The Holiday Jesus Celebrated
Series: Happy Holy Days - Part 3
John 10:22-23; Isaiah 52:7-15; 2 Maccabees 10:1-6
The time came for the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple, walking in the covered porch named for Solomon.
John 10:22-23 (CEB)
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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They cleansed the temple and made another altar. Then they struck flints to make fire and they offered up sacrifices after a lapse of two years, and they prepared incense, lamps, and the sacred loaves. After they had done these things, they bowed to the ground and pleaded with the Lord that they would not experience such misfortunes again, but if they should ever sin, they would be disciplined by him with fairness and not turned over to slanderous and barbaric nations. On the anniversary of the temple’s defilement by foreigners, on that very day, the sanctuary was purified, on the twenty-fifth of the month, which is Kislev. They celebrated eight days with cheer in a manner like the Festival of Booths...
2 Maccabees 10:1-6 (Apocrypha)
The festival we read about above in the account of the Maccabees is known today as Hannukah. Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Jerusalem had been taken over by the Greek Empire under Antiochus IV. He had murdered the high priest along with 40,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem, banned all sacrifices, Sabbath observances and feast days at the temple, and dedicated the temple to Zeus. His greatest act of desecration and defilement occurred in 168 BC when he slaughtered a pig on the sacrificial altar. Antiochus IV had one end in mind, the complete annihilation of the Jewish people, which every empire before him had seemingly failed to accomplish.
In response to this desecration, a priestly family called the Maccabees led a multi-year uprising. This small group of zealots accomplished the impossible by taking back the temple and overcoming the Greek occupation. When they restored the temple, they purified it and relit the sacred candles. The legend is told that they only had enough oil for one day, but the lights continued burning for 8 days until replacement fuel could arrive. Whether the miracle of the oil is factual or not, the miracle of the Jewish victory over those who had desecrated their temple is firmly established in history.
In the Jewish calendar, Hannukah is a relatively minor holiday, though it has gained cultural prominence in part due to it’s proximity to so many other winter holidays, and especially Christmas. As Christians, we must never forget that without Hannukah, there is no Christmas. Without the miraculous victory of this small band of faithful Jews, there would have been no Jews to carry on David’s line. Without the Maccabean victory and the rededication of the temple, there is no Zechariah and Elizabeth, no Mary or Joseph, no John the Baptizer, and no Jesus.
Years later when Jesus steps into the temple during the Festival of Dedication, the people question his identity. “I have told you,” he says,” but you don’t believe, because you don’t belong to my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life… I and the Father are one.” (John 10:25-30).
In some ways, Jesus is rededicating the temple to the people of God rather than those who have allied themselves with the current Roman occupation. While Christmas often gets lost under the cultural trappings of the season, may Hannukah invite us once again purify and rededicate our own lives to God in the midst of a world that is still not our own.