Page 16 - TORCH Magazine - Issue #20

THE FEAST OF DEDICATION
The Feast of Dedication is today known as Hanukkah or Chanukah, which celebrates the Maccabees victory over Israel’s enemies and regaining of the temple (dated between Malachi and Matthew in the Bible). It is important to clarify that this isn’t one of the Levitical feasts instituted in the Torah and therefore is not commanded by Jewish law. However, it was observed during the time of Jesus, and we read specifically in John 10:22 that Jesus walked in the temple in Jerusalem at the Feast of Dedication.
FEAST OF TABERNACLES
Like Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, features significantly throughout the Gospels. In fact, Jesus’s ministry in the Gospel of John, chapter 7 through to the end chapter 9, coincided with the Feast of Tabernacles.
If we look closely, we will observe the beauty of the Feast revealed in the words of the Lord Jesus across these three chapters. For example, there were ceremonial aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles that involved
a water-drawing ritual through which
God’s provision of water for the crops that year was celebrated with thanksgiving.
A designated priest would take a golden pitcher and lead a musical procession of Psalms to the pool of Siloam where he plunged the pitcher into the waters while reciting Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore, with joy you shall draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Holding this thought, John chapter 7 says that it was on the great day of the feast, which infers the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, that Jesus proclaimed these words:
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
A second aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles was the illumination of
the Temple with the menorah lamps
to symbolise the Glory of God and in anticipation of the “Great Light” who would soon come according to Isaiah chapter 9. Interestingly, these lights were extinguished on the eighth and final day. And again, we see Jesus make reference to this during the Feast of Tabernacles when he said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Those who listened would have been struck by the claim that Jesus was the “Great Light”.
It was also during the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus healed a blind man, rubbing his eyes with clay before sending him to the pool of Siloam to wash.
Jesus’s mission was beautifully portrayed through the Feast of Tabernacles – a Saviour who brought Light and Life to those willing to receive.
CONCLUSION
Jesus being Jewish is an integral part
of appreciating the important Jewish connection to our Christian faith. Just as Jesus didn't deny being Jewish, the church should avoid denying these roots also. After all, as the Apostle Paul stated in Romans, Gentiles have been 'grafted' into the 'olive tree'. As Christians, we celebrate the root that connects Jews and Christians. This revelation not only helps us strengthen our own faith personally, but also compels us to stand with Israel and our Jewish brethren against anti-Semitism.
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