Circumcision was a sign of the covenant that the Lord had instituted in the days of Abraham, along with his giving the command that whoever was not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin would be cut off from his people (Genesis 17:14). The cutting of the foreskin of a baby that was eight days old made it clear that God established his covenant with believers and their children out of mere grace. The cutting pointed to the promise that God would graciously cut off the sins of his people. The blood stood as a reminder of what Israel’s sins deserved and of the punishment that God’s people could expect if they broke the covenant and rejected God’s grace that anticipated the saving work of Christ. Christ’s death makes very clear that God is not joking when he says that he will cut off those who do not receive his gracious cutting off of their sins. He shows no partiality, not even to those who hold his staff and are called as mediators and deliverers.
When our Lord Jesus died on the cross, he became the bridegroom of blood for the church. We need his blood shed in order to be alive, and Christ’s shed blood is the basis of our fellowship with God. Although we may not like to think about our sinfulness, and may prefer to imagine a Christianity without any talk about sins and confession, we need to understand that without the blood of Christ shed on the cross, our holy God will seek our lives to cut us off from his promises and eternal life.
24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.