207. "Happy Hanukkah"

Psalm 82, John 10:22-42

Key Verse: "I am God's Son. Do not believe in Me unless I do what My Father does."

John 10:37

At first we may be tempted to yawn at the reading for today. This appears to be more of the same arguing that Jesus has been carrying on all throughout His ministry. We spent a great deal of time on these issues in our discussions of John 7 & 8, during the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, it is Hanukkah, approximately three months later, and we are at it again.

Hanukkah is not one of the appointed feasts of Israel as God designed in Leviticus 23. Hanukkah is a more recently designated feast to commemorate a miracle that took place during the Maccabean wars which would have taken place around 190 years before the specific feast that Jesus is attending here in John 10. There was obviously a gathering, but it was not a major event as Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles were.

It is interesting that, while the Jews are determined to have Jesus state plainly who He is, Jesus, in turn, defines who they are. Jesus is willing to let His actions speak for themselves and by doing so, they should be able to know whether or not He is God. Jesus, however, explains that the reason that they cannot tell is because they are not "His sheep," or followers of God themselves. If they were, they would be able to see plainly just who He is. Actions speak louder than words. Jesus is content to let His actions speak for themselves.

When they pick up stones to kill Jesus for blasphemy, Jesus gives an interesting response from Psalm 82:6. "I have said you are gods," which He points out as coming from their own scriptures as an indication that it might not be wrong for a human to think of himself as a god under the right circumstances.  Because this use of the word, "god," is not capitalized, it could simply refer to the fact that rulers are like gods because they have the final say in the lives of the people.  In addition Jesus could be once again asserting his own authority.  However, by referring to this Psalm, Jesus may be saying even more.

Jesus refers to verses in the Psalms to say more than one thing at a time. We will explore this practice more further on, especially during the crucifixion. The whole of Psalm 82 fills in the whole meaning of what Jesus is saying to His listeners. The Jews would be familiar with the Psalm as one of those written to express God's judgment against the leadership for abusing the people. The leaders in front of Jesus may have understood the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words as directed against them, which would explain further why they were so angry.

"I am God's Son." Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father." Jesus’ actions proved His divinity just as His actions would one day prove His love. God is a being of action, but the rulers were only interested in words.

So, Jesus retreated back across the Jordan to where it all began. He took the time to rest and pray, I'm sure. He knew that the final thrust was coming soon. This would be his last winter with the disciples. This would be the last stretch of time to devote Himself to discipling His friends. They would need all that He could give.

Hymn: "Shine, Jesus Shine" 

Link to history of Hanukkah, a video. Look for the play button triangle in the lower right hand corner of the picture. You may have to scroll down a little.