“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 2:21 Mean?
On the eighth day—the day prescribed by Mosaic law for circumcision—the child is officially named Jesus. The name was chosen not by Joseph and Mary but by the angel Gabriel before conception (Luke 1:31). The naming confirms that this child's identity was determined by heaven before His earthly existence began.
The name Jesus (Iēsous, from Hebrew Yehoshua/Joshua) means "the LORD saves" or "Yahweh is salvation." Every time the name is spoken, the identity is declared: this person is God's salvation in human form. The name isn't decorative. It's definitional. It tells you what this child's purpose is before He's done a single thing.
The circumcision places Jesus within the covenant community: He enters Israel through the same ritual every Jewish male undergoes. The Son of God submits to the law He authored. The one who will fulfill the covenant enters it through the covenant's sign. This is the first of many moments where Jesus participates in the human structures He transcends.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does the name 'Jesus'—'the LORD saves'—mean to you personally? How has He saved you specifically?
- 2.Jesus submitted to circumcision—entering the covenant through the normal human process. What does His willingness to enter human structures tell you about His character?
- 3.The name was chosen before conception. What does that say about how far in advance God plans—and about His plans for you?
- 4.Every time someone said 'Jesus,' they spoke salvation. How does speaking His name function as a declaration in your daily life?
Devotional
Eight days old. Circumcised according to the law. Named Jesus—a name chosen by heaven before the child was conceived. The most significant name in human history, given on the most ordinary ritual occasion in Jewish life. The God of the universe, named at a circumcision ceremony, in a small town, by parents who were told what to call Him.
The name means "the LORD saves." Every time Mary called Him for dinner, she was declaring God's salvation plan. Every time a neighbor greeted Him on the street, they were unknowingly speaking prophecy. The name carried the mission. Before Jesus preached a sermon or performed a miracle, His name was already doing the work—declaring that Yahweh saves, that salvation has arrived, that the God who rescues has become the God who lives next door.
The circumcision is the detail that grounds the incarnation in real, physical, legal humanity. God's Son enters the covenant the same way every other Jewish boy does—through the cut in the flesh, on the eighth day, according to the law. He doesn't bypass the system. He enters it. The one who gave Moses the law on Sinai submits to the law's requirements as an infant in His mother's arms.
This is the pattern of incarnation: God enters the human structures He created, participates in the human rituals He designed, and submits to the human limits He transcends. Jesus didn't exempt Himself from the process. He went through it—beginning with a name given by an angel and a cut given by a priest.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child,.... According to the original institution of…
Eight days ... - This was the regular time for performing the rite of circumcision, Gen 17:12. Called Jesus - See the…
When eight days were accomplished - The law had appointed that every male should be circumcised at eight days old, or on…
Our Lord Jesus, being made of a woman, was made under the law, Gal 4:4. He was not only, as the son of a daughter of…
The Circumcision
21. for the circumcising of the child Gen 17:12. Doubtless the rite was performed by Joseph. "Jesus…
Cross References
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