood of their foreskins and were claimed by God as His children. In the death of our Lord Jesus, He sheds His Blood on the tree of the holy cross. And like in His circumcision where He passes on the gifts that are His to us, He passes on to us the forgiveness, life, and salvation that He won for us on the tree of the holy cross.
At our Lord’s circumcision He is given a Name. This Name was actually given to Him long before this event, as you will recall. The Evangelist St. Luke writes that this Name was given to Mary when the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Savior to her. The angel Gabriel also told Joseph that His Name was to be called Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. This is what Jesus means: “He Who saves.” But since holy Scripture tells us that the Lamb of God was “slain before the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8) we can rightly say that He had this name from before the foundation of the world.
The Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God Who was slain from before the foundation of the world; He is the Lamb Who is the One Who saves. He saves His people – He saves us – from the eternal penalty of our sins.
In our Holy Baptism, this Name of our Lord Jesus was placed upon us. We are now called by His Name. He is the Savior, and we are the saved. This is why this Name should be held in high honor among us. We should not misuse or abuse His holy Name.
One of the ways to teach ourselves to honor this most holy Name is to do as holy Scripture teaches us: to bow at the Name of Jesus. When we get in the habit of honoring His Name in such a way, it will not be misused by us, or be used flippantly, or be used to curse and swear inappropriately. When we bow our heads every time we say or hear the Name of the Lord Jesus, we are teaching ourselves to have honor for that Name, and ultimately to have honor for the One Who bears that Name.
Another way we may teach ourselves to honor that most holy of Names is to use it to call upon the Lord Jesus whenever we are in distress or trouble. The devil and his angels hate Jesus and they hate His Name. Therefore, wherever the Lord’s Name abides Satan and his horde cannot stand to be. This is why we honor the holy Name of our Lord Jesus here in this holy sanctuary; this is why we call upon it in prayer, praise, and giving of thanks.
Our Lord Jesus has even promised that wherever two or three are gathered in His Name, He is there in their midst. Jesus is here among us this evening, and He is here among us whenever we gather in His Name, the Name placed upon us in our Holy Baptism. For we are indeed baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Under this Name placed upon us at our Holy Baptism we were made children of the heavenly Father, and we given a share in the inheritance of our Beloved Brother, Jesus. The Jews were circumcised in the flesh, but we are circumcised in the spirit. Our hearts have been circumcised to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Through the working of the Holy Ghost, faith has been created in us, and we cling to the works and merits of Christ. Moreover, we now bear the Name of our Savior. He is the Savior, and we are the saved. Thanks be to God.
Therefore, dear fellow redeemed, let us celebrate the first day of the civil calendar properly, by reflecting upon what our Lord Jesus has done for us in saving us from all our sins. And let us live each day of this new year with the knowledge that we belong to Jesus and bear His Name.
Let us also give thanks throughout this coming year, that we have the good gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation and we can enjoy those gifts whenever we are gathered together around our Lord’s precious Name.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
