Why was Yeshua in the temple on Chanukah?

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Why was Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) go to the temple on Chanukah (Hannukah), the Festival of Dedication, in John 10? The healing of the blind man in John 9, an obscure messianic prophecy in Haggai 2 and Yeshua’s bold statements gave Israel’s leaders their ultimate test.

Food for thought from the audio discussion

What is the point of John 9-10?

What does Yeshua have to do with Chanukah?

Why was Yeshua in the temple in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on Chanukah, as described in John 10:22-39?

Why are there eight days of Chanukah? (If you have heard about one day’s worth of consecrated oil lasting for eight days, please read the historical account in chapter 10 of the second book of Maccabees.)

An acronym is a group of letters that usually are the first letters of other words, e.g. USA stands for the United States of America. How is Maccabee possibly a Hebrew acronym, and why should we care?

How is the phrase potentially represented by “Who is like You among the gods, oh LORD?” connected to the same phrase in Ex. 15:11?

How does the experience of the Maccabees parallel the Exodus of Israel from Egypt?

What is the focus of Chanukah? Dreydels? Latkes? Oil in the menorah?

What is the temple of God at its essence? How is it similar to an embassy? How are we God’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:16-21)?

Why was the temple “left desolate” on several occasions in Israel’s history?

What seemingly incredible statement did Yeshua make in John 10:30?

How does this statement — on its face — fit or clash with Deut. 6:4? Would the leaders of Israel come to that conclusion?

How does this paradox between John 10:30 and Deut. 6:4, in the context of the healings Yeshua did like described in John 9, get more complicated when Deut. 13:1-3 is considered?

How does Yeshua’s “you are gods” quote from Psalm 82 resolve or amplify the leaders’ dilemma with Yeshua’s bold statement about His relationship to the Father?

Why did God call the judges of Israel “gods” (elohim in Hebrew) in Psalm 82?

What authority had God delegated to them in making judgments?

Why did the Sanhedrin (ruling council of Israel) throw the healed blind man out of the assembly of Israel (John 9)?

Was that decision just, per Psalm 82 standards?

What’s the difference between being born physically blind versus being spritually blind (John 9:39-41)?

Why was the “minor prophet” book of Haggai written (see Haggai 1-2)? When was the book written?

Who were Zerubbabel and Yehoshua (Joshua) historically (see the book of Ezra)?

Do the prophecies about them in Haggai 2 totally fit these historical figures and the “second temple” they were involved with building and rededicating?

What is the 21st day of the seventh month (Haggai 2:1) in the Hebrew calendar (see Leviticus 23:33-44)?

Why is the 24th day of the ninth month mentioned three times — a very unusual repetition in a given passage of the Bible — in Haggai 2?

If the book of Haggai was all about the rebuilding of the temple by Zerubbabel foretold, why did that happen during the seventh month and not the ninth? (See Ezra 3.)

When did King Solomon dedicate the first temple? (See 1st Kings 8.)

What did happen on the 24th and 25th of the ninth month (a month called Chislev, Kislev or Chisleu in transliterated Hebrew)? (See 2nd Macc. 10:5-6.)

How were the leaders of Israel at the time of Yeshua’s work on earth looking for Messiah to be another Zerubabbel, based on what the historical figure did and didn’t fulfill in Haggai 2?

What “glory” was missing from Zerubabbel’s temple that was present in the temple Solomon dedicated (see Haggai 2:9 and 1st Kings 8:10-11)?

Thus, what great happenings were the leaders of Israel looking to happen on a Chanukah that didn’t happen on any 24th or 25th of the ninth month in Solomon’s, Zerubabbel’s or the Maccabees’ time?

What parallels are there between Daniel 7-10 and the account of the Maccabees?

Where do the parallels between Antiochus IV, the one who persecuted the faithful followers of God, and the fierce king of Daniel 10 align and diverge?

How do the final happenings of the fierce king of Daniel 10 align with the “man of lawlessness” apostle Paul foretells in 2 Thess. 2:3-12 and Revelation 13?

Why does celebrating Chanukah teach and remind us of related to Messiah and our relationship with God?

For more on Chanukah, read the Hallel Fellowship overview on the Festival of Dedication.