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| Circumcision of Jesus |
Torah required boy babies to be circumcised eight days after their birth as a sign of the covenant between God and His people. So since our calendar has Jesus' birth on December 25, January 1 is the 8th day, the Octave Day of Christmas or the Nativity.
I'm not wanting to discuss this - like what about us girls? or New Testament baptism likened to circumcision. I only wanted to say that there's actually works of art depicting the possibilities of this scene! You can google the subject and find a lot . . . or you can just imagine . . . Imagery often flows from my scripture reading that I'll create into art, but I have to say I've not sat with the Luke text trying to visualize Jesus' circumcision.
You could though ponder this being the first time the blood of Christ was shed, thus the beginning of the process of the redemption of mankind. It also bespeaks of Jesus being fully human, and of his obedience to Biblical law.
I'm sure the Mohel, the circumcisor, knew nothing of Jesus as The Son of God, the Messiah, the Creator of heaven and earth. More is told in Luke of John the Baptist's circumcision. The 8th day is also referred to as The Naming day. Zechariah was a High Priest and everyone was ready to name John after his father. Once Zechariah wrote, since he'd not been able to speak during Elizabeth's pregnancy, "His name is John", he could speak and began praising God.
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