Jesus said in John 5:39 - " You search The Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but THESE ARE THOSE THAT SPEAK OF ME ! "
According to Jesus "The Scriptures" (what Christians call The Old Testament) speaks of HIM.
One powerful way this happens is through the Feasts of the Lord - each one tells us something about who Jesus is and why we need HIM!
Hanukkah means "Dedication."
About 167 years before the coming of the Messiah, the Jewish nation was overrun by an evil Greek King named Antiocus Epiphanes. He had won so many military battles in his early years as king he felt he had the power of God and was "God Manifest" on earth.
After establishing his rule and reign in Israel, he outlawed speaking Hebrew, the following of the Torah and he defiled The Temple with sacrifices of pigs.
Many of the Jewish people, sadly, even before Antiocus had started following Greek philosophy and adopting Greek ways of life. Instead of listening to the Word of God given to them through Moses and The Prophets, they sought the teaching fo the Greek philosophers and adopted the ways of worship of Greek mythology.
At one inflection point, a priest - who wanted to remain faithful to his relationship with the God of Israel cried out - WHOEVER LOVES THE COVENANT (their relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) AND LOVES THE TORAH (the Word of God) COME AND FOLLOW ME).
Only a small remnant, sadly, made the choice to organize their lives around relating to the One True God and knowing and following His Word.
YET ... it is to this small band that God gave the means to conquer the overwhelming Greek armies that had established the rule of King Antiocus and had desecrated the Temple.
Once the victory was given, they cleansed and restored The Temple and re-DEDICATED it to the worship ONLY of the One True God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
When Jesus came to The Temple on this Feast of Dedication (Chanukkah) in John 10, He said these words - (v. 27) - "My sheep hear MY voice ... and they follow ME."
Why did He say this at that moment - on the Feast of Dedication? Because the crisis of Hanukkah was not that a Greek army had invaded they land, but rather another "word" (Greek philosophy and religion) was being listened to and followed. Jesus was reminded the Jewish people - the choice still remains are you going to listen to The Word (which was, of course, Himself) ... or are we going to turn our attention and follow some other voice.
There is much more in the Feast of Dedication - Hanukkah - that speaks to us of who Jesus is and why we need Him.
If you would like to have us come and present JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF THE LORD, or JESUS IN HANUKKAH or JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMETN ... we are available for church services, seminars, and Camp and Conference speaking where we can teach on how the Old and New Testaments fit together to point to Jesus.
With 40 years of Jewish Ministry experience, we can also give a report from the front lines of Jewish work!
Interested? Please use our CONTACT US FORM ! THANKS!
