"Christmas Joy and the Shedding of Blood"
MP3 audio is posted at:
http://www.lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1159
Rev. Kurt Hering
TEXT: And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child,
His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was
conceived in the womb. Luke 2:21 nkj
Merry Christmas! Yes, it is still Christmas. The one Holy Christian and
Apostolic Church to which we belong celebrates Christmas until Epiphany
begins a new season on January 6. Thus we have the twelve days of Christmas.
According to the carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," the Eighth Day of
Christmas my true love gave to me-eight maids a milking." However, the
Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ celebrates the Twelve Days of
Christmas a little differently.
According to the Church year calendar, following the joyous celebration of
the nativity of our Lord on the 8th Day of Christmas, our true love sent to
us - the Circumcision of our Lord that we celebrate as a feast day this very
Sunday.
Why do we celebrate The CIRCUMCISION of OUR LORD on New Year's Eve, during
the joyous Twelve Days of Christmas? Martin Luther, that Doctor of Theology
and Pastor of souls gives a whole host of reasons in his sermons on this
text. In fact, in one of those sermons, though he begins by saying, "This is
a short Gospel lesson, and we'll make a short 'sermon' out of it," he then
goes on for the better part of eleven pages to preach this little text.
Relax, I'll not go into all that he presented. It goes far deeper than we
have time in the confines of our normal Sunday worship, or attention span
especially on this New Year's Eve with all the festivities that accompany
it. We can save that for an in depth Bible study that can mine the great
treasures of this lesson.
Let us be satisfied this Eighth day of Christmas, 2008, with beholding in
the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus the first shedding of His blood.
As we bid farewell to the old year, we realize that it has been another Year
of Our Lord with no little shedding of the blood of man.
Iraq & Aghanistan
Christians in Africa
Abortions in America
All of this should serve to remind us that the whole reason the Son of God
took on flesh to dwell among us on Christmas Day was so that He could shed
the blood of His flesh on the cross for us.
As we read in Heb 9:11_22:
"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this
creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He
entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer,
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new
covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under
the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the
eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of
necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after
men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when
Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he
took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop,
and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, 'This is the
blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.' Then likewise he
sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the
ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with
blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." (NKJ)
So, you see, this is no uncommon, no coincidental and no unnecessary thing
for our celebration of Christmas.
The shedding of blood is common among those who believe in, and witness to
the One who shed His blood for us all. The shedding of blood is no
coincidence, but rather the very reason for the Word becoming flesh at all.
And most of all, let us remember this day and never forget, that the
shedding of the blood of the Son of God is necessary for our salvation, the
circumcision of our Lord tells us so, for it was not until after His
circumcision -- the first shedding of His blood and a foreshadow of the
cross to come -- that our Lord was given the name Savior. You see, He must
pour out His blood to be a Savior, to be our Savior.
Yes, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the [bloody sacrifice] for our sins." I Jn 4:10 nkj
For, as the prophet Isaiah foretold of this Savior born to us in the city of
David, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes
we are healed." Isa 53:5 nkj
But there is one more blood - a blood not uncommon, not coincidental and not
unnecessary - for us to consider and rejoice in this day. It is the same
blood first shed on the day of our Lord's circumcision, the same blood once
poured out completely for all mankind on Calvary, that is now the blood
given and shed for you for the remission of all your sins placed by God on
the table of our altar for your drinking this day. By this participation in
His blood we participate both in His death and His resurrection, for we are
given His very own crucified and risen flesh and blood in the Supper of Holy
Communion.
Why does God use this means so distasteful and repulsive 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.
Thank God the blood of Jesus is so common and precious that He offers it to
us every Lord's Day and even whenever a believer perceives the need and asks
for it from his pastor on any day of the week or year. Thank God the blood
of Jesus is no coincidence, not shed simply because of the whims of a
bloodthirsty crowd, but willingly and lovingly shed for the forgiveness of
all our sins. Thank God the blood of Christ is necessary for our salvation,
because by its visible pouring out on Calvary and into our own mouths we
have sure and certain hope of everlasting life.
Yes, Merry Christmas to you, dear children of God. God has shed His blood
for you. And after the shedding of His blood, he now has put His saving name
upon you that you may not only have a happy New Year but a blessed and never
ending new day in Jesus, and the Baptism that has forgiven you all of your
sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
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