Jerusalem, the City of David, home to many of the stories about Jesus–staying behind to instruct the teachers, while his parents worried about Him, clearing the temple, His triumphant entry, celebrating Hanukkah.
Wait, what? Jesus celebrated Hanukkah?
Since Hanukkah isn’t mentioned in Exodus as one of the feasts the Israelites were to keep, it’s easy to not realize that Jesus actually celebrated it. It’s mentioned in John 10:22-23, “At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.” The meaning of the Hebrew word, Hanukkah, is “dedication.”
History of Hanukkah
Because Hanukkah’s origins happened in the Intertestamental time, its creation as a Jewish festival isn’t mentioned in the Bible. After Alexander the Great’s kingdom was divided among his generals, a new king came to rule over the region that included Judea. His regnal name was Antiochus IV, but he was also called Epiphanes, which means “the manifest god.” (Keep that detail in mind. We’ll be back for it in a bit.)
Antiochus had one goal that he was very passionate about: a unified kingdom. He felt the separate cultures of the people he ruled kept them apart. He decided to force them to adopt the Greek culture. His plans were struggling in Judea, however. The Jewish people did not want to give up their own practices for Greek ones.
Antiochus believed that the Jewish religion was the cause of their hesitancy to act like good Greek citizens, so he abolished the practice of Judaism. Jews who kept the Sabbath, owned scriptures, or circumcised their babies were executed. He also put ritual prostitutes in the Temple.
After Antiochus marched on Jerusalem in 167 BC and sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the altar, the Jews had had enough. Many joined Mattathias and his sons in their rebellion against the king. Three years later, Mattathias’s son, Judah Maccabee, and the other rebels defeated Antiochus and began to restore and rededicate the temple.
The Menorah, which is mentioned in Exodus (25:31-40) when Moses is prescribing the articles needed for the tabernacle, wasn’t burning anymore. The flame on this seven-branched lamp was supposed to never go out–a symbol of God’s undying and eternal nature. Worse, the Greeks had defiled almost all of the sacred oil used to light it.
One small vial–enough for a day–was all that remained. It would take eight more days to prepare more consecrated oil. Rather than wait to light the Menorah again, the rebels decided to light it immediately. Miraculously, it burned for the entire eight days! And that is why Hannukah is celebrated–to remember God kept His promises, saved His people, and worked a great miracle.
When Jesus Celebrated Hanukkah
The verses mentioning Jesus as the Feast of Dedication are brief and likely there to explain why he was in the colonnade of Solomon–because it was winter: cold and rainy for Jerusalem. But it was while He was there for that festival that the Jews surrounded him and demanded to know “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” (John 10:24)
Since they had been celebrating Hanukkah and remembering how God delivered them from Antiochus IV, maybe they were hoping Jesus would declare himself and start a rebellion against Rome.
Jesus answered, “I and the Father are one.” The Jews had a strong reaction to that; they picked up stones to kill Him. Jesus escapes, but the people of his time missed an amazing connection by rejecting His divinity.
At the Feast of Dedication, celebrated to commemorate the defeat of the one who claimed to be “the manifest god,” Jesus openly declared that He is the true Manifest God. He is that eternal light of the world, burning brightly.
The Jews may have rejected Jesus because he wasn’t the kind of Messiah they were looking for–a warrior who would restore the earthly kingdom of Israel. They trusted in their own knowledge and vision for the Messiah. They thought they knew better.
How often do we do that? How often do we rely on our own independence and wisdom instead of seeking Him?
Where can you trust Him more?
Join the Discussion