Rev. Cary M. Richert
The Circumcision of Our Lord
New Year's Day (Series B)
January 1, 2006
Jesus: Name Above All Names
Luke 1:30-31; 2:21
You've heard Paul Harvey do it many times on the radio. Tell an interesting story about someone ... and then reveal the identity of the person at the end of the story ... closing with these timeless words: And now you know the rest of the story. The name, the identity of the person, makes all the difference in Harvey's famous radio stories. It gives them their added punch.
Such is the case today, as we remember the circumcision and naming of our Lord Jesus. The name "Jesus" was really quite common for Jewish boys of Jesus' time. It's the Greek form of the Jewish name Yeshua (Joshua), which means: Yahweh is salvation ... Yahweh saves.
In a dream, the angel said to Joseph: (Mary) will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins, [Matthew 1:21]. And, to shepherds watching over their flocks by night in the fields of Bethlehem, the angel announced: Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, [Luke 2:11].
The angel wasn't referring to just any Jewish boy named Jesus ... but strictly to the Boy born of the Virgin Mary in the manger at Bethlehem. The One about whom John the Baptist said, as he pointed directly to his cousin, Jesus: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [John 1:29]
As commanded by God through the angel, Joseph gave Jesus His earthly name. He did so as part of the Jewish covenant rite of circumcision ... a rite that God had given His servant, Abraham, in ancient times, [Genesis 17]. On the 8th day of every Jewish boy's life his foreskin was removed as a sign of God's forgiveness ... of His justification ... and of His incorporation of the circumcised into His chosen people.
Was Jesus' circumcision necessary? Yes, even though He was sinless! It was part of fulfilling God's Law on behalf of all sinners. Art Just comments:
Jesus' obedience to the Law involves the shedding of His blood for the first time ... At the moment when His blood is first shed, He receives the name given to Him by the angel: Jesus ... Already on the eighth day of Jesus' life, His destiny of atonement is revealed in His name and in His circumcision. [Luke 1:1-9:50 (St. Louis: CPH, 1996) 118-119]
The name Jesus marked our Lord as our Savior. It also marks Him as God's Son. God Himself said about Jesus at His baptism by John the Baptist: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased, [Matthew 3:17] ... and He said to Peter, James and John on the mountain of Transfiguration: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him, [Matthew 17:5]. God said this about no other Jewish boy named Jesus ... only about the One born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem ... only about the One sent by God to walk the path of suffering and death to save us from our sins ... sins that deserve only judgment and eternal condemnation.
Jesus is the name that is above every name, [Philippians 2:9] ... because, when Jesus' name is rightly understood ...
... it's the name of the Son of God, the Messiah promised of old.
... it's the name of the One alone, whose power it is to save us from our sins.
Jesus' name is one with the Divine Name, the great I AM, the Triune God of our Baptism and our worship: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This past Christmas Kathy, Rebekah (our daughter) and I watched Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. If you've seen it B or read the books B you know that Gandalph the Grey ... who later becomes Gandalph the White ... is a wizard who has great powers that are used in an epic struggle of the good guys (Middle Earth) against the bad guys (Isengard/Saruman and Mordor/Sauron). Hobbits, elves, and men fighting for good all benefit from their association with the name and the powers of Galdalph.
There's power for good over evil in the name of Jesus. It's the power to defeat Satan ... the power to forgive sins and change lives. It's the power experienced by blind Bartimaeus, who received sight when he called on the name of Jesus, [Mark 10:46-52]. And by Peter and John, who called on the name of Jesus, and a lame man began to walk and to leap and to praise God, [Acts 3:1-16]. [as cited in Loeks, The Glorious Names of God, Baker, 1986, 19]
Such is the case for you and me and all who bear the Savior's name as a result of our Holy Baptism. In Baptism, when water is applied, God marks you as His own with the words: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism God makes the forces of His good grace victorious over the evil of inherited sin and death.
He forgives your sins. He gives you His Holy Spirit and faith. God unites you with Jesus in all that Jesus did to gain God's pardon of our sinfulness, [Romans 6:3-8]. In Baptism God incorporates you into His covenant of forgiveness, faith and salvation ... and places His power and blessing upon you. The Divine Name spoken over you at Baptism is a daily reminder that Christ, the Word made flesh, dwells inside you personally ... in the same way that God dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and, later, in the Temple. [Gieschen, "The Divine Name in Holy Baptism" in All Theology is Christology, CTS Press, 2000, 73]
So, what's the significance for you of Jesus' circumcision ... of His receiving His divine name ... and of your own Baptism B when Jesus' name was placed upon you? The sainted Walter Maier, in one of his Lutheran Hour radio messages, helps us understand:
By the overflowing love of God we have not only a general promise of redemption ... you and I also have an individual and personal guarantee of our salvation. For God tells us today: I have called you by name; you are mine, [Isaiah 43:1]. By this remarkable pledge you know that the Savior not only loved humanity as a whole, but each one of us in particular.
On this New Year's Day, can you measure the blessing of knowing that, if you have Christ, your name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life, [Revelation 21:27]? If doubt threatens to overcome you; if temptations loom large and enticing; if the grind of life seems disheartening; if the daily disappointments become overwhelming; if the ease of life is distracting; if the demands of business and pleasure are becoming all-consuming ... then banish these fears, as in the strength of your faith you hear Jesus, not simply calling you, but promising you the redemption, the peace, the strength, and the hope which the name "Jesus" signifies. [as quoted in Schumacher, ed., For All the Saints, vol. 1, ALPB, 1994, 165-166]
As we stand on the threshold of another New Year, ask yourself ... How does my being marked as God's dear child through Holy Baptism, and being incorporated into the divine name of Jesus, prepare me to face the coming year's opportunities and obstacles? ... its joys and sorrows? ... its dreams and realities?
Will you face them with fear and anxiety? Or will you meet them with faith and trust in the One whose name is above all names ... the One who marked you as a precious little lamb in His flock ... the One who always keeps His promise ...
... to never leave you or forsake you, no matter what. [Hebrews 13:5]
... to strengthen and help you when you're tempted. [1Corinthians 10:13]
... to reward your faithfulness with the crown of life. [James 1:12]
Today, we join King David in praise of the Lord: I give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word, [Psalm 138:2]. God grant you the continued blessings of faith and trust in 2006 ... faith and trust in the One who alone bears the Divine Name that's above all names: Jesus. Amen.