Providence, Proximity, and Proclamation
Christmas and Hanukkah have a unique relationship among religious holidays. They are alike in some ways, different in others, and yet there are several profound threads of commonality that point to the ultimate reason for the season – our Messiah and Lord Jesus!
While we as Christians understand the celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25th, did you know that Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday that also begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which is the ninth month on the Jewish calendar – counting from Nisan, the first month?
Here’s a simple summary about Hanukkah. From a historical perspective, from 175 BC-168 BC, the Jewish people in Judea were being persecuted by the Syrian/Greek Emperor Antiochus IV, as Antiochus controlled the Holy Land.
On the 25th of Jewish month of Kislev in 168 BC, Antiochus sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar to “desecrate the Temple,” erected a huge statue of himself there, and commanded the Jewish people to worship him as God. He called himself “Ephiphanes,” meaning manifest god. The Jewish people responded by calling him “Epimanes,” meaning mad man! Mattathias Maccabee led a Jewish revolt in resistance to Antiochus.
On the 25th of Kislev, exactly three years after the desecration of the Temple, in 165 BC, Judah Maccabee, the third son of Mattathias, along with 3,000 freedom fighters, called the “Maccabees,” defeated Antiochuses’ army of 47,000 soldiers, and retook Jerusalem. And on the 25th of Kislev, 165 BC, as the Jewish people celebrated their victory, the Temple was cleansed and rededicated. The Hebrew word Hanukkah literally means “dedication.” That’s the historical account of Hanukkah.
Aside from the historical perspective, there is a biblical aspect about Hannukkah that is surprising to some, in that we find Hanukkah in John 10 in the New Testament record! In fact, we see Jesus giving testimony about Himself in John 10:22-33. “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch” (John 10:22-33). The Feast of Dedication is Hanukkah.
Since Hanukkah is celebrated on the lunar Jewish calendar, the dates it occurs are different each year on our solar Gregorian calendar. For example, last year Hanukkah occurred from December 7-15, while Hanukkah in 2025, next year, will occur from December 14-22. What about this year?
Interestingly, Hanukkah 2024 begins sundown on December 25! This is a rare occurrence, as Hanukkah has only started on Christmas proper four times previously in the last 100 years: 1918, 1921, 1959, and 2005.
In God’s providence, the proximity of Christmas and Hannukah is striking this year! On the surface, some might simply point to calendar coincidence regarding the dates of these two winter holidays this year, but spiritually we can take this opportunity to highlight one idea that connects the two: dedication.
You see, for the believer in Messiah Jesus, we as Temples of the Holy Spirit are called to dedicate ourselves unto Him, for we are not our own, we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In fact, we the redeemed of God, are bought with the precious blood of Christ.
One important component of our dedication to the Lord is gospel proclamation to a world in great need of Jesus. As the song goes, “Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born” and as the bible declares, “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation” (Isaiah 52:7).
May we as followers of Messiah Jesus dedicate ourselves to gospel proclamation in this season and in all seasons! Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!