Circumcision and Name of Jesus: Gospel, Luke 2:21                       

Luke 2:21

“And when eight days were complete for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”

Luke 2:21

That’s it. The entire gospel reading in one verse. And so much is included there. The Torah demanded that the first male from the womb would be circumcised on the eighth day. Covenant relationship. Day eight. It speaks volumes. And not just for those of the Old Covenant.

A beautiful label has been one of the church’s tags since ancient times. Christians referred to themselves in the early centuries as “People of the Eighth Day.” Jesus, our Lord was circumcised on the eighth day. Our traditional baptismal fonts sport eight sides. Many of them, anyway. And that baptism grants us faith, forgiveness and eternal life. Covenant relationship. 

Creation gave us seven days of God’s work. Day eight begins a new week and it is no less the work of the Creator-God. On day eight our Savior began life as “a child of the covenant.” As people of the eighth day we step from the old creation into the new as children of a better covenant. What a way to begin the week.

Merry Christmas!