Join us as we delve into the rich history and significance of Hanukkah, a celebration that transcends cultures and unites people under the banner of miracles. Rabbi Schneider and Dustin Roberts embark on an enlightening discussion about how Hanukkah, though rooted in Jewish tradition, holds profound meaning for Christians today. Explore how Jesus himself observed this Festival of Dedication, and learn why spotting the miraculous in everyday life is relevant for believers everywhere.
00:00:01 Introduction to Hanukkah and Its Significance
We read in John 10 that Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication. But what is dedication translated to in Hebrew? Hanukkah. So Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. Shalom, beloved. It’s the season of Hanukkah. Dustin, great to be with you today. We’re going to be talking about Hanukkah, what it means, what the word Hanukkah means, why it’s important for not only Jewish people, but for all of God’s people, whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, for Christians to be able to celebrate what Hanukkah is really about.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. Rabbi, I’m so excited to be here with you today. I didn’t grow up celebrating Hanukkah. I grew up in a traditional Baptist home and it wasn’t something that was a part of my life, but I’m so glad it is today because I know you and I can connect it to Jesus. So I’m super excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, Hanukkah, it’s such a happy time of year. When I think of Hanukkah, I just see in my mind’s eye just a happy face. It’s such a great time for kids growing up. And many people might not realize that the tradition that we practice during Hanukkah in Jewish homes is we give gifts out to our children every day for eight days. And I’m gonna share why eight in a few moments here. But when Jewish people began to celebrate Hanukkah, there was no gift giving. But the reason that Jewish parents in the States started adding gift giving for eight days to their children during Hanukkah is because of course it falls close to Christmas time. And when Jewish kids saw their Gentile neighbors receiving gifts on Christmas, the kids got jealous. The Jewish kids got jealous that they weren’t receiving gifts. So the ingenious Jewish mind said, you know what? We’re not going to let our kids be jealous of the Christians. You know, we’re going to give them gifts for eight days. It’s so exciting, making it an exciting holiday to celebrate. It really was. But let’s talk for a moment about what Hanukkah is about in its original historical context and why it’s important for all God’s people, Jew and Gentile alike, to to be able to not only understand Hanukkah, but to appropriate the spiritual applications for us today. So Hanukkah, really the story of it begins around 168 BC. The Greco-Assyrians invaded Israel. They invaded Judea and they captured the temple and they began to sacrifice to pigs in the sacred Jewish temple. And they were just, they were trying to force Jewish people to Hellenize, to adopt Greek or Greco-Assyrian culture. and to give up all their Jewish practices. And so a group of Greco-Assyrian soldiers went into a town called Modin. And when they got to Modin, there was a Jewish priest there named Mattathias, and Mattathias was surrounded by a bunch of his Jewish countrymen. And the Greco-Assyrian soldiers tried to force Mattathias, the Jewish priest, to sacrifice to a foreign Greek god, to a pagan deity. and Mattathias refused. But one of the Jewish bystanders that was with him, in fear that the Greco-Assyrian soldiers were gonna kill everybody for not participating and sacrificing to a foreign deity, in fear, said, well, I’ll do it. But when Mattathias, the priest, observed his Jewish countrymen getting ready to make a sacrifice to a foreign deity, Mattathias took a sword, he killed his Jewish countrymen, and when Mattathias did that, it ignited such courage and passion in the lives of the rest of the Jews that were there in Modin, that they then rose up, turned on the Greco-Assyrian soldiers, drove them out of Modin, but not only did they drive them out of Modin, they drove them out of more and more territory until they eventually got to Jerusalem in 164, recaptured the temple, cleansed the temple, and then rededicated the temple back to Hashem, back to Father God, back to the God of Israel. And that’s where we get the name Hanukkah from, because Hanukkah means dedication. We read in John 10 that Jesus was in the temple, in Jerusalem, I should say, during the Feast of Dedication. But what is dedication translated to in Hebrew? Hanukkah. So Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration of the miraculous. Miracles. Of miracles. And if you think about it, our whole faith is based on miracles. Jesus rose from the dead, right? Right. Paul said, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then your faith is in vain. Wow. Yeah. But the miracle was that we participate in celebrating on Hanukkah is that when the Jewish people recaptured the temple and then rededicated it back to God, there was only enough oil in the temple for one day. And when they lit the menorah, supernaturally, it burned eight days. Even though the oil should have only burned for one day, it supernaturally burned for eight days.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s amazing. So we’re in this season of miracles. And it’s a really big deal because they took the temple back. And this was a small kind of ragtag group of rebels.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 01 :
