One of the most cherished Hanukkah traditions is the lighting of the Menorah, or Hanukkiah. Jewish people all over the world do it for eight days every year, but they don’t realize they are honoring Messiah Yeshua. This nine-stemmed candelabra, unlike the seven-stemmed lampstand in the Holy Temple, is an integral part of the holiday observance. It represents the miracle of one day’s supply of sacred oil burning for eight days in ancient Israel.
In those days, circa 168 BC, the Temple had been desecrated at the hands of the evil Greco-Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. A three year revolt led by the Maccabean family succeeded in re-capturing the Temple, allowing for it to be restored for God’s purposes.
As part of the re-consecration of the Temple, the Jewish rebels needed to re-light the holy lampstand. God had specified in Exodus 27:20, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”
However, there was only one day’s worth of sacred oil certified by the priesthood to kindle the holy lampstand. The legend has it the victorious Israelis lit the lampstand anyway, and it miraculously burned the eight days it took to properly purify an additional supply.
So every year, we remember God’s provision of light through the Menorah. The first night, one candle is lit, the second, two, and so forth until all are involved on the eighth night. Now here’s the amazing part. While each of the eight nights of the holiday are represented by equal height stems on the menorah, there is a ninth stem called the shamash. It stand higher than the others.
In Hebrew, shamash means servant. This candle’s role is to light the others. Indeed, none of the eight night candles are lit directly. The shamash is lit first, then used to light the others. Normally, a servant’s place is lower than those he serves; but the place for the shamash is higher. It’s just like Yeshua, Jesus. Although He is higher than we are, He came to serve. He clearly stated that in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” He made the point even more dramatically in Luke 22:27. At the Last Seder (Last Supper) just before His arrest, Messiah explained, “ For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”
Furthermore, just like none of the candles in the menorah representing a day are lit directly, but get their light from the shamash, we have no light of our own, but Yeshua gave us His light.
In John 8:12, He declared, I am the light of the world.” And in Matthew 5:14, He said, “You are the light of the world.” We’re kind of like the moon, which has no light of its own, but shines brightly as it reflects the light of the sun.
Another part of the Hanukkah tradition calls for the menorah, after it is lit each night, to be placed in a window for those outside to see. In Matt 5:16, Jesus told us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Judaism has built a symbol of Messiah into the Hanukkah celebration. Let’s pray that this year my Jewish brethren will see the true light.
Unlike the seven level stems of the lampstand which was in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (it was also in the Tabernacle in the wilderness), the Hanukkah menorah has nine stems. Eight of those stems are level while the ninth stem is elevated. The eight represent the traditional story of Hanukkah, the culmination of the Macccabean revolt of Israel against the oppressive reign of the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes.
According to that tradition (it’s not in the Bible), when the Holy Temple, which had been desecrated by Antiochus, was re-captured, the first priority was to consecrate it back to the Lord. Part of that re-dedication (hence Hanukkah, which means dedication) was the lighting of the lampstand in the Holy Place. Exodus 27:20 required its the flames to burn continually.
However, since the Scripture also called for pure olive oil to be the fuel in the lampstand, the Temple authorities used a process of purification which took eight days. Although there was only a one day supply available, the lights were lit anyway. Miraculously, the one day’s worth of oil burned for the eight days it took to produce more. Thus, the eight level stems on the menorah represent that time period.
The ninth stem, which stands higher, is called the shamash or servant. It is lit first, then used to light the other candles, one each night cumulatively until all eight are lit on the final night.
In this we see Messiah Yeshua.
Although He came to serve, He stands above those He serves. And we, as His followers, have no light of our own, but He, as the light of the world, gives us His light that we may let it shine.
Yet the link between Hanukkah and Jesus is even greater than that.
The revolt led by the Maccabees against the evil rule of Antiochus Epiphanes lasted several years, starting in about 167B.C. (Incidentally, that was during the time between the writings of the Testaments, which explains why it’s not recorded in the main canon of the Bible. However there are other ancient accounts of the uprising.)
