_Some find it surprising that the only place in the Bible where we find the festival of Hanukkah is in the New Covenant (John 10:22-30):
And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter. Yeshua walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about Him, and said unto Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly (John 10:22-24).

The Feast of Dedication (also known by its Hebrew name, Hanukkah), was established to commemorate the purification and rededication of the Temple by Judah Maccabee, which occurred in 165 BCE on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (December). The rededication of the Temple was necessary because it had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes three years earlier. Antiochus wanted to Hellenize the Jewish people, or make them think and live like Greeks. He violently forced an end to circumcision, Jewish worship, and the study of Torah. He captured Jerusalem, plundered the Temple treasury, and to add insult to injury, sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the Temple altar. In response, a revolt led by one family called the Maccabees challenged the mighty invaders through guerrilla warfare. After three years this small band of pious Jews was successful in defeating the Syrian armies, liberating our people and our Temple! The yearly celebration of this victory forms the backdrop of  Yeshua’s Hanukkah message.

Notice the question the people raise: “Why do you keep us in suspense? Are you the Messiah?” (John 10:24). Every Hanukkah, our people desired Messiah to come and free them from yet another enemy, in this case the Romans. Even the defiled stones from the altar desecrated by Antiochus were set aside for “the Prophet to come to tell our people what to do with them.”
Yeshua answered them, “I told you, and you did not believe: the works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you (John 10:25-26).

Why didn’t Yeshua just say ‘Sure, I’m the Messiah’? This is how familiarity with Hanukkah helps us understand Yeshua. The people were expecting a political warrior to throw out the Romans, just as the Maccabees threw out the Syrians. With a mere “yes,” He would have been accommodating Himself to a narrow expectation heightened at the time, one which was only part of the biblical picture, to come later. Had He said “no,” it would not have been true! So Yeshua wisely responds, “I’ve already told you.” In both words and deeds, He had already answered their question (John 8:58; 10:25).

God provides the eternal salvation that we need, not merely the temporary solutions that we desire. Is your faith in God’s Word, or your own expectations and experience? With the Maccabees, short-term faith was required. They pointed to a desecrated temple by an oppressive Syrian regime and said, “Let us defeat them and rededicate the temple.” However, Yeshua points to us and says that we are the desecrated temple, and we need to be cleansed and rededicated in order to walk with God. The problem is not outside of us, but within us. Our need is not for a quick fix of short-term problems, but for an eternal relationship with God.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

His sheep have faith in Him: “My sheep hear My voice.” His sheep are His followers: “They follow Me.” There is mutual recognition and a reciprocal action. The shepherd knows and directs His sheep; and the sheep respond in obedience. Yeshua then teaches that we must have faith in Him as the Son of God: “My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (10:29-30).
Yeshua’s assertion that He is one with the Father is meant to give assurance to His followers: “No one will snatch them from My hand” anymore than from the “Father’s hand.”

Bill Gates may have a monopoly on operating software, but God has a monopoly on life! Defeat is measuring your life by your problem, rather than by your God. Victory is measuring life’s challenges by the size of your God! Do you have a Goliath in your life? I know one who is greater! God has provided salvation in Messiah, His Eternal Son. By dying for sins, He conquered death.
Despite temporary trials there is ultimate victory in Messiah. Yes, Messiah demands a greater loyalty than the Maccabees; however, His security is eternal. Trust in Him as the Savior, Shepherd, and Son. Yeshua is the Victor, and following Him brings the victory!