“First Blood"
Text: Luke 2:21
1-1-2023
In the name of Him who shed His innocent blood for us, dear friends in Christ. Our Gospel Lesson for today is extremely short. Just one verse in fact. It tells us about the events in the life of Jesus when He was only 8 days old. I don’t know about you but I don’t ever recall a single sermon about the circumcision of Jesus. No, when this text comes up, we usually hear messages about the naming of Jesus and the significance of that. His name means "God saves." And it’s a perfect description of what He came to do for us. But we don't talk about the Christ Child's circumcision. Why is that? I suspect it’s because modern believers are uncomfortable with a discussion about such a “delicate” issue. And yet, this was a special event for the Jews. In fact, it was a celebration! Perhaps we should put aside our inhibitions so that we can see the significance of Christ=s circumcision which, like His name, is directly connected to His mission of salvation.
For obvious reasons, I won’t go into all the details of the procedure. Rather, let’s take a look at the history of circumcision in order to understand why it was so special for the Jews and why Christ Himself needed to be circumcised. Back in Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham. The Lord promised to bless him and make his descendants into a great nation. God would also give them their own land. But the most important aspect of that covenant is that the Lord promised to be Abraham's God and the God of his descendants. And through those descendants would come the promised Savior of the world.
Then, in Genesis 17:10-11, God said to Abraham: "This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you." Now follow me here. Simply by birth, a Jew was a descendant of Abraham and therefore an heir of that covenant promise. But circumcision was an outward sign, a mark on their body, as a reminder of that covenant. It was a reminder that God had chosen them to be His people. And it was a reminder that they were to live as God's covenant people. Yes, God had chosen them purely by grace. But now, all the recipients of the covenant were expected to act differently than everyone else around them.
This sign of the covenant was meant to be a vivid reminder of that to Abraham and his descendants. Listen to the warning God gave in verse 14 of Genesis 17: AAny uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." Folks this is not my play on words, it’s God's. If I can paraphrase it for you, He’s saying, "Just as a piece of flesh was cut off in this sacred rite, if you don't keep my covenant, YOU will be cut off from the promises." In this way, circumcision was "the sign" of the covenant on their bodies. It marked them as God's covenant people. It was a visible reminder of that covenant. And it connected future generations to the covenant that God made with Abraham.
But it was much deeper than just some odd ritual. This mark on the outside of their bodies was meant to be a sign of what God was doing to their hearts. In Deuteronomy 30:6, Moses tells the people, "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." That mark on the outside represented what God was doing on the inside. They were to be totally devoted to Him and Him alone. They were to be different and separate from all the unbelievers around them.
Sadly, some of the Jews who had the sign of the covenant on their bodies did not live according to that covenant. They didn’t love and trust in God alone. They foolishly thought that just because they had the outward sign, they could live any way they pleased. God made it clear that they had broken His covenant and therefore, they were "cut off" from the promises.
Okay, fine. But we believers today don’t associate any spiritual benefits to circumcision nowadays. True, but believe it or not, you and I have also received a "sign of the covenant" on our bodies. Listen to the connection that St. Paul makes between circumcision and Baptism. Colossians 2:11-12 says, "In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in Baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead."
You see, when you were Baptized your heart was circumcised and made pure by God. You received a "sign" of that covenant on your body. Not a cutting off of flesh, but in the Baptismal rite the Pastor says, "Receive the sign of the Cross both upon your forehead and upon your heart to markyou as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified." That’s why we retrace that sign of the cross regularly throughout our worship services, as the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is spoken. By the way, it is totally acceptable for you to retrace that sign of the cross upon ourselves. It’s not a “Roman Catholic” thing. In fact, Luther highly recommended doing it. Doing so is meant to be a reminder that like the descendants of Abraham you have been made an heir of all God's promises.
As I said, it’s sad that some of the Jews had the outward sign of the covenant, but didn’t live according to it. Equally as sad are the many Christians who have done the same thing. If you think that just because you’ve been Baptized that you can now go out and live any old way you please, you're mistaken. What God told the Israelites is true for us too. If you break that covenant with God and turn away from Him, you too will be "cut off" from His promises of life and salvation.
But we’ve got a problem don't we? We’ve ALL broken God's covenant. That covenant is rather simple. God says, like He did to Abraham, "I have chosen you. I will bless you. I will be your God and you will be my people. Now live like my covenant people!" Ok, but how exactly does God want us to live? He tells us in Leviticus 19:2, "Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy." That isn’t hard to understand. But since every one of us is born a sinner there’s no way we could do it. And since we broke God's covenant, we deserve to be cut off from His promises of eternal life and salvation.
And that’s where the circumcision of Jesus comes in. Think about it. Just like His Baptism, Jesus didn’t need to be circumcised. He was the fulfillment of all the promises made to Abraham. He didn’t need to be circumcised in order to be marked as an heir of that covenant. He Himself is the covenant-maker. So why then was Jesus circumcised? Well, He did it for you and me. He allowed Himself to be placed under the Law, the Law of the covenant, that you and I couldn’t keep. He placed Himself under the jurisdiction of that Law so that He could keep it perfectly for us. St. Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."
What an amazing thing! Already as an infant, just 8 days old, Jesus shed His first drop of innocent blood for you and me. As He placed Himself under the Law He suffered pain for you and me. He did it to be identified and connected with us. He did it in order to be marked with the sign of the covenant. Christ placed Himself under that covenant so that He could go to the cross and accomplish all the promises of it. There on the cross He bled for all your sins and mine. Not just a few drops, but He allowed His life to be drained from Him. He bled and died so that we would not be "cut off" from God. He suffered and died so that we could be free to enjoy the blessings of God's covenant with His chosen people.
Friends in Christ, rejoice! You have been marked with God's sign of the covenant of Jesus Christ. You have been marked with the cross. Your heart has been circumcised and been made pure by Him. You are an heir of all His promises of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation. Now go and live this New Year as His people in the freedom of His covenant of grace. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!