Jesus & the Law – on celebrating Hanukkah … (11/24/18)
Though there is only one brief mention of Hanukkah in the Gospels, it is worth examining the little that Jesus did & said during the same. While not a holy festival proscribed by the Old Testament, Hanukkah was still an important celebration in Jesus’ day – a celebration that commemorated the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple (and the relighting of the sacred altar fire therein – see 1 Maccabees 5:59) after the successful Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucidian Empire (as recorded in 1 Maccabees 4:36-58, 2 Maccabees 1:18-34, & 2 Maccabees 10:1-8)1 … Fittingly, Jesus – a prophet who was striving to facilitate a rededication of the Law – is seen radically teaching at this festival (see his words & deeds at “the Festival of Dedication” in John 10:22-39) right after having publicly proclaimed himself to be a spiritual “shepherd” of the Jewish people (much like the imminently awaited Davidian Messiah, as written of in Ezekiel 34 – see John 10:1-18). Of course, Jesus had already made it repeatedly clear during his ministry that he was not going to fulfill that particular prophecy (see John 5:41, John 6:15, John 7:16, John 8:50-54 – along with Matthew 22:41-45, Mark 12:35-37, & Luke 20:41-44) but was instead offering access to a very different heavenly “Kingdom” (see Matthew 10:7 & Luke 17:20-21 et al) by acting as an emissary of his heavenly Father; a God of humble Love & selfless Peace (see John 13:15-17 & John 15:1-5 – along with Matthew 5:9, Matthew 5:48, & Matthew 18:3-4 et al).
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Indeed, this is why he answered with a cryptic negative2 when pressed as to his potentially messianic identity (see John 10:24 – where he was directly asked: “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly,” and John 10:25-30 – where he affirmed that he was a representative of the Divine that resides within all humans, not that he was the sole saving Messiah, saying: “I have told you, and yet you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name [which was unconditionally perfect, selfless Love] testify to me; and yet you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice … and they follow me [i.e. they emulate his teachings – see Matthew 7:21, Matthew 16:28, & Matthew 24:12-14 et al] … The Father and I are one.”) … While it is true that the Jews, as was so often the case, completely misinterpreted his words and thus wanted to stone him for the same (see John 10:31), Jesus went on to clarify once more that he was not claiming to be the sole Son of God, nor the coming of the longed-for Messiah – but was merely a man showing them The Way of salvation; a Way founded upon an active fulfillment of the Law3 via deeds of humble Love & selfless service (“I have shown you many good works from the Father” ~ John 10:32); a Way that they all could walk if they would simply choose to let go of their pious arrogance regarding their self-cherished religious status – a more sanctified4 state of being that they could all enliven if they would simply humble themselves and act accordingly.
“Is it not written in your Law: ‘I said, you are gods’? So since those to whom the Word of God came were called ‘gods’ – and since the Scriptures cannot be annulled – how can you say that one who the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming simply because he correctly says, ‘I am God’s Son’? Indeed, if I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. And yet since I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you might thereby know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father – and that you are in me and I, in you.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 10:34-38 + John 14:20b)
“I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me shall not remain in darkness. In truth, I do not judge anyone who hears my words but does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to offer it a path to salvation … The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, then your entire body will be full of light. And yet if your eye is unhealthy, then your whole body will be full of darkness … And so it is that I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Indeed, just as I have Loved you, so shall you show Love for one another … Very truly, the one who believes in me will do the works I have done, and in fact will do even greater works than those.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 12:46-47, Matthew 6:22, John 13:34, & John 14:12)
“The gospel of Christ becomes meaningless and the life of Jesus becomes hypocritical unless we choose to believe that he lived, shared, and died with but one purpose in mind: namely, to inspire us to make a brand-new creation – not to admonish people towards better morals or honor a religion of a better salvation, but rather to co-create a community filled with prophets and professional lovers; men and women who willingly surrender to the mystery of the Fire of the Spirit on a daily basis; willingly surrender to the Flame of the Soul demanding us to live in full fidelity to the perfect Love of his heavenly Father; men and women who choose to enter into the very center of it all, into the very heart and ultimate mystery of Christ’s life of joyous self-sacrifice; into the glowing center of the spiritual conflagration that simultaneously consumes, purifies, and sets aglow every interaction with bold gentleness, soothing peace, courageous kindness, and reckless Love.” ~ inspired by Brennan Manning
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1 While not a part of the traditionally accepted Palestinian biblical canon, 1 Maccabees & 2 Maccabees are included in the Alexandrian Canon – known by many as the Septuagint (often abbreviated in scholarly literature as LXX).
2 NOTE that Roman intelligence (then headquartered just to the northwest of the Temple) was well aware of the then popular Psalm of Solomon; the text of which foresaw the imminent arrival of a Davidian ruler who would overthrow the Roman occupiers and re-establish a Jewish reign over the region (see Psalm of Solomon 17). As such, it was doubly incumbent upon Jesus to be indirect in all his utterances related to his potential messianic status. On the one hand, directly answering “No” would have dismantled much of the interest in the selfless message of his ministry that he had been cultivating up to that point. On the other hand, directly – and incorrectly – answering “Yes” would have led to his immediate arrest by the Romans for insurrection; an arrest that would have dismantled the intricate plans he had already begun making for his upcoming Passover crucifixion. As such, he proclaims not that he is the Messiah, but rather that “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) – a claim directly reflective of the one made by Antiochus IV; the claim that ultimately led to the Maccabean Revolt, which inspired the celebration of very Hanukkah festival at which said claim was being made.
3 Remember that this entire work is based upon Jesus bold claim in Matthew 5:17-18 that he had come to “fulfill” the Law – a term translated from the Greek plerosai (Strong’s #4137); a term which meant “to hone” or “to perfect” or “to complete” or “to enliven”, not “to support” or “to affirm” or “to blindly uphold.”
4 The use of the word “sanctified” here is certainly purposeful, and certainly supportive of the claims made on this page – seeing as how the Hebrew equivalent for the Greek word here used for the same (hegiasen, Strong’s #37) also means “to dedicate” (see qadash, Strong’s #6942 in Exodus 2:3, Exodus 13:2, Exodus 19:10, Exodus 20:8, & Exodus 29:33) – which was the very essence & fundamental purpose of the Hanukkah commemoration!
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