A COMMUNION MEDITATION: JESUS CELEBRATED HANUKKAH

It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon (John 10:22-23).

I would have never given a second thought to these verses had I not traveled to the Holy Land two years ago in the winter.  The temperature was probably in the thirties that day, that is one of the reasons John said it was winter. It was also time for the feast of the Dedication, not a religious holiday as spelled out in the Old Testament Law, but a Fourth-of-July like holiday that reminded the Jews of God's provision for them as a people.

Atiochus Epiphanes was king of the Seleucid empire, which included the land of Palestine at that time.  The culture of the empire was Greek.  One of the unintended consequenses of Alexander the Great's conquests was to spread Greek culture from Europe to India. Eventually, Greek became the official language of the Roman empire.  One of the purposes of the 10 cities of the Decapolis in the northeastern area of Palestine, even in Roman times, was for the preservation and promotion of Greek culture.

In any case, Greek customs and religion were completely incompatible with the faith of the Jews.  Greek culture promoted nudity, homosexuality, worshipping images of many gods, lack of dietary restrictions.  Jewish religion was absolutely unacceptable to Greeks because they viewed circumcision as sinful and they did not believe in the one true God.  The last straw that brought rebellion in 167 B.C. was when Epiphanes sacrificed a pig on the alter in the temple.  Led by the Maccabee family, the Jews were able to drive the Seleucid's out of Palestine and the Jews had their own country and temple back.

The temple had to be sanctified and rededicated.  To do this there had to be a dedicated supply of olive oil to light the lights of the temple.  The Jews only had a one-day supply, but it would take eight days to prepare a dedicated supply to renew the lights.  Miraculously, the one-day supply lasted eight days.  As a result of God's provision the lights were able to keep burning.  To this day, for eight days in December, the Jews memorialize Hanukka, which means, "to dedicate."

Communion, like Hanukka, is a time of rededication.  It is rededicating the temple of our lives, by renewing covenant with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.  The celebration of the Lord's Supper is the Christian Hanukka, the Christian dedication.

Grace&Peace,
Tom