Sermon - Circumcision and Name of Jesus 2023 - Luke 2:21

The Glorification of the Name of Jesus, Antoon Sallaert, circa 1630

Baptism is the greater circumcision

1. Circumcision was the seal of God’s covenant promise.

2. Baptism is the new and greater seal of God’s promise in Christ.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  The first day of a new year has already arrived. The joys of 2022 are in the past, and so are all of those sorrows. Some of our congregation has been called to the nearer presence of our Lord over this past year. Over the course of this year, some of us also may depart this life to be with our Lord. It’s fitting therefore that we wouldn’t spend our days in sinful revelry, but rather use these days wisely so as to prepare to receive the inheritance of God’s kingdom. 

We have much to contend with in this life which would block us from that reward: satan, temptations, and our own sinful flesh, so let us fight the good fight of faith this year. Many make resolutions which fail right off the bat. But let us, my brothers and sisters, resolve to grow deeper in our faith and strengthen our faith with virtue. Remember that our Lord has prepared a place for us in paradise and the crown of righteousness is prepared for those who love Him. Let us face our crosses with strength and resilience given us by Christ. Let us set out upon the journey of this new year with joy and hope in the Lord, fully trusting in His providence in whatever comes our way. When we face ridicule, scorn, and mockery from the world, let us rejoice that we are worthy to share in Christ’s sufferings and to be called by His name.

Indeed we are called by His name through baptism. Today we celebrate that we have received the name of Jesus in baptism by reflecting upon Christ’s circumcision and naming. Truly, through Christ, we have received the greater thing: Baptism is the greater circumcision. In the Old Testament circumcision was the seal of God’s covenant promise. But now baptism is the new and greater seal of God’s promise in Christ.

Today we heard the shortest Gospel reading in the church year: “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Having a feast day about the circumcision and naming of Jesus seems somewhat strange, I suppose. But then again, circumcision is a major component of faith in God throughout the Old Testament. God commanded the sacrament of circumcision already in Genesis 17 to Abraham: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you…This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

It’s important to understand that a covenant is a conditional promise made between two parties, and that each must have a stake in the covenant. In the Old Testament covenant God made with man, the Lord promised Abraham and all of his descendents that He would be their God, protect and provide for them, and give them the land of Canaan. Man’s part of the covenant was to promise to be the Lord’s people and honor Him as their God. Thus, the sacrament of circumcision was a testament that the Lord promised to bless the Israelites and their descendents, and it was a testament that the Israelites believed God’s promises and desired to be His people; their act of circumcision was an act of faith, their fulfillment of the covenant. If any rejected circumcision, then it was as if  they were rejecting the covenant between them and God. The Lord said: “The uncircumcised child…his soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

What’s especially important here is that the focus of this covenant is on God’s promise to His people. The sacrament of circumcision was mostly about God’s promise with His people. This is especially noticeable in that not only adults were circumcised, but eight day old infants, even as Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day. God’s promises are even for babies, not only for adults. Afterall, babies are sinners too and in need of God’s salvation; heaven also belongs to babies.

Now, just to clarify, just because only males were circumcised doesn’t mean that females weren’t saved. God’s promise was for both men and women. However, the sacrament God instituted at that time was only instituted among males. There are multiple reasons for this, but the most important reason is that all of the circumcisions were finally fulfilled in Jesus. Just as Jesus is the head of the church, so is the husband the head of the household, and so Israelite women were under the sacrament of circumcision by means of their fathers or their husbands. The promises attached to circumcision were also for women, even though they didn’t have to physically undergo circumcision.

Additionally, the same reason women didn’t have to be circumcised is the reason we don’t have to follow this sacrament today either. The church is the bride of Christ, and the covenant between God and man was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Just as a bride in the Old Testament was brought into the covenant through her husband, so is the church, the bride of Christ, brought into the covenant through our bridegroom, Jesus. Jesus has fulfilled the sacrament of circumcision for all Christians of all time.

Thus today we have a greater sacrament. The sacrament of circumcision has given way to the sacrament of baptism. Baptism is the new and greater seal of God’s promise in Christ. Just as circumcision looked ahead ultimately to Jesus, so does our baptism look ultimately back to Jesus. St. Paul stated it very clearly: “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.” Through baptism we are now brought into God’s covenant of faith and the redemption which Christ has won for us through His death and resurrection.

What we have in baptism is just like what the Israelites had in circumcision, except better. Through baptism God makes a covenant with us, marking us as His people and declaring that He is our God. Through baptism He promises to provide for and protect us. Through baptism He promises us a new land, not just Canaan, but the kingdom of heaven. All of this is so on account of Christ’s life. Through Jesus’ baptism everything that Christ accomplished is credited to us. Therefore His status as God’s beloved Son, His righteousness, His atoning death, His victorious resurrection, His place in paradise; everything of His is now ours through baptism!

While baptism is primarily God’s work in us, baptism is still, to some extent, an act of faith on our behalf. When parents have their child baptized, or an adult is baptized, they’re consciously deciding that they want what God is offering, they want to be God’s children. Circumcision was done when the child was just 8 days old, meaning this wasn’t something they waited to do. They wanted God’s promises for their children, right away! Likewise, children should be baptized soon after they’re born, within the first couple of weeks, because we should desire God’s promises to be for our children, even if they’re quite fresh out of the womb. 

Afterall, baptism makes the person into a new creation. Circumcision was performed especially on the 8th day because it hearkens to the day after this creation. God created the universe in 7 days, our weeks are 7 days long on perpetual repeat, but the 8th day is a day outside of creation, and it symbolizes the new creation that God is preparing us for in paradise. So in baptism we are a new creation and God is preparing us for life in the new creation yet to come. As we embark upon a new year, let us all begin it anew as baptized Christians, who are living this life awaiting the new creation. This is a new year. What’s more, each day is a new day for us Christians who daily die to sin and rise to new life through the waters of baptism, awaiting the new creation at the end of this age. Merry Christmas and happy new year!