On the Eighth Day of Christmas God's First Blood Was Shed

What we learn about our Savior and ourselves from the first shedding of the blood of our Lord in His circumcision is, as Luther writes, “God was not concerned about the circumcision, but about the humiliation of proud nature and reason.” This proud nature and reason is the sin that Jesus bore in His flesh. And the humiliation of that flesh--born of a Virgin in a manger, submitting to the Father in all things that He had commanded His people that they might live and live with Him--is the fulfillment of the Law and the Old Testament for us prideful sinners.

Why does God use this means so distasteful and ridiculous to the unbelieving world? As with all of these bloody celebrations, it is that you may be certain of your salvation. No blood-–no certainty. Just as the people of Israel were marked by the blood of the Passover lamb for their deliverance, so are you.

To hear and/or read the entire sermon preached at Trinity Lutheran Church of Layton, UT [www.trinitylayton.org] for the Circumcision of Our Lord, "On the Eighth Day of Christmas God’s First Blood Was Shed," click on this link. http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3617