Hanukkah...Jesus:theLightoftheWorld…John10:22

WhenIthinkofHanukkah,Ithinkofathriller–it’sthekindoftalethat

leavesyoubreathless;ithaseverythingwovenintoit–thebottomline

is,theunderdogstandsuptoabigbullyandteacheshimalesson;thisis

sittingontheedgeofyourseatstuff–it’sarealpageturner.Someone

calledit,aneight-daypartyinpraiseofGod.

Andthat’sgood...foritshinesthespotlightwhereitshouldbe–it

focusesourattentionontheGodofourfathers,theGodofAbraham,

Isaac,andJacob.HereistheawesomeGod,theGodoftheCovenant,

theGodwhokeepsallhispromises–thisunforgettableincidenttellsme

onemoretimethatGod’sreputationisuntarnished.

It’sacelebration...sureitis!Nowondertheysing:OHanukkah,O

Hanukkah/afestivalofjoy/aholiday,ajollyday/foreverygirland

boy.Spinthewhirlingdreydls/allweeklong/eatthesizzlinglatkes/

singahappysong!Theplainfactis,yes,thereissomethingtoget

excitedabout,somethingtocelebrate.It’sthekindofthingYeshuadid

whenhewasgrowingup!Iwonderhowhefeltasthecandleswerelit?

Iwantustolookatthisfestivaloflightsfroma

differentangle–youwillknowthatthereareeight

candlesonthehanukkiah,plustheshamash,the

servantcandle–that’sninelightsintotal.Comewith

me,then,let’sseewhatwecanlearnfromthis

amazingfestivalintheJewishcalendar...hereare

seventhingsyou’vealwayswantedtoknowabout

Hanukkah:

1. Hanukkahspeaksofdarkdaysinthepast!

Letmegiveyouaweebitofhistory...itallhappened

awayback,over160yearsbeforethebirthofYeshua.

ThebigbullywasnoneotherthanAntiochusIV–he’s

oftencalledAntiochusEpiphanes;thisthughadabig

head,hesawhimselfasGod–hencethename!That

said,otherslabelledhimAntiochusEpimanes,the

madman!Hewasaviciousandbrutaldespot,anevil

man–hewascruel,harsh,andsavage.

Basically,hewantedtoruletheworld,hewantedto

runtheentireshow–itdidn’tallgoaccordingtoplan!

HemethismatchwhenhetriedtoconquerEgypt,for

Romewasonestepaheadofhim,andhefailed.He

headedbacknorthtoSyriawithhistailbetweenhis

legs.Onhisway,hestoppedinJerusalemandvented

hisfuryontheJewishpeople.

Houseswereburned,theancientwallswere

breached,peoplewerebrutalised,thetemplewas

ransacked–toaddfueltothefire,heerectedanidol

ofZeusontheholyaltar.Thenheofferedapigonthe

altar–hewasgoingfrombadtoworse;thiswasthe

abominationofdesolation–hesprinkleditsbloodin

theHolyofHoliesandpoureditsbrothovertheholy

scrolls!

Itwashorrendous–unthinkable.Imaginetheshock

andthetraumaoftheJewishpeopleinthatday!That

said,allthathappenedbackthenwasprophesiedby

Danielinchapter8ofhisbook,youreadverses1-12

andseehowitallfitstogether.Again,it’saclassic

caseofthesovereigntyofGodintheaffairsofman.

2. Hanukkahspeaksofpeoplewhomadea

difference!

Wewonder,canonepersonmakeadifference?In

thepurposesofGod,theycertainlycan.Inthe

providenceofGod,sometimesthatisallittakes!

IthinkbacktoAbraham–heobeyedGodandanew

raceofpeoplewasborn;Josephmettheneedsofhis

ownpeopleinatimeofseverefamine;Mosesledtwo

millionplusIsraelitesacrosstheRedSeatofreedom;

JoshuaconqueredahostilecountryandGideonraised

anunlikelyarmy...andsowecouldgoon!Oneman

canmakeaginormousdifference!Ireckonyoucan

influenceyourworldforYeshua,youcanimpactyour

generationforYeshua!

