In the midst of darkness, a light shines the brightest.

Scripture Passage

“Now upon the same day that the strangers [Greeks] profaned the Temple, on the very same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is Chislev. And they kept eight days with gladness, as in the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long before they had held the feast of the tabernacles, when as they wandered in the mountains and dens like beasts. Therefore they bare branches, and fair boughs, and palms also, and sang psalms unto Him that had given them good success in cleansing His place. They ordained also by a common statute and decree, That every year those days should be kept of the whole nation of the Jews.”

-2 Macabees 10:5-8

Message

For nearly 2,200 years (since 164 BC) the Jewish people have observed the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah). Jesus even goes to the Temple for the lighting of the Menorah (see John 10:22). But, what, if anything, makes it an occasion for Christian Celebration?

•  A brief History of Hanukkah

The Greeks, under the rule of Antiochus IV, were in control of the Hebrew state of Israel at the time of the Maccabean revolt (164 BC).

“When these happenings were reported to the king [Antiochus], he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.”

-2 Maccabees 5:11-14

In a reaction to this attack, a group of Jews was organized into a nationalistic group led by a man named Mathathias and his son Judah Maccabee. They joined forces with a religious group that opposed the king. After succeeding in taking the Temple back from the Greeks, they set out to restore it to its original order.

This is all important, because Antiochus wanted to destroy Judaism and thus would have stopped the coming Messiah. How could Jesus come from the line of David and be born to the virgin Mary if there are no Jews left?

• The Miracle of Light

http://www.hanukkah-gifts.org/wp-content/uploads/image002-300×199.jpg

After the capture of the Temple from the Greeks, the Jewish revolutionaries had to restore it. There was just one little problem. Not enough oil!

There was only one day’s worth of oil in the Temple, and it would take at least eight days for more oil to get there and they were convinced that they had to restore the Temple immediately. So, they pray, and God grants them light for eight days from a single day’s supply.

• The Menorah

The candelabra that is used for the lighting ceremony is actually called a hanukkiah. It contains nine candles and is lit from right to left for eight nights. The middle candle is called the Servant Candle and is used each night to light the others as the festival goes on. Each night a new candle is lit and then re-lit every night after that.

• How does this pertain to Christians?

First, without the events that are central to the Hanukkah story, there would have been no Christ, and thus no Christmas. But moreover than that, look at the dedication part.

The festival is formally called The Festival of Dedication. It was to celebrate the dedication of the Temple back to the LORD. Think about that for a moment. Jesus came to dedicate man back to the LORD.

The lighting of the hanukkiah is done using the “servant candle.” Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is probably the most significant prophecy about the servitude of Christ.

“See, My Servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were appalled at You – His appearance was so disfigured that He did not look like a man, and His form did not resemble a human being – so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him, For they will see what had not been told them, and they will understand what they had not heard.

Who has believed what we have heard? And who has the arm of the LORD been revealed to?

He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. Yet He Himself bore our sickness, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.

We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the LORD has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgement; and who considered His fate?

For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of my people’s rebellion. They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him severely.

When You make Him a restitution offering. He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the LORD’s pleasure will be accomplished. He will see it out of His anguish, and He will be satisfied with His knowledge. My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.”

-Isaiah 52:13-53:12

This passage tells about the impending Crucifixion of Christ. His servitude to God and all of us lights the way to heaven. It is through the giving of Himself, like sharing the flame from the servant candle, that we gain light in our dark seasons. Also Jesus says that each of us must learn to serve others. That is, He wants us to be the “servant candles.” 

“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many.”

-Matthew 20:26-28

Hanukkah shows us that from the center light of Jesus, we all gain our light to share with the world. We have become a part of the dedication of the new temple. We are a part of Christ.

• Should we celebrate?

Like any other holiday on the calendar, it is your decision of whether or not you should celebrate. Even if you choose not to, remember that it may be traditionally a Jewish holiday, but that makes it no less important to Christians. Our Savior was a Jew after all, so without Hanukkah…there can be no Christmas. So for the next eight nights, maybe light a candle, or at least say an extra prayer for the Light of the World!

 

Prayer

Dear LORD,

Thank You for the sacrifice You made on our behalf all those years ago. This entire season is about Your Son. Help us to remember that! We may not observe the traditions of Hanukkah, but we celebrate its meaning in our hearts and ask that You keep Your hands over all of the Jewish nation. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus.

Amen.