Name of Jesus

 

Name of Jesus – January 1^st and 2^nd, 2022 – Luke 2:21

In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +

And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And that's the whole Gospel lesson set down for New Year's Day, the 8^th day of Christmas, one week after Christmas as we might say. It seems an awfully short Gospel lesson, but actually it is one of the most profound texts we get. Not to be too blunt about it, but it's the first time that our Lord and Savior sheds His blood to redeem us. We will speak of Jesus' Passion come Good Friday, and rightly so, but what we ought to remember is that Jesus' suffering starts off right away. A week's gone by, so we can move past the ideas of the beauties and joys of childbirth; a week in with the kid waking you up all hours of the night and plenty of diapers means some of the romantic notions have worn off. And so here we see the reality of what Jesus' birth entails. The same normal, typical, mundane hardships of life that we get. When our God becomes man, He doesn't skip the strange, hard, awkward parts. This Child is an infant, helpless – yet He is God Almighty.

And this Child is born to a human family, a Jewish one, born under the Law, and so He is bound to all the Jewish rites and customs. Including that of Circumcision. Circumcision was the promise that Jesus, the LORD Himself had given Abraham, the promise and reminder that Jesus Himself would be born of Abraham's descendants. And so the instruction, so as to not forget this, was the males are to be circumcised. Moses lays down that this will happen on the 8^th day. And only then, under the Law, would a boy child get a name. And so there is God Incarnate, and His blood is shed, just like so many other boys before Him and after Him – all pointing to the fact that one day God Himself would come and would shed His own blood for the sins of the people. Every other little boy – only a few drops were required; but the Messiah would give all. And the son of Mary is circumcised, and He is given His name – Jesus – the LORD Saves. Because that's what the LORD is there doing, saving. Even as a child.

This does teach us and show us what the point of all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were. Jesus had the Jewish people do some strange things, things that just didn't fit in with the rest of the culture in the area. Their worship, their sacrifices, their customs – they all kept Israel different, distinct. Holy, one could say – set aside for a purpose – that purpose being that they would be the people to produce the Messiah – so everyone look here, watch here, wait here. Listen to how Paul explains it in Galatians. 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. Now this is one of the most wondrous verses, and we blow by it because it sounds so familiar. Faith and Jesus Christ are one and the same thing here. Before faith came, but then Christ came, so now faith has come and you are in Christ Jesus. Faith is always faith in Jesus. And thus Paul explains the entirety of the Old Testament here. Before the Messiah came, before our hope, our Savior, our faith, the One we believe and trust in came – Before Jesus the Law with its customs and regulations imprisoned everyone, kept them in check. Jews here, gentiles there. Nary the twain shall meet – and why? Because the Messiah is coming. The promised One, the One we look to in faith is coming.

And now Christ has come. Faith is here. And faith is here to justify you – the goal is that you would be justified by Jesus Christ. And so there He is, born, come in the flesh – and He is going to do all that we sinful folks couldn't. We sin and fall short of the glory of God – Jesus does not, for He is God Himself. We have fallen into sin and are alienated from God; Jesus is without sin and is in fact True God and True Man at the same time. We are bound to death; Jesus will come and rip apart death from the inside. This is the promise that was told over and over again in the olden days – and to keep our focus from wandering, to keep us from forgetting, the Law was given, the Torah was written by Moses to keep everyone waiting right where they should be. But now Jesus is here – the LORD saves – I know that my Redeemer lives – Immanuel, God is with us to rescue us. And indeed, everything humanity had lost due to sin will be restored. Adam and Eve were lost – now in Christ Jesus Adam and Eve, and all their children, whether they be Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, whatever distinction there might be in the world – in Christ Jesus, in this faith, they are restored. You are restored, Baptized into Jesus, a part of Him, you identity shaped and conformed by Him. If I ask any of you who you are, there are many answers you could give – your family, your job, where you live, what you do. The most important thing is this – you are baptized into Christ Jesus and thus you are a child of God. Everything else is just gift that flows from God.

We don't understand how radical this is. The world talks about “love” - but the love of the world really seems to be utility. If you are useful to me, I'll love you. If you make me feel good feelings, I'll call that love. If you agree with me politically, then you and I are on team love (but everyone else is dangerous, dirty, wicked). If you conform to the current trends and cultural customs, have the right clothes, the right hairstyle – then you'll be “loved” - at least until you buck a trend. None of that's love. That's all just hate – hate whoever is different, hate whoever doesn't toe the line. And the kicker – the world's goal is really to get you to hate yourself. To look at yourself and just despise yourself, because you don't “fit in”. To hate your life, your family, your community, your school, your country, your job – to want it all to be something else. To hate even your own body, the way you look, the way you move – even to hate the fact that you are male or female. To be told that you are a blight on the planet and literally ruining it. Think of all the discontent and angst and disdain that gets showered upon you by the world.

Jesus says no to all of that. None of that defines you, and it certainly doesn't define you negatively. First and foremost – you are a child of God. You are created by God, and you are redeemed by God. While the world might treat you like junk, you are valued by God. Jesus says your life, your life that the world tells you to grouse about, your life is of more value that His. See, He laid down His life for your. You are worth more to Jesus than His own life. How dare the world say you are of little value. And all the things about you that the world tells you to hate, to fuss about and complain – they are actually gifts to enjoy, quirks to delight in – each of us fearfully and wondrously made by God. Brought forth by God simply because He delights in you – actually delights in you. The fact that you exist makes God smile.

I mean that literally. Moses tells Aaron to bless the people this way – The Lord bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.... Did you hear it. When Jesus sees you, His face lights up with joy. That's the image – when Jesus sees you there's joy – we even say that someone's face lights up – that's the point. And it goes on – the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Your countenance is the old fashioned, fancy word for this – for your mouth and nose area. The part of you that smiles or frowns – that's your countenance. If you are sad, if you start frowning – your countenance falls. But Jesus, the LORD who has saved you, doesn't frown from He sees you – nope, He lifts up His countenance – any frown is turned upside down as with joy and love Jesus gives you peace, shalom, welcome back into His presence and His family, now and forever.

Jesus – the LORD saves. That's what Jesus came to do. Because He delights in you, His Creation, and He will do whatever it takes to rescue you from sin and death and the power of the Devil. He will pay whatever cost, suffer whatever humiliations are required – because you are worth it to Him. And He'll not put up with anyone telling you otherwise. Oh, there's so much anger, so much sin, so much disdain of God and His gifts that swirl around out there – that swirl around in here (in our own hearts) – but there was no way in the world that Jesus would leave you to that, abandon you to that. So He comes, and He redeems you with His own precious blood, and He claims you by water and the word, and He gives Himself to you in His Supper, and He speaks His Word to you to keep you in the faith, to keep you in Him – all so that you will receive His blessings with the joy that ought to be yours, that is your birthright as a child and creature of God.

Everything you see Jesus do in the Scriptures, He is doing it simply so that for all eternity He will be able to see you and smile, and have there be joy and peace. And Jesus sees that this will happen without fail. Merry Christmas, my friends in Christ Jesus! Amen. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +