Rabbi Schneider - The Mystery of Hanukkah Unlocked
It’s interesting that Jewish people are so galvanized by Hanukkah you’ll see these menorahs even televised all over the big cities of the world but the holiday of Hanukkah is nowhere mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. The only place that Hanukkah is written about is in the Brit Chadasha or the New Testament. And so, as we’re getting ready to celebrate Hanukkah this year, I wanted to begin by telling you the history and then I wanted to bring it forward and show you how Yeshua was celebrating Hanukkah in the pages of the New Testament.
So, first of all, what had happened was the Greco Assyrians under Antiochus IV had taken over Jerusalem and 167 BCE had actually erected an altar to Zeus, the pagan god Zeus, in the temple. Furthermore, the Greco-Assyrian armies were going throughout Israel in Jerusalem and they were forcing Jewish people to make a sacrifice to Zeus. And unfortunately, some Jewish people were compromising. But it all stopped when the Greco-Assyrian soldiers got to a Jewish settlement called Modi’in. And when they got to Modi’in and tried to get the Jews there to make a sacrifice to Zeus, a priest there by the name of Mattathias said no. And because Mattathias said no, he so inspired the rest of the Jewish onlookers that they turned on the Greco-Assyrian Army that was in Modi’in, where they were, and they effectively began to drive out the Greco-Assyrians from Modi’in.
And eventually, more and more Jewish people joined the movement. And they were able to more and more recover Jerusalem until they eventually recovered the temple. And then in 164 BCE, they dedicated the temple back to Hashem, back to God. And that’s where we get the name «Hanukkah» from. Jewish people all over the world celebrate Hanukkah every year since 164 BCE, including the time of Yeshua. We’re going to see in a second Yeshua was in the temple celebrating Hanukkah with the rest of the Jewish people that were gathered.
Hanukkah is the Hebrew word that means «dedication». So we read about Hanukkah in the Gospel of John, chapter 10. «At that time,» John writes, «the Feast of Dedication…» Why does he say dedication instead of Hanukkah? Because dedication, once again, is the English translation of the word Hanukkah. It’s the same thing. «At that time…» We could say Hanukkah took place in Yerushalem or at Jerusalem, where we’re at right now. «…it was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him and were saying to Him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you’re the Christ, tell us plainly. Yeshua answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you did not believe, because you’re not My sheep.'»
I want you to notice two things here. If someone doesn’t want to believe, beloved ones, you can argue with them till you’re blue in the face. If they don’t want to believe, they’re not going to believe. They said to Yeshua, «If you’re the Christ, if you’re the Mashiach, tell us plainly». Yeshua said, «I told you but you didn’t believe Me». And then He said, «And the works that I do, all the miracles that you’ve seen, they testify of Me». But then He said, «But you do not believe because». in verse 26, «you’re not My sheep». It’s good for us to keep that in mind. That it’s not up to us to save people. It’s just up to us, beloved, to be a witness. Whether they believe or not, that’s up to the Father. Even Yeshua didn’t expect that he was going to save everybody. He said in John 10, «You believe not because you’re not My sheep».
Notice what He said next in the next verse. He said, «My sheep…» He knew He had sheep. He knew that the ones that were not believing were not His sheep. But He also knew He had sheep. The same thing with you. Some people you share with will not listen. It’s okay. Same thing happened to Yeshua. Some people will. Yeshua said, «My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand». He continues, «My Father, who has given them to Me…»
I want you to notice this. Jesus knew who His sheep were. And according to Yeshua’s own words, His sheep, get this now, beloved ones, were the ones that the Father had given to Him. This was the same thing Yeshua was talking about in John 6, where Jesus said, «Don’t grumble amongst yourself». He was speaking to the ones that didn’t believe in Him. He said, «Don’t grumble amongst yourself. No one can come to me,» He continued in John 6, «unless My Father draws him. All the Father gives me,» Jesus said, «will come to Me, And all He gives me, I will lose none».
If you believe in Yeshua, it’s because the Father chose you, according to the book of Ephesians, before the foundation of the world, and He drew you to Jesus. The Scripture tells us that we were chosen in the Father, Ephesians 1, by the Father, before the foundation of the world. And then the Scripture says we were predestined to the Father, to Yeshua, so that we could enter into the Spirit of adoption, of sonship with the Father. And so, God chose you and I to be His sons and daughters before we were born. That’s why He sent Yeshua.
See, the Bible says that we were chosen before the foundation of time. And then in the fullness of time, the Bible tells us in Galatians 4, in the fullness of time, the Father sent His Son and gave us the spirit of adoption. So it’s such an awesome thing I’m just wanting to bring back. Yeshua is in the temple, in the Gospel of John 10, celebrating Hanukkah, revealing the mystery that you and I that are His sheep, were given to him by the Father. And this revelation comes to us in the word of God during Hanukkah. Yeshua was in the temple on Hanukkah when He gave us this penetrating revelation.
So I want to strengthen you today to know that you’re in the mind and in the heart of God, before you were even born. Like the psalmist said, he knew you when you were in your mother’s womb. He knew you when you were yet unformed. And He had a destiny for your life before you took your first breath. So if you and I want to come into alignment and find out who we really are, we have to give ourselves to the one that, number one, created us, and secondly, redeemed us through Yeshua Messiah for a purpose. And that purpose is to be His, to walk with Him, not as slaves, not as those that are under the law, but as those who cry forth, through the spirit of adoption, «Abba Father».
And so I speak freedom and liberty over you this Hanukkah season. Even as Yeshua liberated His people in coming, even as those Maccabees in 164 rededicated and liberated the temple so I speak to you today liberation and freedom in the Spirit. And I challenge you in the love of God to dedicate yourself just as that temple in 164 was dedicated to the Lord. I encourage all of us this Hanukkah season to truly dedicate every area of our life to Hashem. The words we speak, the foods we eat, how we spend our time, the friendships we have, how we spend our money, what we let into our ears, what we watch with our eyes, let’s live as sons and daughters that are fully dedicated of the Lord, knowing what our purpose is. God has created good works for you and I to walk in. And Yeshua is returning quickly, He said, to reward to each and every one of us for what we’ve done. We only have a short time, beloved, on this planet. Let’s use it wisely, and let’s dedicate ourselves spirit, soul, and body fully to Him.
As I’m thinking today about Hanukkah and how that relates to us, what we’re doing with your help through Discovering the Jewish Jesus, I think of this: Hanukkah was about the recovery of Jerusalem and then the rededication of the Jewish people’s temple. Today as the gospel of the Jewish King, Messiah Yeshua goes for, once again, Jewish people are being recovered into a true and authentic relationship with the Creator. And beloved, those of you that are supporting this ministry, it’s happening with your help. We’re meeting people here in Jerusalem, Jewish people that are feeding their souls on the ministry of God’s word through Discovering The Jewish Jesus. So I want to ask you for your financial help and your continual financial support, because the truth, beloved, what we’re doing, is not free, it costs money. And it’s only with your help that we’re able to spread the Gospel around the globe. Thank you for your Hanukkah offering.