Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 2:21

"And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." — Luke 2:21 (ASV)

When eight days were accomplished . . .—Therefore, the Feast of the Circumcision in the Church Calendar comes on January 1st, and so, perhaps by design, coincided with the beginning of the civil year. The contrast between this and the narrative of John’s circumcision is striking. Here there are no friends and neighbors. Mary and Joseph were merely poor strangers, in a city far from their own home. On the name of Jesus, see Note on Matthew 1:21. In St. Paul’s words, made of a woman, made under the law (Galatians 4:4), we may, perhaps, see a reference to a narrative with which his friendship with St. Luke must almost certainly have made him familiar.