The Chosen People | DECEMBER 2019 3
This is a great time of the year to show your gratitude to God and
to the Jewish people by giving an end-of-year gift to Chosen People
Ministries that will be used to reach Jewish people for Jesus!
And then there are the wonderful and delicious traditional
holiday foods! Jewish people eat potato pancakes (latkes) and
jelly donuts (sufganiyot). These are all cooked in oil and eaten to
remind us that God enabled a day’s worth of oil to miraculously
last for eight days. Christmas, depending on where you come
from, is replete with wonderful and different types of food as
well. From Christmas cookies to Norwegian pinnekjøtt (lamb or
mutton rib) to delicious Italian panettone, the holiday foods are
an essential part of our celebration.
What I like best about both Hanukkah and Christmas, though,
is the focus on family. It is one of the reasons why this holiday
season can be so sad for those who have lost loved ones or do
not have a family, either physical or spiritual. Enjoying the holiday
with family, whether relatives or “congregational family,” is
truly beautiful. I pray that, if you have lost a loved one recently,
God will give you a full measure of His grace and joy during this
season of the year.
A Messianic Jewish Perspective
As a Messianic Jew, I am always looking for deeper links between
the festivals and believe there is an absolutely amazing
parallel that I want to share with you.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 10, we
see that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah,
also called the Feast of Dedication.
(The Hebrew word Hanukkah literally
means “dedication.”) The festival also
served as a platform for Jesus to make
one of His most profound statements
about His person and ministry
recorded in the New Testament.
It is this one statement that I believe
brings Hanukkah and Christmas
together in the most dramatic and
profound way.
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. I
and the Father are one” (John 10:22–30).
When asked if He was the Messiah, Jesus did not give a simple
yes or no. Rather, He revealed His true nature to the Jewish
leaders and declared that He and His Father were one. This
declaration affirms the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah who
predicted that, one day, God would take on human flesh, dwell
among us, and reveal the character of our heavenly Father in the
most tangible of ways.
Isaiah wrote, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call
His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
It is only fitting that Jesus made this declaration on the Feast
of Dedication, which reminds us of the great miracle of the
Incarnation and revelation of God’s glory and light. This
parallels the symbolism found in the menorah in the Temple
as God Himself is the true light that illuminates our hearts and
souls. As Jesus said earlier in John’s Gospel, “I am the Light of
the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but
will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).
The real link between Hanukkah and Christmas is Jesus Himself.
He is God in the flesh; the light of the world who dispels
our personal darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His
Son. As Isaiah predicted and Jesus fulfilled,
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in
anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali with
contempt, but later on He shall
make it glorious, by the way of the
sea, on the other side of Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles. The people
who walk in darkness will see a
great light; those who live in a dark
land, the light will shine on them”
(Isaiah 9:1–2).
And Paul adds,
“For He rescued us from the
domain of darkness, and
transferred us to the kingdom of His
beloved Son…” (Colossians 1:13).
I hope you have great joy in this
marvelous deliverance! I also pray
you have a wonderful season of joy
and that the light of your personal
testimony of God’s grace and victory
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will shine brightly among Jews and Gentiles during this special
season of the year!
Your brother in the Light of the World,
Mitch
P.S. We are now beginning our 126th year as a ministry among
the Jewish people. Thank you for your faithful prayers and
support. We are excited about 2020. Stick with us!