Hanukkah ... in the Gospels?!

Hanukkah ... in the Gospels?!  During Christmas and Hanukkah season, the Israeli-owned kiosks in NJ and PA's indoor malls are selling aromatic pillows and wraps, and creams and lotions from the Dead Sea. As you walk through the malls to do holiday shopping, young Israeli men and women won't wait until you stop to look; you! Israelis tend to be very aggressive salespeople, and for a prepared evangelist who comes at the right time, this presents a special advantage. At Quakerbridge Mall in Lawrence Township, NJ, I spoke to to two Israeli young women: "J" and "E". (Can't give their real names.) "J" wasn't receptive, but thanked me for being honest with her about what I was trying to do. She was familiar with other evangelists to the Jews, and knew that many of them are less than forthright about what's they're up to. I prefer to tell my prospects "up front" who I am and why I'm trying to talk to them. "J" knew about the messianic passage of Isaiah chapter 53 (Israelis call Isaiah by his Hebrew name "Yeshayahu"), and she had read gospel literature in Israel before, but though very nice and cordial, she wasn't open. However, the other woman, "E", was open. She showed genuine interest in the gospel (which I explained to her in detail). I shared all of Isaiah 53, gave her a Hebrew-language gospel tract, and the book More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell (Hebrew language version). We even discussed the Christmas-Hanukkah connection. "E" told me an Israel family member told her Hanukkah is mentioned in the New Testament. "E" and I spoke on a broad range of topics. (Please pray for her!) Her background is Reform Jewish, and seemed genuinely interested in reading what I gave her, promising she'd read it all. Most Jews, and even Christians, have no idea that Hanukkah's only mentioned in the New Testament. What connection are readers supposed to make from this? Why are we even told by John, for example, that on this particular day Jesus was walking in the Temple and being questioned by his countrymen: "And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the Temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, 'How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.' " (John 10:22 ff) For Jewish people, connection with the past has great significance. A First Century Jew would've seen the connection right away, because on Hanukkah he would've remembered Judah Maccabee and how Judah and his band of brothers put to flight the armies of the whole Seleucid Empire and their tyrant king Antiochus IV, fighting for freedom and winning against insurmountable odds. Why do the Jews always find themselves fighting against impossible odds ... and winning? Because God is keeping them alive as a people for His special purposes. Judah Maccabee was seen as a "messiah" of sorts, and a national savior of his day, and the Jews of Christ's day were questioning Jesus about whether he was the kind of "Judah Maccabee" who'd rescue them from the corrupt rule of Herod and the oppression of the Romans. The Maccabees gave Israel back its freedom and Judah indeed cleansed the Temple and gave the people back their dignity. But all this was temporary. Judah Maccabee was a temporary savior. But the prophet Isaiah ("Yeshayahu" to the Jews) spoke of a coming permanent Savior in his 53rd chapter. Isaiah is part of the canon of Hebrew Scripture but is never read in the synagogues. Yeshayahu said the Messiah and Savior would be disbelieved in (verse 1), despised and rejected of men (verse 3), would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (verse 3), yet wounded for the transgressions of his people (verse 5), and suffer a substitutionary punishment for the guilty (verse 6), be led to the slaughter as a lamb is led to be sacrificed (verse 7), that his life would be offered as an offering for sin (verse 10), that he would justify (i.e. "pronounce as righteous") many, and make intercession for the guilty (verse 12). Ask your Jewish friend this holiday season who this description sounds like, when you wish them "Happy Hanukkah"! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Live Internet Talk-Radio at www.scripturesdramatized.com
Thursday Dec. 4th, 9:30 EST
Our topic: "Hanukkah ... in the Gospels?"

So what's your verdict? Is it just a happy accident that Christmas is always on December 25th, and Hanukkah is always on the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev? Or why is it that the only biblical mention of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday, is in the Christian Bible: Gospel of John 10:22? Or why is it that that most popular Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" was written by a Jewish believer in Jesus, Felix Mendelssohn, grandson of the famous Rabbi Moses Mendelssohn. Why did Felix become Christian? Cultural pressure? Economic advantage? Or was it something else? Tonight, let's talk about it. Your host, Rev. Rick Anderson on "Jewish Roots" each Thursday 9:30 pm, EST, live internet radio. To call with a question or comment: 347-324-5759.     Images and external objects in this message are being displayed. What's this?
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