Hanukkah

Happy Monday. It is hard to believe this is the last Monday of 2024 and that another new year will begin in just a few days. I thought we’d go ahead and finish looking at John 10 today, which seems fitting as verse 22 tells us that Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah.

This year, Hanukkah happened to begin on December 25 and runs through January 2. Hanukkah always begins on the 25th of Kislev, but the 25th of Kislev and the 25th of December don’t always align.

If you are familiar with the feasts and festivals appointed by God back in Leviticus, you’ll know that Hanukkah was not one of those appointed times. However, Hanukkah became an annual reminder of what happens when false shepherds are leading the people, as well as the celebration of the Temple being rededicated to God.

If you want to do a deep dive into Hanukkah there are a lot of resources online - one I’d recommend is The Sabbath Table over on Instagram.

As a quick overview, Greek culture was becoming prevalent during the time of Alexander the Great. In Jerusalem, the leaders allowed Hellenism to pervade, and eventually, the Temple was overrun by idol worship. In the Temple, pig sacrifices were being made to Zeus and the whole place was looted. The Jewish people were afraid for their lives, as their customs and traditions were being outlawed, and death was on the line if they chose to continue worshipping God.

A group of people chose not to comply with what was happening. They went into the hills and became a small army fighting against the pagan takeover of Jerusalem. Eventually, after many years of fighting, this group, known as the Maccabees were able to restore the Temple and rededicate it to God.

The eight days of Hanukkah are centered around the miracle of lights. According to the First Fruits of Zion anthology, one famous legend says “that when they (the Maccabees) reached the Temple, they were only able to find one cruse of olive oil with the priestly stamp upon it. It was enough to fuel the lamps of the menorah for only one day. It would take eight days before they could procure more olive oil fitting for use in the menorah. Uncertain of what to do, they decided to observe the mitzvah of lighting the menorah as best they could. They lit it, fully expecting it to go out that day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be obtained.”

Hanukkah is an annual reminder, established by the people, of light overcoming the darkness.

In the first half of John 10 we read all about Jesus as the gate and the good shepherd, and noticed that the people thought Jesus was demon possessed when he started talking about giving up his life and taking it back.

When we reach the second half of John 10, we find Jesus at the Temple for Hanukkah. Some think all of John 10 takes place at Hanukkah, while others think the first half of the chapter is connected to John 9, as we discussed before.

Regardless of how the chapter is divided, throughout it, we can see that Jesus is telling whoever he is talking to what it means for him to be the good shepherd and for all people who recognize his voice to be invited in through the gate.

In this second half of John 10, the people crowd around Jesus and demand that Jesus tell them plainly if he is the Messiah. Jesus replied - I’ve already told you, but you aren’t listening!

My friend was preaching on this text over the weekend. She talked about how the people in the first century were just about 200 years removed from the Maccabees rescuing Israel from the Seleucid Empire and how it is plausible that they were hoping Jesus would be the next Maccabee - come to rescue them from Rome and the occupation they were under. She talked about how their circumstances clouded their perspective so that even though Jesus was telling them who he was and showing them through his actions, they weren’t paying attention.

In verse 30, Jesus says, “The Father and I are one.” This makes the people so furious that they pick up stones and are ready to kill Jesus right there.

When Jesus asks them why they want to stone him, they reply, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

They could go along with Jesus doing miracles and could get behind Jesus saving them from Rome, but the idea that Jesus would claim to be God was too much.

John 10:39-42
Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” And many who were there believed in Jesus.

During this particular Hanukkah celebration, many recognized the voice of the good shepherd, the one who is the light of the world.  

~  Melissa