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DID JESUS CELEBRATE
CHRISTMAS OR HANUKKAH?
“Jesus was a Jew … everyone knows that, don’t they?” asks Howard
Jacobson, writing for The Guardian in 2002.1 The answer, as Jacobson
goes on to point out, is not a simple yes or no. Jesus’ parents were
certainly Jewish as they “did everything required by the Law of the
Lord” (Lk. 2:39). His extended family, likewise, were observant (Lk. 1:6).
However, there are many—both Christians and Jews—who actively or
passively reject Jesus’ Jewishness. Many, seemingly without knowing
that they are doing it, use “Christ” as if it were Jesus’ last name instead of
a title actually meaning “Jesus the Messiah.”
So, was Jesus a Jew, and if He was, does it matter? During the winter
holiday season many Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of a
Jewish Messiah who also turned out to be the Savior of the world. They
celebrate the birth of a man whose earthly ministry overwhelmingly
encompassed Jews. His disciples were all Jewish. He observed Jewish
Law and the Feasts (Jn. 2:13; 5:1; 7:2, 10; 10:22; Lk. 22:14-15), and with
His last breath he spoke words from the Hebrew Scriptures.
Most, if not all, of what we know about Jesus is found in the
Gospels, which narrate what happened for theological reasons. The
Gospel writers transmit the “Jesus traditions” they observed with a view
of meeting the spiritual needs of their audience. They are not exhaustive
histories or comprehensive biographies of Jesus. Their purpose was
not to satisfy intellectual curiosity, but rather to disciple the readers
by bringing them selected episodes from the life of Jesus. Thus, the
Gospels teach us today by showing us the theological and existential
implications of the reliable words and deeds of Jesus.2
For example, the use of the Old Testament in the Gospel of
Matthew shows us that the author viewed the ethical standards (Matt.
3:15; 5:17-20), historical patterns (Matt. 2:15, 18) and prophetic oracles
of Israel (Matt. 2:6; 3:3) as filled with ultimate significance through the
1 See: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/09/christianity-judaism
2 For more on this see: Turner, D. L. (©2008). Matthew. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic.