This, That, The Other Thing

     What does Hanukkah have to do with Yeshua (Jesus)?  Perhaps nothing, but Yeshua did have something to do with Hanukkah.  He used the opportunity of Hanukkah to remind his Jewish people of the importance of dedication.  After all, the name Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew root word meaning ‘to dedicate.’

     In Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John (vs. 22-39) we see Jesus visiting the temple during the Feast of Dedication (v.22).  Some people claim this to be during Sukkoth (the Feast of Tabernacles) because Solomon dedicated the temple to God during that feast, but this does not seem likely for the following reasons.

1.      As stated before, Hanukkah’s name means ‘dedication.’

2.      Verse 22 points out that the season is winter.  While Hanukkah occurs during winter, Sukkoth is an autumn festival.

3.      The message that Yeshua offers is more in keeping with Hanukkah than with Sukkoth.

     At that time, Yeshua was asked to say whether he was the Messiah.  He responded in this way:

“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

I and the Father are one.”

            (John 10:25-30)

     The sheep that are his flock, are those who hear his voice – who believe in him.  In the same way that Judah Maccabee and his followers were dedicated to their God, those who recognize Messiah Yeshua are likewise dedicated to God the Father.

     Moreover, as God was dedicated to the Israelites and delivered them from the hands of Antiochus IV, so is He dedicated to those who have dedicated themselves to Messiah Yeshua – no body can snatch them out of the Messiah’s hands or the Father’s hands.

     Then he makes the remarkable statement, “I and the Father are one.”  Those who say that Yeshua never claimed to be God need to come to grips with this statement.  In these verses he equates himself with God unequivocally.

     If his statement here is not enough to convince us of that affirmation, the reaction of the crowd certainly should be:

“The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

     The Israelites in Yeshua’s day, certainly knew what he was saying.  And they reacted strongly because they didn’t believe him, despite all the evidence that pointed to Yeshua as the Messiah.  But there were still many Jews in his day who did believe.  Among them were scholars and shepherds, rich and poor, leaders and followers - just as their are today (well, maybe not so many shepherds).

     Hanukkah is a Festival of Dedication.  We Jews who are believers in Yeshua (Jesus) celebrate this festival as a reminder of God’s dedication in the time of Judah Maccabee, and as a time to remember the dedication of God to all those who will dedicate themselves to him and follow him according to his standards.

     Messiah Yeshua is the standard by which we are called to dedicate our life to God.  When we put our faith in him as our Saviour and as our Lord we enter into a perfect life of dedication: us to Him, and Him to us.

     Hanukkah is also a Festival of Lights, and when we light the Menorah we remember what Yeshua said to his Jewish people: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)” 

     Why don’t you check out Yeshua’s claims for yourself.  Read the Tanakh - the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament).  Read the Brit Hadashah (the New Testament) as well.  Then ask God to show you his truth.  If you don’t have a bible, contact us.  We’d be happy to send you one.

     If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk!  Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel.  Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org.  Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.

     You don’t have to agree with us.  But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.

The most common objection I get, when sharing Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) with my Jewish people, is this very simple one: you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus.  I have received this response from the religious and the unreligious; by the old and by the young.  And to each one I have a very simple question:  Why not?

The most typical answer I receive is that Jews don’t believe in Jesus, but that is clearly a faulty argument.   I grew up Jewish and I became a believer in Him.  Not only that, but I know of many Jews who have come to believe in Yeshua, and there are many, many more that I don’t know.  Some of them were very religious Orthodox Jews, some of them were observant Jews in the Conservative or Reform movements and some were completely secular: die-hard atheists or not so die-hard agnostics.  The one thing they have in common is that they are Jewish.

I use the present tense when I say we are Jewish because, as far as we are concerned, believing in Jesus is a very Jewish thing to do.  You see, I believe that this statement – you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus – really means – Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah, he is not Saviour and he is not Lord.

The problem is that the response is almost always based, not on what the objectors know, but only on what they’ve been told.  When I challenge Jewish people to tell me how they know Jesus is not the Messiah, they don’t really have a response.  Most Jewish people have not investigated the claims of Jesus as found both in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) or the B’rit Hadashah (the New Testament).  Many have made half-hearted attempts to read some of the B’rit Hadashah (or, for that matter, the Tanakh), but not really done a critical and honest investigation.

Recently I spoke with a Haredi rabbi, and in the midst of our discussions I challenged him to do just that.  To look at the New Testament text, not in a cynical way, but in a critical way, honestly seeking to understand what it says.  He said he would, but a month or so later he had barely done any reading.  He said he was happy with the Judaism he had – but again, he has not honestly looked at the text that tells us about the Messianic claims of Yeshua. 

I came to believe in Yeshua because I recognized that the promise of Yeshua is in the Tanakh.  I have come to understand that there is a picture of a lowly Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12:10),  that this picture was recognized by the rabbis in his day (though they did not recognize him when he came), and is even recorded in the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 98a; b. Sukkah 52a).  Over the years I am more and more amazed at the Jewish sensibilities in the B’rit Hadashah, and how consistent it is with the Tanakh.

And I know that everything that is written in the Tanakh is a preparation for the time of Yeshua’s coming – the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the covenant at Sinai with its sacrificial system and its laws of sanctification; the promises to David and through the Prophets.  Ultimately the Hebrew Scriptures are about Messiah Yeshua.

But if you won’t read the book, you can’t know the truth.  The truth that I have found, that many Jewish people have found, is that the most Jewish thing you can do is to believe in the Messiah promised by Moses and the Prophets – and that Messiah is Yeshua.  For if he is not the Messiah to the Jews then he can be nobody’s Messiah.

Why not check out the truth for yourself.  Read the Hebrew Scriptures.  Read the New Testament as well.  If you need a copy we would be happy to provide you with one – just email us.  Then ask the Lord of all Creation to show you His truth.  Not my truth – and not the rabbis’ truth – but His truth.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)”

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)”

If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk!  Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel.  Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org. 

Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.

You don’t have to agree with us.  But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.

I would love to receive your instructive and constructive response.

Welcome to Musings, a New Covenant Forum blog!

The name is new - the blog is new, but our ministry began in downtown Toronto in February of 1894. We are Canada’s oldest continuing outreach to the Jewish community.

We began as The Toronto Jewish Mission (still our legal, incorporated name). In day-to-day operations the ministry has been known by several names throughout its history: Peniel Hall, Covenant House, New Covenant House, and now New Covenant Forum.

The term “New Covenant” in our name signifies our conviction that Yeshua (Jesus) initiated the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah the Prophet (Jeremiah 31:31-34). “Forum” conveys our desire to create dialogue and conversation with any who are interested in knowing the God of this New Covenant.

We exist to proclaim to all who will listen that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah promised by the ancient Hebrew prophets - the initiator of this New Covenant. While our primary focus is sharing this message with Jewish people, we know that Yeshua is not for Jews only. It was John the baptizer who said, when he saw Jesus walking toward him one day: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NIV). Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and Savior of all who will believe in him.

It was the intention of Jesus, in his life, death and resurrection to break down the barrier between Jew and Gentile. As Rabbi Shaul (the Apostle Paul) writes:

For he himself (Yeshua) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away (i.e. Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (i.e. Jews). For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:14-18 NIV)

I hope you will return to this site often as we post biblical studies and articles of interest to those who want to know more about Jesus. Associated with this blog is our main site which contains longer articles, personal stories of those who have trusted in Yeshua as Lord and Savior, and other helpful material for cultivating a vibrant spiritual life.