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Study Section 11: Feast of Dedication/Hanukkah

11.1 Connect.

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Western Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25 . In Armenia, the Apostolic Church
celebrates Christmas on January 6 because they follow the Julian calendar. But Jews do not
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celebrate Christmas, because this holiday is a celebration of the birth of the Messiah, Jesus
Christ. Most Jews deny that Jesus was the Messiah, so they do not honor that day. But about
the same time of year, they celebrate Hanukkah. Some people think it is similar to Christmas
and really don’t understand what they are celebrating. So today, we are going to see that Hanukkah is
really one of the yearly feasts that is a part of the religious celebrations of Jews. Let’s find out what
Hanukkah is all about….

11.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to describe the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah and why Jewish
people celebrate it.

2. The student should be able to tell how Jesus shifts His ministry to the region of Perea and why
He did that.

3. The student should be able to describe the details of the resurrection of Lazarus. We will also see
why the resurrection of Lazarus is significant and led to Christ’s crucifixion.

11.3 The Feast of Dedication/Hanukkah (Late December) (Luke 13:22; John 10:22-39; John
10:40-42)

We now move to late December in the Gospel narrations. Jesus was going through various
towns and villages making His way toward Jerusalem (Luke 13:22). Jesus came with His disciples
to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedications or Festival of Lights or what is called today,
Hanukkah. It is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Kislev, beginning on the 25th day
continuing for 8 days.

The story of Hanukkah is recorded in the First Book of Maccabees which was written in the
Intertestamental period. It is recorded in the Apocrypha, which is not recognized in the canon of
Scripture, but does describe the historical events around 165 B.C. During this time, the Jews were ruled
by a Greco-Syrian king named King Antiochus Epiphanes, a very evil ruler. He took control of the Temple
in Jerusalem and forced the Jewish people to abandon their worship of God, their holy customs, and the
reading of the Torah. He made them bow down to the Greek gods. According to ancient records,
Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and spilling its blood on the holy
scrolls of Scripture.

The Jews revolted and a group of four Jewish brothers led by Judah Maccabee decided to raise up an
army of religious freedom fighters. These men of fierce faith and loyalty to God became known as the

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