And they won and overcame. And there’s some symbols, Rabbi, in Hanukkah that they use during this time that we celebrate with today. What are some of those symbols?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we should say that the menorah, which is the primary symbol of Hanukkah, you know, burning, as we said, for eight days, it’s generally placed in front of a window.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And the reason it’s placed in front of a window is to publicize the miracle. So it’s the publicizing of the miracle of what God did for his people, you know, over 2,000 years ago. And then another real common, there you go, the dreidel right here, this is another real common symbol of Hanukkah. When the Greco-Assyrians were trying to force Jewish people to give up their identification with Judaism, one of the things that they did was forbid Torah study. And so the Jewish people, they would gather together to study the Torah, and they would have somebody looking out the door or the window to make sure that none of the Greco-Assyrian soldiers would come and find them studying Torah. When they saw the Greco-Assyrians coming, they would take out this little toy. We call them dreidels. They begin to spin it on the table. And that way, when the Greco-Assyrians walked in the room where they’d been studying Torah, the Torah, they hid the Torah, and it would look like they were just playing a game with this.
SPEAKER 01 :
Playing a game.
SPEAKER 05 :
smart yeah yeah and then finally we eat a special food called latkes which is a like a a pancake fried in oil and it’s symbolic of hanukkah because of the fact that the oil burned for eight days wow all pointing back to the miracle all pointing back to the miracle you know rabbi
SPEAKER 01 :
some may be watching a lot of Gentile Christians like me, and they’re like, well, this is wonderful holiday for Jewish people. You talked already, Jesus was in the temple during Hanukkah, and now here we are. How do you feel about Gentiles celebrating Hanukkah? Does that make sense?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you know that we had an incredible glory moment some years ago, not too many years ago. I don’t know how many years ago it was that we were in Nigeria celebrating Hanukkah there.
SPEAKER 01 :
Gosh, probably about four to five years ago.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, four or five years ago, we were in Nigeria. Tens of thousands. of native Nigerians gathered together to hear the gospel preached during Hanukkah. And it was such a joy to light the menorah with these Nigerians. Let’s roll that clip.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I’ve got some very special and exciting news for you tonight. Tonight is a Jewish holiday that Jesus celebrated. Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Now, Hanukkah is Hebrew for the English word dedication. The feast of the dedication, Hanukkah, took place in Jerusalem. And Jesus was walking in the temple.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hanukkah is a feast that Jesus celebrated. Jesus celebrated. We’re going to celebrate it.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, Dustin, as our audience is seeing this today, they’re probably curious. I believe many love it, but there’s still probably some fogginess as to, is this really for Christians? Is this really appropriate? When I say Christian, I’m speaking of a Gentile Christian. But I think the way to build that bridge, whether Hanukkah has application for their lives today, I think the way to bridge that gap is to simply read John chapter 10, verse 22 through 30 to help us see how Jesus himself celebrated Hanukkah. Because you know what? I know that you that love the Lord, whether you’re a Jewish Christian or a Gentile Christian, if Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, then that gives you a good reason to celebrate it too. So let’s just look together. Let’s read John 10, verse 22 through 30. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord, Baruch Hashem, abides forever. At that time, the feast of dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple area in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then surrounded him and began saying to him, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you’re 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’re not of my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life 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. Wow, I and the Father are one. That’s powerful, powerful, powerful language there, Dustin. Now that we’ve kind of built a gap, we’ve given a little tease to show all these tens of thousands of Nigerians celebrating Hanukkah, we’ve talked about the fact how Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, I think that’s a reason, Mr. Dustin Roberts, my friend, for you and I, Jew and Gentile, Christian alike, to celebrate Hanukkah together. That’d be great. So Dustin, share with me, I know that we’ve talked in the past, you and I together, and you so embraced a lot of these Jewish holy days and traditional Jewish holidays and incorporated them into your own life and family. Tell me a little bit about how you have incorporated Hanukkah into your life and with your children.