Jonathan Bernis - The Secret of Chanukah
Jonathan Bernis: Shalom, and welcome to Jewish Voice. I'm Jonathan Bernis, and I want to thank you for joining us today. As we approach the end of the year, I know that many of you are probably looking forward to Christmas, however, Jesus himself actually celebrated a different holiday, the Feast of Dedication, also called Hanukkah. Now, you may be somewhat familiar with the story of Hanukkah, but today we're going to answer some questions that you may have always wondered, like, why does Hanukkah last eight days? Ezra Benjamin is joining me once again today. Ezra, before we answer that question, let's set the historical context for Hanukkah. I'm gonna turn it over to you to do that.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure, happy to, Jonathan. And, you know, many of us can think of the songs maybe or the images we're familiar with like a, you know, a nine branch, menorah called the hanukkiah. We have one right here, or, you know, the dreidel that's spun or, you know, in our European Jewish tradition, potato latkes, you know, I can smell it in my memories. Now, growing up, those potato pancakes, and this winter festival, and all of those things are part of the tradition, but they're not, in large part, actually part of the original context of what became known during Jesus' day as the Feast of Dedication. And later, later the festival of lights. So, what we do know, Jonathan, is that Hanukkah, the events that became the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, actually happened during what's called the intertestamental period. And what we mean by that is, this gap of several hundred years between when the last of the Old Testament or the Jewish scriptures are written, ending with the book of Malachi, and then when the New Testament begins with Jesus' birth and the announcement of it. So, in about the second century B.C. as we've seen repeated throughout history, the Jewish people come under persecution. Not only their religious practices, but also their very existence. And the Greek armies who were in charge of much of the known world of that day, in that time, actually march into Jerusalem and as kind of a stick it to you against the Jewish people, they sacrifice a pig on the altar in the temple. So, they desecrate the temple, this holiest site in Judaism where the presence of God dwell, where Jewish men and women were worshiping the Lord in this temple, they sacrificed a pig. We know according to the Torah, according to Jewish law, that a pig is of course, unclean. It's not to be eaten, and certainly not to be brought into the temple. And so, this pig, pig's blood renders the temple unusable for worship. Now, some of the more zealous, God-fearing men in Israel called the Maccabees, said, "This is the last straw". And they rise up and this ragtag army of only several hundred Macabians actually drives back and drives out this occupying force representing a major world empire. And so, they have this really miraculous world victory and now what to do about rededicating the temple. And as the story goes, they come back to the temple, they literally clear the dead bodies out, but the temple is ceremonially unclean to restore worship. And one of the elements that central and temple worship we see in the Jewish scriptures in the Torah is that a lamp stand called a menorah had to be lit and it had to be lit continually. Now, there was only enough oil to light this lamp stand for one day. And as the story goes, as the historical records indicate, this one day's worth of oil to keep this lamp burning, to reinstitute worship in the temple in Jerusalem, miraculously lasts for eight days, which is more than enough time to formally rededicate the temple and reinstitute worship. So, you have a couple things going on. You have a military victory, and you have this miraculous expansion of something which was not enough into something which is more than enough so the temple can be rededicated.
Jonathan Bernis: We'll break this down little bit, really well told in such a short time. Just a few things that I wanna highlight that you mentioned to summarize. First, we don't find this in the Old Testament.
Ezra Benjamin: Correct.
Jonathan Bernis: Because this takes place after the, the Old Testament is canonized.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, the books of the Hebrew scriptures are now codified.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And in this period, the intertestamental period, Israel is once again overrun.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Their captors are demanding that they bow down and worship other Gods.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: Which is forbidden and Judaism.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: And there's a revolt. So, that revolt, the macabian revolt.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Ends in victory, a victory that we celebrate to this day.
Ezra Benjamin: Yes.
Jonathan Bernis: Okay. But it's interestingly in the New Testament, not in the old.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: The Feast of Dedication is mentioned in the new, in the book of John. The, the second thing is the temple is desecrated, as you mentioned.
Jonathan Bernis: So, it's rendered useless.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: They're no longer able to continue sacrifices. And after they gain victory, which is an absolute miracle that we celebrate. Again, a ragtag tag army, likely the first guerrilla warfare that we see used in history.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And God is behind the scenes, of course, orchestrating all this. The temple is rededicated.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, it's the Feast of Dedication. It's really the feast of rededication. Exactly. The rededicating, the temple and they have this dilemma. Right?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: They don't have enough oil to render new oil.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, we have the miracle of the oil.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Burning for eight days, which answers the question why Hanukkah lasts for eight days.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Right?
