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The Lamp of Christmas

 The Lamp of Christmas

In the gospel of John in chapter 10 and beginning in verse 22 we read about a festival in Jerusalem. The Bible says:

At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. John 10:22,23

The Feast of Dedication was also known as the Feast of Maccabees. Today this feast is called the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. Hanukkah was a celebration that comes from the intertestamental period and the Maccabean Revolt. Around the year 168 B.C. the Seleucid king Antiochus Ephiphanes desecrated the temple and forced the Jewish people to perform pagan rituals. In response to this Jewish freedom fighters, led by Judah Maccabee, revolted and with time eventually overthrew the Seleucids.

After regaining control of the temple the Jewish people decided to rededicate the temple. The seven branched Menorah was brought back in and the people searched for some consecrated oil to light the lamps. However there was only a small jug of oil that was only enough to burn for one day. This was a problem because it took about a week to make more oil. But as the story goes miraculously the oil from the small jug burned for eight days giving the Jewish people time to make more oil and keep the lamps of the Menorah burning continuously.

The Bible does not comment on this story directly but we can see from the mention of the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22 that Hanukkah was still being observed approximately 200 years later in the time of Christ. Jesus would certainly have been aware of the origins of Hanukkah. Perhaps He even used the story to remind the people in His day that He was the source of light for all of their lives.

Jesus is indeed the light of the world. From the moment of His birth two thousand years ago He has been lighting the lives of all those that He touched, from the first shepherds that came to pay Him homage, to the wiseman, and the countless others that have been set aglow by the truth and warmth of His life.

 As you and I celebrate Christmas this year, let’s remember that in the darkest time of the year, and perhaps a darkening time of human history, we still have the lamp that burns within our hearts. We still have Jesus. And if we have Jesus our light will never go out.


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