Read: Luke 1:59–60, 2:21
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Luke 2:21
As mentioned earlier in our study, we see similarities in the births of John and Jesus. Both are circumcised on the eighth day as is the Jewish custom. This is a momentous day in the life of the baby boy that involves friends and family in celebration.
God instituted circumcision when He changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17) and reaffirmed the practice through Moses (Leviticus 12:1–3). The physical act of removing the foreskin from the male reproductive organ was an outward sign of the Hebrew’s covenant with God. It signified that the man was consecrated to serving Him.
By this time, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, it has become standard for the male infant not to be named until the eighth day. Both John and Jesus are named on this day, and neither is given the name that people expected.
It is the custom for family names to be given. For example, in Luke’s genealogy from Adam to Jesus, the names Judah and Mattathias each appear twice. The name Joseph appears three times, and Jesus also had a brother named Joseph.
In the case of these two special sons, God instead chooses names that have special meaning related to their lives. John’s name means “the Lord is gracious,” and Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” Surely John was a gracious gift to Zechariah and Elizabeth, as well as to those he told of the coming Messiah. Even more so, surely as Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, so Jesus came to lead us into an eternal life with Him.
In the Old Testament, Jews were encouraged to circumcise their hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4). In Colossians 2:11, Paul reminded the believers in Colossae (and us) that in Christ “you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ.”
We need to stop and pray again this Christmas season for those who have uncircumcised hearts. They will forever be cut off from God’s blessing unless they become His people. This is the perfect time of year to share the love story of God sending His Son into the world to personally and intimately seek and save them from a hopeless eternity.
Through Christ we have been given new hearts and new identities, as we are now called His children, His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 3:26). Praise God today for your salvation, and let that gratitude and enthusiasm spill over into sharing your faith with others.