Ezra Benjamin: And there's another reason, actually, Jonathan, and we don't have much time, but let me throw it in. If you look at the historical records from maybe the first or second century A.D. after Yeshua's death and resurrection. The rabbis begin to disagree on why the holiday is eight days and some people actually said it's because the Macabians celebrated the feast of tabernacles, Sukkot for a week plus that eighth day after the feast of Sukkot, because they couldn't do it during the war, against the occupying army, the war against the Greeks. And so, one rabbi says, "No, no, it's a celebration of Sukkot a couple months late". Another says, "No, no, it's because the oil lasted for eight days". Who's right? And who's wrong? In Jewish tradition, we agree to disagree, but nonetheless, the festival was eight days.
Jonathan Bernis: The prevailing belief is that we have the miracle of expansion of the oil.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Now, it's interesting to note that the menorah is seven branched. Right. This menorah is different.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right it has nine.
Jonathan Bernis: It's nine branched.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: We're gonna talk about that.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: But it's eight days, but there's an additional.
Ezra Benjamin: Eight plus one.
Jonathan Bernis: Eight plus one, we'll talk about the plus one, a bit later because that's an important point also.
Ezra Benjamin: We're also going to talk about how we see Jesus, Yeshua, celebrating Hanukkah in the temple in John 10, in just a minute as well. But before we even get there, you know, Jonathan, I'm thinking of something you say so often. Without Hanukkah, there could be no Christmas. And by that you mean that without Hanukkah, the Jewish people, not only would the temple have been destroyed, but the Jewish people if the Greeks had their way may have been destroyed. And so, God's faithfulness to intervene miraculously time after time, through military victories or otherwise and preserve the Jewish people was essential to there being a Messiah born of the Jews.
Jonathan Bernis: Exactly. If you look at the history of the Jewish people.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: You see repeatedly, efforts to destroy them. You have Pharaoh in Egypt, destroying all males, right? To keep the deliverer from coming. You have people that are subjugated.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: That are eventually there's attempts to exterminate them. You have Herod you have repeated conquest. When you go to Jerusalem, it's about ark, the archaeology of a city that is repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. So, you have the Jewish people being taken captive repeatedly, or being subjugated in their own territory.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Hanukkah is really a celebration of supernatural victory. Ezra, what are the odds that a ragtag group of several hundred, could defeat a world power?
Ezra Benjamin: Totally.
Jonathan Bernis: It's simply impossible. It's possible but by God.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: Nothings impossible for God.
Ezra Benjamin: Repeated throughout history, certain destructions laid out militarily according, you know, according to the empires of the world for the Jewish people, and yet, the Jewish people live on and you know, Hanukkah is a celebration. But it's not just a celebration of the expansion of oil, it's a celebration of miraculous deliverance and survival.
Jonathan Bernis: Let's just rewind a few 100 years, you have the northern and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom is taken captive by the Assyrians.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: We don't have any record of their return.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: The southern kingdom of Judah is taken captive into Babylon and 586 they return and rebuild the temple, and then they're overrun by the Greeks.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And the temple is destroyed again.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: It's desecrated and now they're reinstituting the sacrificial system, the priesthood. This is God's fulfillment of his promise that as long as the sun shines by day, and the moon and stars shine by night they decree God's sovereign preservation of the people of Israel.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: But by God.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah and Hanukkah is a great example of. Coming up next, we're going to look at how God spoke through Hanukkah, and how his promises apply today. But we need to take a short break to share with you how you can help Jewish people in Ukraine dealing with the tough winter. They need our prayers, they need our support, and they're being used to help their Ukrainian neighbors survive, and we're helping them, you can help them also, we'll be right back.