Andthat’swhathappenedbackinthebadol’daysof

Antiochus...peoplewerefilledwithterror,theywere

hunteddownlikeanimals,manypaidthesupreme

sacrificeandlaiddowntheirlives.Thereisthemost

movingstoryofthe90-year-oldscribeEleazer;there

isanotherstorythatspeaksofthephenomenal

courageofawomannamedHannahandherseven

sons.ItseemstomethewriterinHebrews11:38had

folkslikethisinmindwhenheconcludes:‘theworld

wasnotworthyofthem.’

Thentherewasagreyhairedman–anoldpriestfrom

thevillageofModin,bythenameofMattathias.He

hadfivesons.Herefusedtotoethepartylinewhen

theytoldhimtoofferapig–heduginhisheelsand

slewtheSyrianofficer.Thenhekilledtheapostate

Jewishpriest...hisfiveboysralliedroundandthey

finishedoffalltherest.That’showtherevoltbegan!

Again,itproveswhatonemanwithsteelyconviction

canachieveandaccomplish.

Weneedmenlikethattoday–menofgritand

gumption,menwhostandupforwhatisrightand

whodon’tflinchwhenfacedwithamegachallenge.

WereadaboutthesebravefolksinDaniel11:32

whereitdeclaresthat‘thepeoplewhoknowtheir

Godwillfirmlyresist[theoppressor],theyshallbe

strongandcarryoutgreatexploits.’

3. Hanukkahspeaksoftheneedforcleansing.

Whentheoldmaneventuallydied,hissonJudahled

fromthefront–JudahtheMaccabee–thatreferred

tothehammer-likeblowshedealttheenemy!As

theysay,hehammeredthemdayafterday.Basically,

theywereguerrillafighters–butafterthreeyears

theydefeatedtheauldenemy.

WhentheseguyswalkedintoJerusalemtheycouldn’t

believetheireyes–theweedsinthetemple

courtyardwerewaisthigh,thegatesofthetemple

wereburned,andtheidolwasstillstanding.Thefirst

thingtheydidwascleansethesanctuary–thatwhich

defiledithadtoberemoved.Thealtarwaspolluted

sotheypulleddownallthestonesandsetthemtothe

side.Thentheyrebuilttheholyaltarand,threeyears

totheday,Kislev25,164BC,theyrededicatedthe

altartotheLord.

Thatwastruethen...it’snolesstruetoday.Allour

liveshavebeentarnishedbysin;ourbodiesarejust

likethattempleandweareguiltyofallkindsofsin

beforeaholyGod;wehavefallenshortofGod’shigh

standard;wehavemessedupwhenitcomesto

keepinghislaw;wehavebuiltourownidolsofone

thingandanother–theonlywayfortheslatetobe

wipedcleanisforcleansingtotakeplace.

Weneedaninternalrevolution–weneedYeshuato

setusfreefromtheshacklesofsin,toliberateusfrom

theoppressivegripofsin.Weneedhimtoblotout

ourpastandgiveusafreshstart.Onlyhecandoit!

Onlyhispreciousbloodcancleanseus–thereisno

otherwayandthereisnoothernameunderheaven

wherebywemightbereconciledtoGod.

4. HanukkahspeaksofGod’samazing

provision.

Thisisbeautiful...wereadintheTalmudthatthe

Maccabeesfoundonlyonesmallcruseofoilinthe

temple–asmalljarofconsecratedoilthatwasused

fortheperpetuallightwhichalwaysshoneinthe

temple.

Again,thisunderlinesthefaithfulnessofGod–ittells

methatourGodisaGodofmiracles.Guesswhat?It

shouldonlyhavelastedforoneday,buttheoilkept

onburning,andburning,andburning–anditlasted

forafulleightdays!Thatspeaksvolumes–it’san

eloquenttributetotheabilityofGod.HereisaGod

whosaveshispeople,aGodwhodeliversand

rescues!That’swhatredemptionisallabout!

ThatexplainswhyHanukkahisheldforeightdaysand

whyonecandleisliteachday–dayone,lightone;

daytwo,lightanother,andsoon,untildayeight!

TheyburnbrightlyinJewishhomesallovertheworld

–theysendoutasignalthatGodmeetstheneedsof

hispeopleinmiraculousways.Itseemstomethat

littleismuchwhenGodisinit!

