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Messiah's Hanukkah Message
Finding Messiah in the Feast of
Dedication
by Sam Nadler |
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You may find it surprising that
the only place in the Bible where the festival of Hanukkah is found is
in the New Covenant, in John chapter 10:22-30: |
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“And it was at Jerusalem, the
Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the
temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about Him, and said
unto Him, ‘How long do you make us to doubt? If you are the Messiah,
tell us plainly.’ Yeshua answered them, ‘I told you, and you believed
not: the works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
But you believe not, because ye are not of My
sheep, as I said unto you. |
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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. 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’.” It was here in the context of
Hanukkah that Yeshua* taught that faith in Him is the victory. At that
time Yeshua was teaching in Jerusalem at the Temple by Solomon’s
Colonnade (see also Acts 3:11; 5:12). According to the historian
Josephus, the eastern part of the colonnade walkway surrounded the outer
court of Herod’s Temple. This area served as a shelter from the heat of
the sun in summer and from the cold rain in winter, and since there were
always people present for worship at the temple, Yeshua used this as a
center for informal teaching and preaching.
A Little History Lesson
The Feast of Dedication, or “Hanukkah” (which in Hebrew means
“dedication”), was established to commemorate the purification and
rededication of the Temple by Judah Maccabee, which occurred in 165 bc
on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (December). The
rededication of the Temple was necessary because Antiochus IV Epiphanes
had profaned it three years earlier. Antiochus, the king of Syria, had
captured Jerusalem, plundered the Temple treasury, and to add insult to
injury, had sacrificed a pig to Jupiter on the Temple altar. His attempt
to Hellenize Judea--prohibiting biblical worship, circumcision,
etc.--resulted in the Maccabean Revolt which was led by Judah Maccabee.
After three years they were successful in defeating the Syrian armies
and liberating the Jewish people.
Yeshua: The Savior from
God
It is in the context of Hanukkah that Yeshua first teaches that we are
to have faith in Him as the Savior from God. Notice the question the
people raise in verse 24: “Why do you keep us in suspense? Are you the
Messiah?” This would be a timely question for this holiday, as people
would be wondering ‘Where is the Messiah, the greater Maccabee?’ Some
still ask this question when times are especially tough--much like they
are in Israel today. Certain occasions raise certain issues. At every
Hanukkah the Jewish people desired Messiah to come and free them from
yet another enemy. In fact, 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.” So for Judeans in Jerusalem under the
heel of Rome, this question of “Messiah” at Hanukkah would mean: “Where
is the redeemer to deliver us from our enemy?”
What Do You Mean by
“Messiah?”
Why didn’t Yeshua just say ‘Sure, I’m the Messiah,’ as He did elsewhere
[e.g., John 4:26]? At this point in history, the people were desiring a
political/warrior type of ‘Messiah’ to throw out the Romans just as the
Maccabees threw out the Syrians. However Messiah’s ‘mission’ was
two-fold, and would be executed in not one, but two comings. Biblically,
it was prophesied that at His first coming Messiah would make the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and at His second coming rule and reign.
The Hebrew Scriptures describe Messiah’s suffering in Isaiah 53 as well
as His future reign in Psalm 2. In Talmud even the Rabbis recognized two
comings (Sukkah 52b), but concluded that there would be not one Messiah,
but two. The suffering Messiah they called Moshiach ben Yoseph (Messiah,
Son of Joseph). The Messiah who would reign and rule over Israel and the
Nations they called Moshiach ben David (Messiah, Son of David). To
answer their question, “Are you the Messiah?,” if Yeshua had
merely said “yes,” He would have been accommodating Himself to their
expectation of a political deliverer who would free them from their
enemies, which will not occur until His Second Coming. Had He said “no,”
He would have been closing the door on His messianic credentials
altogether.
So Messiah wisely responds, “I’ve already told you” in words and
deeds (Jn. 10:25). He tells them to check His words and His works!
First, His words show that a “prophet like unto Moses” has come
(Deut. 18:15), therefore they should listen to Him. Second, Hanukkah’s
theme is that of a miracle. Hence Yeshua also spoke of His miracles:
“If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though
ye believe not Me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe,
that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (Jn. 10:37,38). Yeshua
wanted the people of His day to see His miracles (healing, deliverance,
and even resurrection of the dead) and believe in Him as a result. His
miracles point to His divine and messianic identity, and in this way
Yeshua personifies the message of Hanukkah--God is actively involved in
the affairs of his people.
