22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ~ John 10:22-23
During the Christmas season, another Jewish holiday takes place as well, Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration or remembrance of the rededication of the Temple and the miracle that took place. See, the Greeks, specifically the Seleucid Empire, looted the Temple, massacred the Jews, and put a stop to Jewish religious practices. They didn’t stop there; the king of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV, ordered a statue of Zeus and an altar to Zeus to be erected in the Temple. He defiled the Temple of the LORD, not just with an altar to Zeus being built in the Temple of the LORD, but he had pigs sacrificed to Zeus on the altar he had built.
An unclean animal sacrificed to a pagan god on a pagan altar in the Holy Temple. Antiochus IV had successfully defiled the Temple of the LORD. The statue of Zeus, the altar of Zeus, and the unclean sacrifice to Zeus stirred the anger and increased the courage of the Jews. A man named Matthias, along with his five sons, launched a revolt. Though he didn’t see his efforts rewarded in his lifetime, his son, Judah (later known as Judah Maccabee), took over as leader and led them to victory. They reclaimed Jerusalem and the Temple of the LORD.
Now, they had to purify and rededicate the Temple of the LORD that had been defiled by the Greeks. They had to light the lamp (the Menorah) in the Temple with pure oil, but they could only find one sealed jar of consecrated pure olive oil, enough for one night. They, just being in battle, were unclean and couldn’t make more, and it would take seven days to purify them selves. So, in faith, they lit the lamp in the Temple and thereby rededicated the Temple to the LORD. The miracle that happened?
Instead of the oil lasting one night, the oil lasted for eight nights, allowing the men to purify themselves to make more oil in order to keep the statute of the LORD given to Moses so many years before.
Almost 200 years later, Jesus is walking in the Temple (in the colonnades of Solomon) during Hanukkah, and the Jews come up to Him and ask Him out right, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus holds nothing back and tells them that “I told you, and you do not believe.” It’s in this same conversation that Jesus publicly declares to be one with the Father (John 10:30).
It’s during the Feast of Dedication that remembers Judah Maccabee rededicating the Temple to the LORD that Jesus publicly declared to be the Christ and to be one with the Father. Judah Maccabee rededicated the physical Temple to the LORD, but Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, came to rededicate us, the spiritual eternal temple of the LORD.
This Christmas season and eight nights of Hanukkah, ask yourself, am I dedicated to the LORD? Have I allowed anything to defile me? Have I allowed anything to stifle the light in my lamp? Has the love you had at first grown cold, and your lampstand at risk of being taken from you (Revelation 2:4-5)? Christmas, Hanukkah, this season is a time of rededication, purification, and returning to the LORD. Don’t let the year end without relighting your lampstand.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace The Time of Rededication.