Happy Hanukkah!
What? Aren't we celebrating Christmas? And what does that have to do with Jesus?
Did you know Hanukkah is only mentioned in the New Testament, not the Old Testament? And guess who was celebrating it: Jesus!! John 10:22-23 states "Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon's Colonnade." (Tree of Life Version). If you read this verse in NKJV or NLT, it'll say Festival of Dedication. The Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication. Jesus (Yeshua) was in Jerusalem, in the winter, observing Hanukkah at the Temple!!! To understand the significance of this, we must understand what Hanukkah is about. This is a VERY brief description of the events surrounding this festival.
The historical record is found in the Books of the Maccabees and Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews. Around 168 B.C. Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria, a Hellenistic King, was in power. He was extremely evil and a type of anti-Christ. He tried to abolish the practice of Judaism. He outlawed reading of the Holy Scriptures (Tanakh). He desecrated the Temple by stealing the treasures, placing an altar to Zeus in the Temple, and sacrificing pigs in the Temple. He forbade baby boys from being circumcised and killed the children and mothers who continued the practice. He forced Jews to eat pork and would torture, then kill, them if they did not. Other horrifying atrocities were committed by him. He hated the Jews.
A certain Jewish family known as the Maccabees rebelled. More Jews joined them making a small army of about 20,000. The armies of Antiochus were more than twice the size of that. A series of battles were fought between the Maccabees small rebel army and Antiochus' armies; each time the Maccabees won. These were all miraculous. The final battle resulted in the Maccabees regaining control of Jerusalem, the Temple, and Israel: an amazing miracle! Tradition states when they came to clean up and rededicate the Temple, they found only enough oil to light the menorah for one night. According to God's commandments, the menorah was always to be lit from night to morning in the Temple (Exodus 27:20-21). The oil used for the menorah was also very special made in a specific way. For various reasons, it took a while to get this oil. But the one flask of oil they found, that should've lasted only one night, lasted 8 days until new oil was available and/or priests had sanctified themselves for Temple duty. Another miracle! Thus, Hanukkah, Feast of Dedication, commemorates a series of miracles of God preserving His people who would not abandon their faith.
Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as John tells us, was in the Temple at the time of Hanukkah observing the feast in the Temple where the LORD said His name would reside. So why should we care about this holiday? Because it recognizes the miracle God did to save His people who would bring us the Savior. Because it declares God's preservation of those who will not abandon Him. Because we have been grafted in to the family of Abraham (Romans 11). Because our Savior thought it was important. There are so many lessons to learn from this event of miracles. This isn't about oil lasting for 8 days. This is about "A great miracle happened there." The letters from that sentence are represented on the dreidel.
So while many of us are taking time this season to reflect on the miracle of Jesus' birth, let's remember this is not about a baby in a manger. This is about the Son of God who came to die on a cross, be resurrected, and who will return soon. Jesus, Yeshua, said "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12).
If you'd like to learn more about Hanukkah and the traditions surrounding this festival, please check out the web links below. These are messianic Jewish (Jewish believers in Jesus) websites with much information on many biblical topics.