Jonathan Bernis: We're talking about Hanukkah some questions that are yet to be answered. Before we get back into the discussion, I wanna take a moment to say, thank you to all of our shalom partners. Your prayers and monthly support allow us to continue sharing the gospel with Jewish people and their neighbors around the world. We could not do this without your help, so thank you. It is so appreciated on behalf of all of us at Jewish Voice, we are so grateful to you. Ezra, the unanswered question we have the hanukkiah. The typical menorah is seven branch.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Celebrating God's creation. Right? Seven-day creation, but the hanukkiah the Hanukkah menorah is nine branched, eight we've already discussed celebrate the miracle of the expansion of the oil.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Burning for eight days, but there's nine. Talk about the ninth.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure. Well, as you said, the eight are to represent that the oil lasted eight days. But there's this ninth candle, and depending on which hanukkiah you might have seen or you have in your home, maybe it's on the side, maybe it's in the center, but it's usually a little higher than the others or set aside, distinct from the others and that's the candle that you have to start with. And the idea is the other eight candles can't light themselves, Jonathan. There has to be a candle that lights all the others. There has to be one that begins the light, that gives light to all the others. And that candle is called the sHamash in Hebrew. And literally that means the servant candle. I hope you're seeing what we're seeing. One called the servant, even though it may be higher than the others in distinct, actually serves all the others. And it's the light that gives light to all the others.
Jonathan Bernis: This is what I love about Hanukkah as a Jewish believer in Jesus.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Standing around the hanukkiah with my family, with my little girls, not so little anymore. One's about to head off to college, but they're we're lighting the sHamash, the servant candle. And that servant candle is lighting the others and we're recalling and confessing that Yeshua is the light of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: We're declaring that he is the servant.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And what he tells us, what he exhorts us to do, which is to spread the good news, to not be a light that's hid under a bushel.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But that's on hill top that is bringing light to the world.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Yeshua is the light of the world, but calls us to be a light.
Ezra Benjamin: He says, "You're the light of the world. You're the light of the world. You're the light of the world. You're the salt of the earth. You can't be hidden. Let your light so shine before men, that they might see your good works and then glorify your father in heaven".
Jonathan Bernis: And it's built into this observance every night.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: We light an additional candle, so if the room gets brighter, and brighter, and brighter, don't you see how great this is? This is why you should be doing this also.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Because we're remembering, Yeshua as the light of the world and that handoff, you're the light of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: You're the light of the world and you're servants.
Ezra Benjamin: And Jonathan, before we run outta time, let's look quickly at that John 10 passage. Right? We said, "Jesus, Yeshua celebrates Hanukkah". Well, how do we know that? And this is found in John 10:22, excuse me. And it says, "Then came the Feast of Dedication". Remember Hanukkah's the Feast of Dedication, "At Jerusalem, and it was winter". Well, some people say, "Well, maybe it was Sukkot. That could have been called a Feast of Dedication too". No, we know it was Hanukkah because it was winter, not fall, feast time. And it says, "And Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's colonnade". And maybe you're wondering, why is that in there? Why, why does the author, why does John take special care to tell us, "Jesus is not only in the temple, but walking in Solomon's portico, Solomon's colonnade". And it says, "The Jews who were there gathered around Yeshua saying, 'how long will you keep us in suspense? If you're the Messiah, tell us plainly'". And Jonathan to understand what's going on here. We need to think back to this historical account called Maccabees that was written again, recounting the story of the Feast of Dedication. And if you remember, the pigs blood made the stones of the altar, ceremonially unclean. So, even though the temple was rededicated, stones covered in the blood of swine cannot be used ever again to worship the Lord. But these were holy stones. These were the stones of the altar itself. What to do? Well, the book of Maccabees tells us it's a historical account, that these stones were pushed to a corner of the temple in Solomon's portico. And it's written in the book of Maccabees, that the leaders in the Jewish community said, "One day when the Messiah comes, he'll tell us what to do with these stones". And so, here's Yeshua in the temple during Hanukkah standing at Solomon's portico, and the people are saying, "If you're the Messiah, if you're the one we're waiting for, tell us plainly". And Jesus of course, says, "I told you, it's clear by the works that I do that I'm the Messiah, but many of you don't have eyes to see it".
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. "And if you're the Messiah, tell us what to do with these stones".
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: They've been sitting here for 160 years.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. So much if we understand the Hebrew context of the New Testament scriptures, they come alive.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah and that's a great holiday to observe. Because Yeshua, it's just, it's filled with symbolism that points to Yeshua. So, we encourage you to get your hanukkiah if you have kids, grandkids, gather around together and remember Yeshua as the light of the world and his command us that we're to be a light in darkness. And as servants, were to spread the good news of Messiah and bring light in darkness.
