To the Jew First | 13
understood that the gospel and Hanukkah were intertwined. It
was really the gospel according to Hanukkah.
One of the greatest statements Jesus ever made about
Himself was during the feast of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a post-
Old Testament holiday that developed during the centuries
immediately prior to Jesus’ birth. I believe that Hanukkah is all
about the gospel.
At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at
Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple
in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around
Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in
suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered
them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in
My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe
because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them,
and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of
My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
(John 10:22-29)
The above statement is simply incredible! To think that the
Messiah said this during the great festival of Hanukkah (the Feast
of Dedication) is astounding to me, having grown up in a Jewish
home. But Yeshua did not stop there. He continued to infuse new
meaning to the Feast of Dedication and redemption by showing
the link between Himself and the Father.
The Apostle John records Jesus saying, “I and the Father are one”
(John 10:30). Believe me, the Jewish people of the day knew exactly
what he was saying and His statement was not well received!
Look at what happens next: “The Jews picked up stones again
to stone Him” (John 10:31). The idea that a man would claim to
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