My friends from Bridges for Peace sent a letter connecting Hanukkah with Christmas and I thought I would share this with you.
Many of us may not realize, especially in the church, that Jewish feasts can find their relevance in Christian faith.
We find that in these six feasts through the year they all find their fulfilment in Christ. But what about Hanukkah?
Hanukkah (Dec.22-30) is an important Jewish holiday, but it is not mandated in the Scriptures. That is because the events it celebrates occurred during the period between the Old and New Testaments.
However, Christians have something to learn here too. Israel has suffered oppression time and again throughout her history. Prior to the Roman occupation during the ministry of Jesus and long after, the Grecian empire occupied and oppressed Israel.
In 336 BC, while Alexander the Great was somewhat less oppressive towards Israel his successors were very cruel leaders. Antiochus Epiphanes IV was an oppressive and tyrannical ruler. He condemned anything the Jewish people practised in their faith and any Jewish person who was found guilty of being faithful to the God was tortured and murdered.
Finally, Antiochus erected a statue of himself in the Jewish temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar. His actions made Him a sworn enemy of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What would become of Jewish faith and practice in Judea?
God intervened. A priestly family who were known as the Maccabees led a successful rebellion against these occupiers and routed them from Jerusalem and Judea. The temple was cleansed and rededicated, culminating in the miracle of the oil, where only one vial of holy oil could be found for the temple menorah, but it burned for eight days, long enough for additional oil to arrive which is the event Hanukkah commemorates.
We see in this feast that because of God’s faithfulness, the Jews survived an attempt to eradicate their faith in God.
In John 10, we see Jesus at the temple during Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication. Indeed, Jesus' birth was a miracle, as He humbled Himself and took on flesh, He walked among His people and revealed God’s glory. And so it is with joy and gratitude that we as Christians can look back on Hanukkah and see that God delivers the oppressed and sets us free indeed. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas.
Gerald Bradbury is the pastor of Innisfail’s CenterPoint Church.