He’salwaysdonethat–asfarbackasAbrahamand

Isaac,rightthroughtothegivingofYeshuaonacross

atCalvary.HeisJehovahJireh...theGodwhoison

time,theGodwhoisenough,theGodwhodoeswhat

nooneelseisabletodo!Thisishisspeciality–and,

praiseHim,eventoday,hecanmeetthedeepest

needinyourheartandlife!

5. Hanukkahspeaksofdedication.

WesussthatfromtheNewTestamentandthegospel

ofJohn.Wereadin10:22thesewords:‘Thencame

theFeastofDedicationatJerusalem.Itwaswinter,

andYeshuawasinthetempleareawalkingin

Solomon’sColonnade.’TheFeastofDedicationisthe

sameasHanukkah!

Wehavealreadyseensomethingoftheincredible

dedicationoftheMaccabees;wehavebeenthrilled

andhumbledwhenwereflectedonthededicationof

GodtoIsrael–hehasnotforgottenher,hehasnever

failedher,hehasnotwrittenheroutofhislong-term

agenda;wehavecaughtaglimpseoftheawesome

dedicationofYeshua...oneperfectmanwillingto

givehislifeforsinnerslikeyouandme,oneman

willingtodieinourplace–thatsurelyputstheonus

onustorisetothechallengeandbetotallysoldout

tohim.

Heexpectsnothinglessthantotaldedicationfromhis

followers–hedeservesnothinglessthan100%from

youandme.AsHanukkahapproaches,areyouandI

willingtostandupandbecounted?Arewewillingto

repentofoursinandturnbacktoGod?Saysoneof

old,Lovesoamazing,sodivine,demandsmysoul,my

life,myall!

6. Hanukkahspeaksoflightsshininginadark

world.

There’snodoubtinmymindthatHanukkahisoneof

theshiningmomentsinIsrael’slonghistory.Yes,the

childrenwillplaywiththeirdreydls,theywillplay

differentgames,theywillsinganddance,theywilleat

theirlatkesandtheirdoughnuts!It’safuntime...

andrightlyso!

Thedarknighthaspassedinonesense;thatsaid,

therearestormcloudsonthehorizon;but,during

Hanukkah,thelightswillbeshiningbrightinthe

windowsofmanyJewishhomes!

Here’sthechallengeweface–RabbiPaulremindsus

inPhilippiansthatwearetoshinelikelightsinaninky

blackworld.WearetoglowforGod,toburnforGod,

andsomuchmorewhenthedarknessisdeepeningall

aroundus.

Weknowthatfromwhat’shappeningonaglobal

scale,weseealarmingtrendsallaroundtheworld–

manisonadownwardslope,he’sonaspiralandin

realdangerofspinningoutofcontrol.Thesignsare

allpointinginonedirection–thecomingagainof

Yeshuaisgettingclosereverypassingday.That

means,wearetoshinebrightlyforYeshua...weare

lights,heistheLightoftheWorld!

7. HanukkahspeaksofYeshuatheServant.

HeistheLightoftheWorld,hesaidithimselfinJohn

8:12...HeistheLightofeternityforhe’sbeenaround

evenbeforeDayOne–GodislightandYeshuaisno

different;heistheLightofheavenitselfforover

there,saysJohn,theLambisthelightthereof!

Evenatthistimeofyear,Yeshuaissetbeforeusasa

lighttothenations...toapeoplewalkingindarkness,

thelighthasappeared!Tothedarknessofsorrow,he

isthelightofjoy;tothedarknessofdeath,heisthe

lightoflife.

Yousee,eachoftheeightlightsmustbelitfromthe

Shamash,theservantcandle.Themessageisobvious,

isitnot!He’stheonlyOnewhocanlightupourlives;

he’stheonlyOnewhocanbringusoutofthe

darknessofsinintohismarvellouslight.Ifwewill

accepthim,hislightwillburnbrightlyinus–wewill

bebeaconsofhisloveandpowerandpeaceinthis

troubledworld.

Myfriend,allthatweareweowetoYeshua!The

takehomemessageofHanukkahisthis:it’snotabout

me,it’sallabouthim:YeshuaistheLightofthe

World.