Sunday begins the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. As a Christian, I plan to celebrate this festival with my congregation. You may wonder why a Christian would reflect on a Jewish holiday. In John 10 it’s recorded that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. Christians may have overlooked this passage, which refers to Jesus celebrating the Feast of Dedication, not aware that this is another term for Hanukkah.
Christianity Lost Its Jewishness
As centuries passed after Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension, the followers of Jesus began to mold their vision of him into something completely different than who he was. Jesus was a first-century, Torah-observant Jew who would have been called Yeshua, which means salvation. Yeshua wasn’t the white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant Savior many churches hang portraits of on their walls.
The early believers were Jews, but over the centuries the church began to become more Western. Biblical values, which are contained in the Jewish scriptures of the Torah and Tanakh (what Christians would call the books of Moses and the Old Testament) are based on an entirely different worldview than American thinking. Biblical thinking is based on metaphor and story; American thinking is more concept-oriented. Biblical thinking is more community and family-oriented; American thinking is focused on the individual. Biblical thinking is based on divine providence—doing what is right regardless of the consequences; American thinking is manifest destiny—an ends-justifies-the-means focus on controlling outcomes, people, and resources. Biblical thinking sees history and events as cyclical; American thinking sees it as a time line of events marching forward.
In remembering Hanukkah, I am connecting to the Hebrew foundations of the Christian faith. I’m also connecting with my Jewish brothers and sisters in the faith. Yes, there are Jewish believers in Yeshua. I’m also connecting with those Jews that don’t believe in Yeshua, for God has a special heart and special plan for all the Jewish people. I take serious God’s promise to Abraham to bless those who bless him, and believe all Christians should have a heart for the people and land of Israel.
The History of Hanukkah
Around 200 B.C.E. the Jews in Judea came under the control of Antiochus III, a Seleucid king. He allowed the people to practice Judaism, and they were free to continue worshipping Adonai in the temple. Things changed when power transferred to his son, Antiochus IV.
In 175 B.C.E. Antiochus IV took power. In order to strengthen his influence, he wanted to spread Greek culture. This conflicted with the Jewish believers. The Jews had divided into two parties—one that was becoming more Hellenized (Greek), and one that wanted to follow a more traditional, Torah-observant lifestyle. Antiochus IV tried to use this wedge to Hellenize the Jews and took sides with the Hellenized Jews.
Antiochus IV outlawed the worship of the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, forbid them to practice the rites of their religion with punishment of death, made them eat swine flesh (which was considered abominable), burned Torah scrolls, set up a statue of Zeus in the temple, and sacrificed a pig on their altar.
A group named the Maccabees led a revolt. While severely outnumbered, God blessed their guerrilla tactics and they vanquished their oppressors. However, the temple lay desecrated. They needed to cleanse the temple, but only had enough of the sacred oil needed to light the temple menorah for one day. God allowed the oil to burn for eight days—enough time to cleanse the temple and prepare more oil. That is why Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by lighting the candles on the Hanukkiah for eight days.
A Love for the Jewish People
One reason to celebrate Hanukkah is a love for the Jewish people. Ruth is a great example of showing a heart for the Jews. While she was a Moabite, she proclaimed to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, after the death of Naomi’s son and her husband, that she would return with her to Israel. Naomi tried to dissuade her, but Ruth proclaimed that Naomi’s God would be her God and Naomi’s people would be her people. Her act of kindness led to her marriage to Boaz and becoming great-grandmother to King David, which was the forerunner of Jesus.
Keep the Oil Burning
Oil has special meaning to Christians. Kings would be anointed with oil as a picture of being chosen by God for his special purpose. Oil is a picture of God’s Holy Spirit. While at times it may seem like God’s Holy Spirit in our lives is growing thin, there’s always enough to cleanse us and let our lights shine.
A Picture of Things to Come
Many Bible scholars see Antiochus IV as a picture of the antichrist—a future world ruler who will oppose God’s plans and set up himself in the temple to be worshipped. An understanding of how God worked in the past helps illuminate how God will work in the future.
Conclusions
Yeshua celebrated Hanukkah, so it’s certainly a celebration all Christians can cherish. It gives us a picture of God’s deliverance of his people. It gives a picture of God’s Holy Spirit being sufficient for our purification and illumination. It helps give us a glimpse into how God has worked in the past, which enlightens how he will work in the future. While Hanukkah is often considered a distinctly Jewish celebration, it’s one Christians can and should reflect on.
