16 | To the Jew First
The Maccabees rededicated the Temple and re-established
sacrifice and worship in this holy place chosen by God through
David and built by his son Solomon.
Many people try and find the links between Hanukkah and
Christmas. Not an easy task! In actuality there are few links!
Sorry, but it is true. The general viewpoint is that Hanukkah
belongs to the Jews and Christmas to the Gentiles. The Jewish
people light candles on menorahs and Gentiles plug in lights
and hang ornaments on trees! In my mind, the only link between
the holidays was that each called for the sharing of presents.
And Hanukkah had Christmas beat because Jewish people
received presents every night for eight nights! From my childlike
perspective, Hanukkah was far superior.
In fact, the sharp differences between Hanukkah and Christmas were
symbols of the impassable chasm between Judaism and Christianity.
As a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, I do see a few parallels;
one of which is very significant as there would be no Christmas
without Hanukkah. The Feast of Dedication is when we as
Jews celebrate the fact that we were delivered, or saved, from
extinction. This was Antiochus’ goal: He tried to destroy the
Jewish people and eradicate the uniqueness of our identity.
He failed, and the Jewish people – our culture, hopes, dreams, and
faith – were not destroyed. If we had been, then what would have
happened to Mary and Joseph? Would they have known that they
were Jewish? Would they have married one another? If the Jewish
people and Jewish identity had been destroyed then there would
have not been any Jewish people and no Jewish family to receive
the Messiah!
God used the Maccabees to destroy the Syrian Greeks to prepare
the way for the birth of the Jewish Messiah. Without Hanukkah
there would be no Christmas. I am not referring to the traditional
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