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This year the Jewish community and some believers celebrate Hanukkah from the 14^th – 22^nd December.

In John 10:22 and 23 we find Yeshua (Jesus) in Jerusalem at the Temple, walking in Solomon’s Porch. It was the time of celebrating the Feast of Dedication, which occurs during winter (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Travelling to Jerusalem for Hanukkah

In order to be in Jerusalem for this feast, Yeshua would have travelled several days’ journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem.

Let us examine this feast and what it meant to the Jewish nation. The Feast of Dedication was not one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shalosh Regalim). This was another festival added to the Hebrew calendar.

For Yeshua, it would have taken him several days either by foot or by donkey to travel from Capernaum to Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication.

The distance from Capernaum to Jerusalem is approximately 80 miles (about 128 kilometres). The time it takes to travel this distance varies based on the mode of transportation. By foot it would take approximately six to seven days, depending on the pace and conditions.

If using a donkey, the journey could be slightly faster, but it would still take a few days due to the terrain and the need for rest.

I offer these verses from 2 Maccabees as to what Hanukkah might have looked like in Yeshua’s day.

5 Now upon the same day that the temple had been polluted by the strangers, on the very same day it was cleansed again, to wit, on the five and twentieth day of the month of Casleu.

6 And they kept eight days with joy, after the manner of the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long before they had kept the feast of the tabernacles when they were in the mountains, and in dens like wild beasts.

7 Therefore they now, carried boughs, and green branches, and palms for Him that had given them good success in cleansing his place.

8 And they ordained by a common statute, and decree, that all the nation of the Jews should keep those days every year. (2 Maccabees 10:5–8 DRA)

This commemoration of the victory over the Seleucids by the Jews was also an act of dedication where they placed the Temple back into the centre of Jewish practices and beliefs.

My husband Kym and I were in Jerusalem in December 2015 during which it was also Hanukkah. The lighting of the candles in the evenings brought light and a kind of magical glow to the city.

For me, it was captivating, mesmerising and delightful to see all the Hanukkah lamp stands lit with flames flickering at night. It was quite cold, a bit like an Adelaide winter, with people wearing coats to keep warm.

Overall, it was a joyous celebration, and I have noticed that for most of the feast the religious and secular Jews enter in and really enjoy these times of togetherness.

Image credit: My Jewish Learning

Yeshua, Hanukkah and John 10

Was Yeshua in Jerusalem to teach or to celebrate Hanukkah? Maybe both.

Some scholars say that Yeshua went to Jerusalem for Hanukkah because it was a national celebration of the Temple’s rededication. It was a commemoration of God’s faithfulness regarding the rededication of the Temple, which was strongly connected to Israel’s identity.

In John 10:22–23 we read that Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade.

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. (NKJV)

Then came Hanukkah in Yerushalayim. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade. (CJB)

Perhaps he was teaching and engaging with the crowds. One commentator stated that he believes Yeshua was merely passing through and then confronted by the Jews who opposed him. The Temple was the centre of Jewish life and symbolised God’s presence. Everything Yeshua did made a statement about who he truly was.

As we know from the Gospel of John, Yeshua stated quite clearly various aspects of his divinity. These are a few of these statements:

• “I told you, I am the unique Son of God” (John 5:19–23).
• “I told you, before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:58).
• “I told you, I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12).

There were many other statements like this.

The light had come as John wrote in chapter 8 verse 12:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”

Even though Hanukkah is primarily a Jewish celebration, the underlying truth of yielding to the light and what it represents applies to everyone. When the light comes, we worship the true God or we walk in darkness:

Seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yeshua the Messiah. (2 Corinthians 4:6 HNV)

The Lord is looking for worshippers, those who will worship him in spirit and in truth.

The focus of Hanukkah is the rededication of the Temple and today we know that we as believers are the temple of the Lord. May we use this time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord and clear out any obstacles from our lives that might hinder us from entering into the next season in its fulness.

May the light of Yeshua Ha Mashiach also be the portion for Father’s beloved chosen people, the Jews. We believers are the called-out ones, and our purpose is to worship the Lord. We worship him in the beauty of holiness.

2 Maccabees 10:5 NRSV tells us that the purification of the Temple took place on the twenty fifth day of Kislev which was the same day that the desecration had happened. This became an eight-day festival in 164 BCE.

Let us take this opportunity to consecrate ourselves to the Lord. He can take us even further than we have imagined. The following scripture from Galatians tells us how we can walk out this dedication in our everyday lives:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

Yeshua spoke stating that he Himself was the Temple.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19 NKJV)

Through this teaching, Yeshua was saying that the Temple system was about making sacrifices but that now he would become the sacrifice, the perfect Lamb of God.

Consecration Changes Our Future!

As we mature in the Lord, we understand more and more of what Yeshua went through in his suffering and death so that we could be made one with him.

I will share with you this short video that brings us back to the heart of the Christian life. When I heard Michael Koulianos share this truth, it really touched me.

“Find the love of Jesus and love Him back.”

I am not very good at religion and in my mind, I would not have made a particularly good Jew. But I do totally love Yeshua, and am grateful for Father’s great grace towards me and towards each of his children. His love won my heart, and I will never leave him.

Sometimes the best of us get bogged down in ministry, carrying responsibility when we really just want to enjoy the Lord. May we take some moments in this holiday season to draw aside and sit at the feet of Yeshua, making it a simple act of rededication which can bring back so much freshness into our walk with the Lord. Fresh oil some would say.

We have looked at the light in the story of Hanukkah and how it brought the Jewish people back to the centrality of worshipping the one true God.

We have reflected on Yeshua, the Lamb of God who gave his life as a sacrifice for us all thus making a way for us to walking in intimacy and worship with him.

And now it is our turn to give him our all, to rededicate ourselves afresh and love him back which will in turn unfold to us a future rich with his blessings as we learn to walk more in his ways.

Prayer

Father my prayer today is for a blessed season for Jew and Gentile alike as our hearts are one with you, we rejoice in all the goodness you give to your children. Thank you for the greatest gift of all — Yeshua Ha Mashiach, the King of the Jews, the Saviour of mankind and our soon coming King. Amein.

Further Reading

These are my previous articles about Hanukkah if you wish to dig a bit deeper.

• “Conquering and Consecration as Christmas and Chanukkah Coincide“
• “Yeshua — His Light is the Way Forward“
• “Channukah: The Festival of Lights“
• “Channukah 2021: Show Forth Your Light“
• “A Great Miracle Happened There“

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Image via James Tissot/WikiArt.