12.20.2006

Jesus celebrated Chanukah?

I just told someone who goes to Bible school that Jesus celebrated Chanukah (or Hanukkah, depending on how you transliterate it), and they didn't believe me. So I'm posting this info for anyone else who doesn't know, either:

From John 10:22-30 (New Living Translation):

It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah. He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is what I do in the name of my Father. But you don't believe me because you are not part of my flock. My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one."

John 10:22-23 in the Amplified (which tries to take all words and meanings into consideration, thus the brackets are theirs): "After this the Feast of Dedication [of the reconsecration of the temple] was taking place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the temple area."

And finally, the New International Version (NIV) of the same: "Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade."

6 comments:

Jon Konrath said...

I don't think John 10 showed that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, just that he was in Jerusalem at the time.

The first part of this is that the second half of John 10 is describing the rejection of Jesus by the Jews and the paradox that set in his identity. The second component is that some think John's explicit mention of the consecration in his description of Jesus is describing Jesus as the temple for his ministry, much as Jews use the consecration as a purification and definition of their temples.

This can also all be taken with a grain of salt because a lot of bible scholars dismiss John's gospel as not being that authentic in the descrition of the life of Jesus. There's greater detail in its stories, but it leaves out significant events (like healings and miracles.)

(Disclaimer: long-time athiest.)

Anonymous said...

The other books cover the miracles, but that doesn't mean that John wouldn't be legit cuz it doesn't.

I'm assuming Jesus celebrated Chanukah cuz he was Jewish and he was in Jerusalem at the time, which is a major center of Jewish stuff, but yea--I added a question mark to the title.

You're an athiest? I wouldn't have guessed ;)

a guy in pajamas said...

Either way, Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Yea--Happy Christmas to you! (what they say in England)

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year is what we say in England.. and Scotland, and Northern Ireland and Wales...

Margaret Larkin said...

So is it just the movies, etc. that say "Happy Christmas"? Or did more people over there say it many years ago?