The Circumcision of Our Lord

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 (Lk 2:21). The circumcision of our Lord occurred, as was prescribed in God’s covenant with Abraham, when He was eight days old. We celebrate this event on the Eighth Day of Christmas, or, as it is called, the Octave of Christmas. Incidentally, this liturgical day of new beginnings also happens to be the first day of the secular new year. The word octave is familiar to musicians. There are seven unique notes in a musical scale, just as there are seven unique days in a week. And at the end of seven comes the octave, which repeats the first note or the first day, but in a new and higher way.

The number eight is of great significance in the Bible. God created the world in a week’s time. Man, the crowing glory of creation, both male and female, He created on the sixth day. And on the seventh and final day, God rested. But after sin plunged God’s very good world into darkness and chaos, a new and final day of creation was necessary.

That our Lord was crucified on a Friday and raised on a Sunday is no mere coincidence. He suffered to redeem fallen man on the sixth day, the day of man’s creation. On the seventh day, the Sabbath day of rest, He rested in His tomb. And on the first day of the new week, the morning of the eighth day, the Octave of Creation, Jesus rose triumphant from the dead as the firstborn of many, the first example of restored humanity.

Circumcision, according to the old covenant, and baptism, according to the new, reflect this restoration of creation that emerges on the eighth day. Even though Adam had originally been created in the image of God, it was Adam’s own corrupted image that he passed on to his children. You received this sinful nature at conception, the total corruption of God’s image that the Bible calls the Old Adam.

As part of His promise to redeem and restore humanity, God established circumcision in the Old Testament. Sin was passed on through pro-creation, therefore, God instructed His people to cut off a tiny bit of flesh from that part of the body which is involved in the conception of every sinful man and woman. Now did this eliminate sin? No. Circumcision could not do that; only the promised Savior could do that. But this is why circumcision was performed on the eighth day. Circumcision served as a daily reminder that the Octave of Creation was coming. It was a promise that on the day of restoration the sinful nature each of us received at conception would be put to death, and a new man would emerge to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Likewise, in the New Testament, God established Holy Baptism as a circumcision of the heart. Removing a bit of flesh could not remove sin, nor could washing one’s body remove corruption from the heart, but when the Word of God is added to the water of Holy Baptism, it is a life-giving flood that works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Like circumcision, baptism points to the Octave of Creation. Our baptismal fonts, like the one at First Lutheran that we will soon be moved here, are eight-sided, symbolizing the new beginning in Christ. The rafters of our churches look like the timbers of a great ship, intentionally bringing to mind Noah’s ark, which St. Peter says is a metaphor for baptism. Just as the waters of the great flood destroyed the wicked world but lifted up Noah and his family, so the waters of Baptism drown the sinful Old Adam and give birth to the new creation. And how many souls were in the ark? Noah, his three sons, and their four wives, eight souls in all, the number of rebirth and new creation.

Circumcision, baptism, Noah’s Ark, the Creation of the World, the Death and Resurrection of our Lord, all of these events are part of God’s eternal plan of salvation and the one story that is told from first to last in the pages of Holy Scripture. With this in mind, we come once again to the gospel text for this day, the Octave of Christmas: 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.

Why was our Lord Jesus, who knew no sin, circumcised? St. Paul answers: “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4–5). The Law had no case against Jesus. Unlike us, He had never sinned against it. And yet, He choose to subject Himself to the Law and to suffer under it in order to redeem us. The suffering of Jesus, which culminated on Calvary began, not during the years of His ministry, but on the octave of His birth.

Though the people of this blind world mock the circumcision of Christ as something revolting or offensive, they are mocking their own salvation. Jesus permitted this insulting deed to be done to Him. He was obedient to the divine Law, fulfilling its most humiliating demands as though He were a sinner like we are. He didn’t need to be circumcised. There was no part of His nature that needed to be removed. Yet, out of His own free will He subjected Himself to that which was demanded only of us sinners. And by doing so, Jesus erased the sins we committed against the holy Law of God. The drops of blood that He shed at His circumcision were the down payment for the infinite guilt of the whole sinful world.

Today, we begin a new calendar year. For some people, it will be their last new year on this earth. Who can know? How should a Christian begin a new year? With promises to God to put away sinful desires and live a more godly life? I’ve made these promises in years past, and likely broken all of them within the first few days. How much better to begin the New Year trusting in the One who has never yet broken His promise.

From the first promise of Christ in Genesis 3:15 to His last promise in Revelation 22:20, all of Holy Scripture testifies of the faithfulness of God, who for us men and for our salvation, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, circumcised on the eighth day, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, and rose triumphant on the eighth day of creation. May this year be for you a time of renewed faith in the saving work of our Lord Jesus, who redeemed you with His blood, and stands even now, as the firstborn of restored humanity. Amen.