1. Luke 2:21 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Is it significant that he was named on the day of his circumcision?

Luke 2:21 (ESV)

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

There is no requirement in old covenant law for a child to be named on the day of his circumcision. The fact that this was what happened with Jesus is meant to draw a parallel between him and John (Luke 1:59–64). John is the forerunner who points to Jesus, the final prophet of the old covenant (Luke 16:16). Jesus is superior to John and has come to inaugurate the new covenant (Hebrews 8:6).1