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, well, it’s just an exciting time in my life now with my family because it’s something, as I said earlier, it’s not something I grew up celebrating because I always felt like Hanukkah was just for Jewish people. And I think I remember even calling you and another Jewish friend of mine saying, is it OK for us to celebrate? Hanukkah in our home. And I remember you sharing, you know, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah and I appreciate the solidarity. You know, one of the reasons it became important, I realized, is like you were reading in John 10, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. He was in the temple. And it’s become this wonderful time in our home as a Gentile believer in Jesus to be able to share with my children this history lesson of how the Jewish people were delivered And during Hanukkah, they’re celebrating deliverance. And they ask Jesus in John 10, they say, if you’re the Messiah, if you’re the deliverer, would you tell us plainly? They’re hoping He’s gonna deliver them from Rome, But I love being able to tell my children, Jesus is a deliverer and He delivers us from our sins. So being able to bring that in and that history lesson and every single year have something to talk about that isn’t just talked about in our home, but they see menorahs being lit around the world and being able to join with Jewish people and celebrate deliverance and celebrate Jesus as the ultimate deliverer. It’s this wonderful season now. And it’s this extra celebration that I never knew about, but it ties my family into our faith in a greater way. And, you know, there’s one more verse that I love sharing with my children now during this season. That’s John chapter eight. And I’d like to read that. Then Jesus again spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world and the one who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And for me, there’s no greater time than at Hanukkah when we light this menorah, when we celebrate this season of miracles where the menorah in the temple was lit for eight days and burned miraculously. And then here we are with Jesus saying, I’m the light of the world. We know that Jesus is that light that lights up the temple. Now Jesus is the light in our lives that lights up our temple. And I love relating that with my children and helping them understand how we can be a light to the world today because Jesus shines bright inside of us. What a special season of miracles this is to celebrate even as Gentiles, the greatest miracle. Amen.
SPEAKER 05 :
We need to keep proclaiming boldly the Messiahship of Jesus because when they asked him, if you’re the Christ, tell us plainly, he said, I and the Father are one. We need to keep on declaring to the world that the way of hope out of this world right now that’s so broken, it’s so lost, people are so confused. There are so much just, people are struggling. They feel the brokenness, they feel the dissension. And what people need right now more than anything else is hope. And ultimately hope comes from Yeshua, who is the light to the world. I’m the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me. But the thing is, It’s interesting that when Jesus answered that question, when they asked him during Hanukkah, they said to him in the temple, if you’re the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus said, I told you. And you didn’t believe. And then he went on to say, you believe not because you’re not my sheep. He said, I know my sheep, my Father’s given them to me, and no one’s able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. And so what that tells you and me is we need to continue to proclaim the light of the world, recognizing that many people will not believe, but that doesn’t mean that our witness isn’t effective. It doesn’t mean that God’s purpose is not being fulfilled. It doesn’t mean that our message is irrelevant. It just means that God has a chosen people and that he uses you and I, Christians, to proclaim the gospel. And those that are chosen will have ears to hear. God will open their ears to hear it. And you never know when you’re lifting up Jesus as the light of life and the hope of the world, you never know how the Holy Spirit’s gonna come and touch that person that you’re witnessing to, even if they give you no clues that you’re affecting them. You never know how your simple witness
SPEAKER 01 :
may have changed somebody’s life. That’s totally right. What do you think about the fact, is this a time where Christians can talk about Jesus celebrating Hanukkah to tell Jewish people about Jesus?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely, and I think it’s a great way because so many Jewish people, they don’t think of Jesus as someone that’s Jewish. I mean, they might know intellectually, yeah, I heard somewhere that Jesus was Jewish, but most Jewish people look at Jesus as a very non-Jewish thing. So to be able to share with a Jewish person, did you know that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah in John chapter 10? In fact, the only place that Hanukkah is mentioned in the entire Bible is in John chapter 10. Hanukkah is not mentioned in what we call the Old Testament. Jewish people call it the Tanakh. Hanukkah is not recorded in the Tanakh because it happened in what’s called an intertestamental period. The Old Testament books were finished. And so there was a period between the end of the writing of the Old Testament and the beginning of the writing of the New Testament. And it was during this intertestamental period that the temple was recaptured and rededicated back to God. That’s why it’s not recorded in the Old Testament, but it’s recorded in the New Testament.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. Amen. One of the things that I love about Hanukkah that happens that you were reading in John 10, you said that they were looking for a sign. and they wanted to know he was the Messiah. Well, and he says, I’m not gonna give you a sign. And then he goes and he’s in Bethany and he does the largest sign of his whole ministry there in front of people who believed in him. He raises Lazarus from the dead and he doesn’t even go back to Jerusalem until the time of His crucifixion at Passover. And He’s back in Jerusalem and it just shows Jesus, the last time He was there, they drove Him out. He’s like, no, I’m not doing a sign for you right here. He goes, He does a sign in front of people that believe and He doesn’t come back until it’s time for His crucifixion. And this just shows how big of a deal Hanukkah is.
