The Circumcision and Name of Jesus – January 1, 2026

The Old Testament reading for the Feast of the Circumcision in the Name of Jesus

is from Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6 · chapter mention

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons,

saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel.

You shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

This is the word of the Lord.

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.

After those days declares the Lord.

The epistle is from Galatians chapter 3.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until

the coming faith would be revealed.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

For as many of you as were baptized into

Christ Have put on Christ There is

neither Jew nor Greek There is neither slave nor free There is neither male

nor female For you are all one in Christ Jesus And if you are Christ Then you

are Abraham's offspring Heirs according to promise This is the word of the Lord.

In the name of Jesus, amen. Names have meaning.

Why did your parents give you your name?

Was it perhaps maybe because of a parent or a grandparent or a family member?

Was it because the name was taken from a Bible character?

Was it perhaps maybe given to you because of a famous athlete or celebrity?

Names have meaning. Do you fulfill the meaning of your name?

In the Bible, names always mean something.

Take the name Adam. It means man or mankind, and it closely is related to the

word ground or dust, reminding us that Adam had come from the ground.

Names mean something in the Bible, and this is also true of Satan or the devil.

He disguised himself as a serpent and tempted the woman to eat the forbidden fruit.

The name devil means slanderer or liar.

And this is exactly what he did. He slandered God by lying about him.

And he lied telling the woman that she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit.

Well, she ate and she gave some to her husband and he also ate.

And as a result, there is sin and death in our world and in our own lives.

After the fall into sin, God made a promise.

He promised to send a Savior who will defeat our enemy, the devil, and death.

Adam called his wife in Hebrew Hawah because she would be the mother of all the living,

especially pointing forward to the promised Savior who will give us life over death.

Abraham is another example. His name means the father of many nations.

God promised Abraham that a Savior will come from his family line.

And Abraham believed. He believed in this promise.

And God regarded or reckoned Abraham as righteous through faith,

through faith in God's promise.

And to confirm his covenant promise, God instituted circumcision.

So every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day.

And on that day, the child received a name.

First, there is a promise, there is faith in the promise, and the mark or the

sign of that promise was circumcision.

God himself has a name. He revealed his own personal name to Moses on Mount

Horeb, and God said to Moses, I am who I am.

Then God went on to say to Moses, quote, say this to the people of Israel,

Yahweh has sent me to you.

Yahweh meaning I am and I will be.

For better, for worse, in most English Bibles, Yahweh is translated as LORD, L-O-R-D, all caps.

The name Joshua means Yahweh is salvation or the Lord saves.

Joshua led the children of Israel out of the wilderness, across the Jordan River

and into the promised land.

Gone are the 40 years in the wilderness.

Gone were the days of eating manna and quail. And a new day dawned upon the children of Israel.

They crossed over into a land that's flowing with milk and honey.

At God's right time, the Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

The angel told Mary that she is to name the child Jesus.

And the angel told Joseph also, saying, You shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.

And so on that silent and holy night, Mary gave birth to the Savior.

He is God in human flesh, both divine and human. And on the eighth day,

he was circumcised and he was given the name Jesus.

Jesus means the Lord saves.

His name doesn't mean the Lord condemns, doesn't mean the Lord is angry with

you, it doesn't mean that the Lord threatens you.

No, rather, his name is Jesus.

The Lord saves. His name and his mission go together.

What did he save us from? He saved us from our sins.

What sins have you committed this past year? Have you sinned in thought, word, and deed?

Have you fallen short of the glory of God?

Have you loved the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind,

and with all your soul all the time?

Have you loved the neighbor as you love yourself?

Have you avoided what displeases him?

Have you always relied on him for every help and every need?

We are all sinners and we all need a savior.

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot appease the wrath of God by our works.

We cannot reconcile ourselves to God.

We have lots of problems and we need help.

We need a savior from our sins, from eternal damnation and from the devil.

And Jesus is a savior we need.

How did Jesus save you? He shed his blood.

First, when he was circumcised, he put himself under the law,

he obeyed the law perfectly, and he was your substitute.

St. Paul says, I tell you that anyone who is circumcised has become a debtor to obey the whole law.

Jesus became a debtor to obey the whole law, and he kept it perfectly,

and he was your substitute under the law, taking your place.

How did Jesus save you? He died upon the cross for your sins by means of crucifixion.

Jesus first shed his blood during his circumcision, but he also shed his blood there on the cross.

Jesus was also your substitute there on the cross, taking your place.

And there on the cross, he made the perfect payment.

And that payment wasn't gold or silver, but it was his precious blood,

his innocent suffering and death.

On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and he lives forevermore.

He defeated our enemies of death and the devil.

Your baptism connects you to Christ's death and his resurrection.

Your sins were drowned and died and a new man came out to live in Christ Jesus.

Baptism is a putting off of the old man and a putting of the new man,

which was created according to God in righteousness and innocence forever.

In baptism, you put on Christ. You are clothed with his righteousness.

Both circumcision and baptism involve infants.

But the difference, however, is that baptism is greater.

It is for both male and female, both infants and adults, for Jew and Gentile. It is for all nations.

Names have meaning. Who are you?

You have a name given to you by your parents, but you have another name given to you by God.

In baptism, God names you Christian.

This means that you belong to Christ.

What he has is yours. you have his righteousness, his innocence,

his purity, and eternal life.

In your baptism, God put his name on you.

You were baptized in the name, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Who are you? You have an earthly family, to be sure, but through your baptism,

you have been adopted into the family of our Heavenly Father.

You are a child of God.

And this identity, this gives you in your life purpose and meaning.

You did not evolve from a monkey. Rather, God created you.

He gave you life and he sustained your life by daily bread. God loves you,

and we know he loves you because of the cross and the salvation he has provided

for you, and his love will never cease.

You will live for him, reflecting Christ in your life.

You have faith toward God, and you have love for the neighbor freely,

taking care of those who are in need.

You are a child of God, a Christian, and this will never end.

God doesn't stop loving you. He doesn't stop forgiving you. He doesn't stop

showing mercy toward you.

This was true back in 2025, and it will remain true in 2026 and forever.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, your journey to heaven will not be easy.

Your faith will be tested.

You will undergo various trials and tribulations. You will wrestle with an unbelieving

world and with the devil himself.

And yet, these things will not separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By God's grace, walk by faith in God's promises and not by what you see or feel.

Make church your highest priority in life. Repent of your sins and receive the

forgiveness of sins in Christ. Hear God's word preached and receive the Lord's Supper.

God uses the gospel and the sacraments to strengthen and nurture your faith in Christ.

By God's grace, fix your eyes on Jesus. Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things.

Press on toward the goal of heaven. Look forward to what lies ahead.

Run with perseverance the race that is set before you, looking to Jesus,

the author and perfecter of your faith.

Joshua, whose name is the Lord saves, led the children of Israel out of the

wilderness, across the Jordan and into the promised land.

But greater, greater than that, Jesus, who means the Lord saves,

will take you out of this wilderness of sin and death and bring you into your eternal home.

And on your journey to heaven, Christ leads you on his path of righteousness

and you gladly follow him.

And when you will walk to the valley of the shadow of death,

you will fear no evil because you know that Christ is with you and that he has

opened heaven for you and for all who believe.

But while you remain here on this earth, Christ is with you by means of his word and sacrament.

He is your refuge and strength The

very present help in trouble He is your light in the midst of darkness He is

your one and only Savior He fulfilled the meaning of His name He saved you from

sin and death Thanks be to God, Amen,

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding Keep our hearts and

minds in Christ Jesus In the life everlasting, Amen.