Preached on December 31, 2015
St. Luke 2:21
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law, to
redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
(Gal. 4:4–5) His
circumcision was the first time Jesus was put under the Law. He is the God of the Law – the Lord who
gave the Law to Moses on Sinai. And yet He is a man, born of woman, and places Himself under the demand of His Law, in
order to be like us. And so according
to the Law, on the eighth day of His life, He
was circumcised, and His holy infant blood was shed, just as blood is shed
in every circumcision – a reminder of the Law’s demand – the wages of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23)
But circumcision was not
originally given in the Law on Sinai. It was first commanded by God to Abraham,
hundreds of years before Moses and the tablets of stone. And this command for
circumcision was given to Abraham only after he had first been counted by God
as righteous by faith. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. (Gal.
3:6) That means Abraham’s faith, not his good deeds or his commitment to
God, but his faith was counted for his righteousness. Abraham was justified by
grace alone through faith alone.
What’s
circumcision then? It was God’s sign that He gave to Abraham
and his descendents. It was the sign that went with God’s promise of a Savior
to come: Abraham
received the sign of circumcision as a
seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still
uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe… so
that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him
the father of… those who walk in the
footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
(Romans 4:11–12) The whole point of circumcision for the
family of Abraham was to be a sign, a seal, a reminder of God’s promises.
It was
in God’s promises that Abraham believed – the promised Savior, the promised offspring
or Seed. The promises were made to Abraham and to his
offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but
referring to one, “to Abraham’s offspring,” who is Christ. (Gal. 3:16)
It was for both of these reasons
then that Jesus was circumcised. First, He subjected Himself to the Law. He
became like every sinner, under the obligations and accusations of the Law, yet
He was not a sinner. Throughout Jesus’ life He kept His own Law perfectly, in
our place, satisfying all its demands. And second, Jesus was marked as the
Seed, the one Offspring of Abraham – promised by grace, given to Abraham and to
all nations of the earth by grace – without any merit or worthiness in us. God’s
covenant, His testament, His promise to Abraham is kept in Christ – all the
nations of the earth are blessed through Him. In this sense, Jesus’ circumcision
was the last circumcision. All of the Old Testament gets funneled into Him and
finds its purpose in Him. He makes all things new. And in Him the New
Testament, God’s promise of forgiveness in the blood of this Offspring is
finally realized. It is also for this reason that along with His circumcision,
this Child is given the name “Jesus.” It was the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. It
is the name that means “Yahweh saves” – “the Lord saves.” “You shall call his
name Jesus,” said the angel, “for he
will save his people from their sins.”
Not only is this child Jesus for
Abraham and his descendants – He is Jesus for you. Not only is He born and
circumcised for Israel, but for every nation of the earth, including you. We
need His birth – our old sinful birth in the flesh cannot save. We need His
keeping of the Law perfectly – no
cutting of the flesh and no works of the flesh can cleanse us from our sin. We
need His death – without His innocent death ours would still mean eternal
punishment. We need His resurrection – without His everlasting life we would
have no life at all. In Christ 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. (Col. 2:11–12) Jesus gives
Himself to you in the waters and Word of Baptism. He joins you to His Holy Name
and so He gives you a new birth, a new circumcision, a new death, so that you
may share a new life. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
And if
you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
(Gal. 3:27, 29)
Now what’s all this to do with
the New Year? Aside from the fact that the Circumcision of Jesus and New Year’s
Day share January 1, is there any connection here? Well, we might pay attention
to why the circumcision of Jesus is celebrated on January 1. At the end of eight days, when He was
circumcised, He was called Jesus. Circumcision always happened on the
eighth day of life for an Israelite baby boy. And tomorrow makes eight days
from Christmas. But perhaps the meaning goes deeper. While the Old Testament
had circumcision on the eighth day, the early Christians recognized that the
New Testament has a new eighth day – the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus died and
finished His redeeming work on Friday, the sixth day of the week. He kept the
Sabbath by His rest in the tomb on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. And
then He rose from the dead, on the eighth day, Sunday. It’s the first day of
the week, but the Resurrection doesn’t start yet another week, like its just
back to business as usual. It’s the eighth day, the first day of eternity, the
final day. The Lord’s eighth day of resurrection is the dawning of a new day after
which no day will be numbered.
What’s New Year’s got to do with
Jesus’ circumcision? Well, eight days after the celebration of our Lord’s
birth, a new Day, a new Year of our Lord is begun in Jesus’ holy name and with
His blessing. All our times are in His
hands (Ps. 31:15) – the hands of Jesus, Mary’s Son. He is God with us and
God for us. So who can be against us?
If God has given His own Son, how will He
not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who is there to condemn
us for the passing year? Christ has died, is risen, and intercedes for us! What
distress or danger could the new year bring? Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Rom.
8:31–39)
Christmas and the New Year go
together. I don’t know if that’s just a calendar coincidence or not, but it
works. With the birth of Jesus, with His circumcision and His name, with His
blood and His promise, we are given a new beginning. A new year and a new life
with years unnumbered. This new beginning doesn’t come under the Law – it comes
in faith: The
law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a
guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons
of God, through faith. (Gal. 3:24–26) For neither circumcision counts for
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation in Christ. (Gal. 6:15)
Christmas is the coming of faith for us New Testament Christians. Christmas is
the beginning of God’s new creation – a new year, a new and bright eternity in
Christ. And Luther captured this in the last stanza of his Christmas hymn:
Glory to God in highest heav’n,
Who
unto us His Son has giv’n!
While
angels sing in pious mirth
A
glad new year to all the earth. (LSB 358:15)
A Happy New Year to you in the Holy + Name
of Jesus –