Ezra Benjamin: So Jonathan, the oil that was far from enough, it was woefully insufficient for the task at hand, became not only enough but even a little more than enough. And I see that repeated in the scriptures, Yeshua offer you know, the loaves and fishes. This little boy has something that barely could feed a family but in God's hands it feeds thousands and there's enough left over for each one of the disciples to take a basket home. It's this idea that when we offer what we have to the Lord, right? It's never enough for the God of heaven and earth, but he can make it enough. He can miraculously expand what we offer him out of sincerity of heart. That's what I think of an Hanukkah season.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. And I think of miracles. This is a holiday that is proclaiming miracles, the miracle of survival, the miracle of victory, the miracle of provision, the miracle of expansion, miracle, miracle, miracle. You know, that the founders of the modern state of Israel, particularly David Ben-Gurion, was never claimed to be a believer. He was an atheist. He said he was an atheist. But he believed in miracles, he said, “you can't witness the restoration of the modern state of Israel and not believe in miracles”.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Now, he doesn't specifically mention God. He mentions miracles though, that the history of the Jewish people is a history of miracles. It's a miracle that God revealed himself to Abraham, and preserved Abraham. It's a miracle that the Jewish people survived the Exodus out of Egypt against overwhelming odds. It's an absolute miracle, that God restored the Jewish people from the Babylonian exiles.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: It's a miracle that the Jewish people survived the holocaust.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Miracle, miracle, miracle, it's a modern miracle that the state of Israel after was declared survived outnumbered sixty to one. Their surrounding enemies of Israel thought that they would be pushing Israel into the sea in a matter of days. It's a miracle that Jerusalem was restored in 1967. This is a miracle working God, the history of the Jewish people is about miracles and Hanukkah is about miracles.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. Even Jesus in the temple we just read a few minutes ago from John 10. Right? They said, “if you're the Messiah, if you're the one we've waited for, tell us clearly.” and he says, “the miracles that I did, should tell you clearly who I am.”
Jonathan Bernis: Absolutely.
Ezra Benjamin: The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and the good news is preached to the poor.
Jonathan Bernis: We serve a miracle working God and many of you may need a miracle right now. I want to declare to you, as we just talk about Hanukkah, God is a miracle working God. He wants to do a miracle in your life. And he will if you let him. I hope you're beginning to see how God worked through Hanukkah, this Feast of Dedication and how he's still working in our life today. We need to take a quick break. Would you please pray about joining us as a shalom partner today. Your continued monthly support will quite literally change lives and give us the opportunity to share the gospel with people living in very difficult conditions. Stay with us after this short message, Ezra and I will come back to pray with you and come into agreement with you for your needs. And pray to a miracle working God. Stay tuned.
Jonathan Bernis: I wanna say it again. I said it before, I wanna say it again. I can't say it enough. God is a miracle working God.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Miracles are an everyday occurrence with God. And all we need to do is to trust him, to reach out, to ask. And he wants to do a miracle in your life. Whatever, you fill in the blank, we wanna agree with you as we pray now to a miracle working God. So, let's just join together.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: We'll begin by praying for Ukraine and those that are suffering in Ukraine.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: And believe in God for your miracle. Lord, we thank you that you're a miracle working God. We thank you that Hanukkah is filled with miracles. Miracles of expansion, miracles of provision, miracles of conquering, of overcoming victory, and we speak victory into people's lives. Father, we pray for Ukrainians that are suffering now, that are cold, that are without food, or heat, or electric or light. We pray, Father, that you would send them provision in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. We pray that they would hear and receive the gospel, that you would turn what the enemy meant for evil to good. And we thank you, Father for watching over and caring for millions of Ukrainians and Jews in Ukraine. Father, we pray for families, for restoration of families during this holiday season. We pray for salvation, for family salvation, we pray for divine provision. We thank you Lord for healing. Lord, the report of the doctors is overruled by the report of your word that says, "By the wounds of Messiah, we are healed". So, receive your miracle now in Yeshua's name, in Jesus' name. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can log on to Jewishvoice, one word, jewishvoice.tv, and you can also send us your prayer request right on the website. We have a team here at Jewish Voice that's committed to praying for your requests by name. And we believe in the power of prayer. And we believe that God cares about you and we care about you. It's a God that's alive today, the same God of Hanukkah wants to touch you. As we close our program, I wanna remind you also to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6, exhorts us to pray for Israel and the Jewish people and I encourage you to do that. And until next time, this is Jonathan Bernis, along with Ezra Benjamin saying, "Shalom and God bless you".