SPEAKER 05 :
It really does. And one of the things I love in closing, Dustin, is right before he raised Lazarus from the dead, as you just referred to, he lifted up his heart to the Father and he said, Father, I thank you that you hear me. Before raising Lazarus, right before, he said, Father, I thank you that you hear me. He said, I know that you hear me always, but I’m saying this. He was speaking out loud. He said that the people around me might know that you hear me. Then he said, Lazarus, come forth. But I love the fact that Yeshua had such intimate communion with the Father that he knew he didn’t even have to pray out loud. He walked in that supernatural consciousness of fellowship with the Father. So my beloved friends, Dustin and I speak over you during this Hanukkah season. A supernatural breakthrough in your life. that you would become more aware of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in your life, the supernatural presence of God’s Holy Spirit in your life, more so than ever before. And during this season of miracles, of breakthrough, of light, of dedication, may you experience a rebirth, not the original rebirth when you were born again, but a rebirth of passion for God that will set your heart ablaze and on fire for this next leg of the mountain that the Lord has you on right now. God bless you, Chag Sameach, happy holiday to you during this Hanukkah season, Jew and Gentile alike, worshiping Yeshua together during Hanukkah. I’m just thinking about the Maccabees, the Jewish resistance army that rose up and was able to recapture the temple, which eventually was rededicated back to God, which I’ve already covered in my show. That’s where Hanukkah comes from. But what’s really in my spirit right now, beloved one, is the fact that these Jews had such a spirit of resistance to assimilation. There was something so strong in them, they said, we’re Jews. And we’re not going to compromise our identity or our covenant with God, no matter what happens on the outside. They were even willing to risk their lives for this. And I wish that same spirit, beloved, of resistance was in every believer and disciple of Jesus today, that we refuse to compromise with the world. and that we’re fully dedicated to God. As you know, this is what Hanukkah means. It means dedication because we rededicated the temple back to the Lord during this season. So I pray that God will strengthen you and I during this season to truly lead lives that are not compromised, lives that are not assimilated into the culture around us, and that we would be burning lights to Him. One of the ways that we do this is by sharing the good news of the gospel. Your financial support, beloved ones, allows Discovering the Jewish Jesus to proclaim the light of God all over the world. Would you continue to help us to do it? Because of your financial support, I kid you not, tens of thousands of lives every single week are being blessed and saved. Thank you for your support. Just open your heart now and do what you feel the Holy Spirit’s leading you to do.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. And as the Lord leads you to support Discovering the Jewish Jesus today, would you give a special Hanukkah offering? Go online to discoveringthejewishjesus.com. You can also send a financial donation of any amount in the mail to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, You know, Hanukkah began yesterday at sunset and it’ll continue through Monday, December the 22nd at nightfall with Jewish communities all around the world celebrating the Festival of Dedication. So this is a perfect opportunity to show love to the Jewish people in your life and to pray for Israel. And when you partner with Discovering the Jewish Jesus, You’re helping us reach Jewish people with the message of their Messiah, our Messiah. And your support, it makes it possible for rabbis’ messages to be heard in Israel and in Jewish communities worldwide. As our way of saying thank you for your gift, we want to send you our latest newsletter, along with Rabbi’s monthly teaching booklet, which is full of insights that will help you grow in your faith. If you’d like to support this ministry, go online to our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now let’s close with God’s special and sacred blessing.
SPEAKER 05 :
The words from the Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, verses 22 through 27, helps us to realize how good God is to you and I personally. So receive his blessing into your life, and then beloved one, go bless somebody else in Jesus’ name today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Shalom.
SPEAKER 05 :
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us again next time when Rabbi Schneider reveals the secret to overcoming darkness. That’s coming up Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
