“Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade.”
John 10:22-23 TLV
Hanukkah 2023 is upon us! In the dark night my husband and I lit our first Hanukkah candles. The candle’s light pierced the darkness of our dining room. That is the physical law of light. It displaces darkness.
One might ask why as Christians do we observe the customs of Hanukkah? My simple answer: because Jesus did. If it was important to Him we should make it a priority in our lives. We are in advent season of 2023. Advent means “the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.” We are in the time of waiting for the return of Christ. As a believer in Jesus I always like to take these days leading up to Christmas to prepare my heart for the true meaning of Christmas and remind myself that Jesus’ return is a surety.
Lighting candles either advent candles or the candles in the Menorah remind me of the hope Jesus gives and that Jesus is the True Eternal light of the world. And that is why my family celebrates Christmas.
Everything about lighting the Menorah candles tells Jesus’ story. As I look at the setting of John 10:22 and 10:23, I couldn’t help but think: The True Light of the World was walking around the Temple in Solomon’s Porch observing the Menorah candlelight’s lighting up the Temple and Jerusalem. In every house hold and every courtyard a candle was being lit. The light was piercing through the darkness of the night. And that is what Jesus came to do. Pierce through the dark night of our soul.
This morning as I look at our Menorah, it is messy. Candle wax has dripped all over it’s base. We even have ashes on the table runner as the candle blazed last night. And I think to myself: That’s my life. At time’s it is messy. The candle wax is a symbol of my mess ups. BUT GOD. “For God so loved my messy life so much, He sent His One and Only Son into my life to light up my darkness and clean up my messes.”
Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Hanukkah. Remember our Savior was Jewish. He is RABBONI! Our great teacher. The Nazarene. Jesus celebrated the appointed feasts throughout His life here on earth because He knew each feast, each ordinance wrote out His story and painted of picture of Him. Jesus is the author of the book and He is the author of our stories.