A Deeper Need Satisfied
Here is a lesson for us today: we must have faith in what God has
revealed, not in what we think we need. God provides the eternal
salvation that we need, not merely the temporary solutions that we
desire. An old acquaintance of mine, Ralph*, was miraculously healed of
a debilitating illness. As a result, Ralph testified throughout the New
York area about Yeshua his Healer. But a few years later when the
illness returned, Ralph lost his faith and denied the Lord. Is your
faith in God’s Word, or your own expectation and experience? Like Job,
we must see beyond the immediate and trust God's wisdom and care for us:
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him...” (Job 13:15).With
the Maccabees short term faith was required. They pointed to a
desecrated temple and the oppressive Syrians 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, O Israel, is not
outside of you, but within you. Our need is for a long-term, eternal
relationship with God, not merely a quick fix of short-term issues. It’s
easy to blame the circumstances--the Romans, the Syrians--but Messiah
requires greater faith from those who would follow Him. |
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Yeshua: The
Shepherd to 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, a reciprocal action. The
picture of faith is in following--as in following a teacher’s line of
reasoning, or perspective. |
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We follow the way He looks at the
issues of life. If He says forgiving those who repent is right--and He
does--then it’s right. If He calls lying sin--and He does, then it’s
sin. If he says sex outside of marriage is wrong--and He does--then it’s
wrong. If we actually know Him, we follow His truth about life.
His sheep live forever: “I give
unto them eternal life.” There is guaranteed assurance of life
eternal (v. 28). First, contrary to people’s insincerity, God’s word is
trustworthy. Many others falsely claim to have eternal life to give.
Yeshua promises what he alone can give, and He delivers.
Secondly, contrary to people’s ideas, God’s word is truth. People do not
understand this matter of eternal life. Some think that their eternal
rest is in their coffin! Passing a cemetery one day, an Irishman paused
at a startling inscription on a tombstone. He read the words: “I still
live.” Puzzled, the Irishman scratched his head for a moment, then
exclaimed: “Goodness, if I were dead I’d be honest enough to admit it!”
Eternal life comes from God by
faith in Yeshua, Who alone can relate us rightly to the eternal God.
Furthermore, eternal life is a totally new kind of existence for
believers. It is of superlative quality, simply because God’s own life
is of superlative quality. The life Yeshua gives us is never-ending,
because God’s life is never-ending. Messiah imparts to us both the
quality and quantity of God’s own life, for through Him the fullness of
God dwells within us--and His life will never end! God is eternal; those
who believe in Yeshua will live with Him eternally!
In 1948 I was born in the flesh; in 1972 I was born of the Spirit.
Someday you may hear that Sam Nadler is dead. Don’t you believe a word
of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have
gone higher, out of this ‘old clay shack’ into a house that is immortal;
a body that neither sin nor sickness can touch or taint, a body
fashioned like unto Messiah’s glorious body. That which is born of the
flesh may die; that which is born of the Spirit will live forever. And
in Yeshua, I live!
Yeshua: The Son of God
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”
(John 10:29,30). The point here is this: since “My Father…is greater
than all” (as all would acknowledge) and since “I and My Father
are one,” (as His sheep would acknowledge), therefore if you are one
of His sheep, you are secure in Yeshua’s hand. A deeper look into the
Hebrew further reveals Messiah’s deity. “I and the Father are One” (Ani
veha‘av, echad anachnu) is the same “One” as in the Sh’ma: “Hear O
Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is One,”“Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu
Adonai Echad” (Deut. 6:4). Yeshua’s self-assertion of His own
divinity is to give confidence to His followers: “No one will snatch
them from My [Yeshua’s] hand” (v. 28) or the “Father’s hand”
(v. 29). Therefore we who are in Yeshua’s care have complete assurance
that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God which
comes to us through Messiah Yeshua our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-39). Did He
really mean that He is God come in the flesh? Yes! Just as in John 8:59,
here the Judeans again pick up stones in order to stone him, and for the
same reason: they misunderstood His self-identification as God to be
blasphemy (see v. 33, cf. Phip. 2:6-10).
Following is the Victory
The application of Yeshua’s message for
our lives is this: Victory is faith in the Father’s greatness! Bill
Gates may have a monopoly on software, but God has a monopoly on life!
Do you have a Goliath in your life? I know one who is greater! 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! Victory is faith
that Yeshua is Lord. This salvation God has provided in Messiah, His
Eternal Son. If Yeshua is less than eternal Savior, then we have
something less than eternal salvation! For when He died for sins He
conquered death.
How can we overcome the tragedy of terrorist attacks in Israel, Iraq,
and here at home? Despite temporary trials there is ultimate victory in
Messiah. Yes, Messiah demands a greater loyalty than the Maccabees,
because He a provides greater security. Trust in Him as your Savior,
Shepherd, and the Son of God. Yeshua is the Victor, and following Him is
the victory! Y |
 "I
was in Prison..." WMM Materials in Prisons |
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