Given the nature of warfare in those days, the battles were particularly bloody. In other words, the campaign to reclaim the Holy Temple was at the cost of much bloodshed. But once the Temple was back in Jewish hands, it was restored to the original purpose for which the Lord had it built.
Now look at the comparison to humanity.
Mankind, like the Temple, was created for God’s holy purposes. But just as Emperor Antiochus desecrated the Temple, so we humans were desecrated by our sins, and therefore could not fulfill our rightful calling. But at the greatest price of bloodshed ever, Yeshua went to the cross for the atonement of our souls so we, just like the Temple, could be re-dedicated to the Lord and be used for His holy purposes.
The reality of Hanukkah, both through the symbol of the menorah and the actual events the holiday represents, confirm Jesus as the Messiah.
In 2024, thanks in part to the leap year on the Hebrew calendar the previous year, Hanukkah started really late. Rather unusually, it began at sundown on the night of Christmas. This of course will add fuel to the misconception that Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas.
Yet while these two holidays are distinctly different, they have an amazing connection.
First, neither of these two venerated observances is ordained by God in the Bible. Even though Hanukkah is mentioned in John 10:22, “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter,” there is no commandment from God to celebrate it. And while the events of the birth of Jesus are chronicled in the Book of Luke, there is neither a date provided (it was unlikely December 25th), nor is there a commandment to celebrate.
Nevertheless, in the observance of Hanukkah we can clearly see Yeshua; and in the birth of Messiah, we can clearly see Jewish. Although the Christian Church has essentially turned away from the Jewishness of Jesus’s birth, it still includes an undeniable link to it by quoting the Jewish prophets as proof He is the Messiah. Obviously, all the various quotes from the Hebrew Scripture prophets came from Jewish men about the Jewish Messiah.
Indeed, one of the requirements of the Messiah was that He must be Jewish. In Deuteronomy 18:18, the Lord specified through Moses, “I will raise up for them (the Israelites) a Prophet like you (Hebrew Moses) from among their brethren (the Israelites), and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.”
Of course the information included in Luke Chapter Two describing the time surrounding the birth of Yeshua is the defining evidence of His Jewishness. Starting in verse 21, there is a string of activities which delineate the Orthodox Judaism of His family.
Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day (I’ve never seen that as part of a Christmas pageant). He was given the Hebrew name Yeshua (English Bibles say Jesus, but the English language didn’t exist at that time, and there’s no “J” in the Hebrew alphabet). Mary observed the days of purification required in Torah, then the family took the Child to Jerusalem to dedicate Him to the Lord and offer a sacrifice.
Additionally, while they were in Jerusalem the Jewish man Simeon and the Jewish Prophetess Anna both separately acknowledged the Baby as the Promised One of Israel. Verse 39 sums up the entire experience saying, “…they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord…”
Furthermore, the Scripture continues, the family went to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of Passover. Take note, eliminating the completely Jewish nature of Messiah’s birth and life ties right in to His rejection by religious Judaism.
Meanwhile, my Jewish brethren are missing the link to Jesus in the eight day Feast of Hanukkah. While not in the main cannon of the Word of God, this holiday is based on historical events of 168-165 B.C. when a zealot group of Israelites revolted against the oppressive Greco-Syrian Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes who ruled over their land.
This evil man had slaughtered thousands of Jewish people, outlawed Judaism and desecrated the Holy Temple. But after about three years of bloody rebellion, the ill-equipped and outnumbered men of Israel, led by the Maccabees, recaptured the Temple. Their immediate effort was to consecrate their sacred building, re-dedicating it to the Lord.
Part of that process was the lighting of the eternal flame, the seven stemmed golden lampstand in the Holy Place. As instructed in Exodus 27:20, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”
The purification of that oil took eight days. So when the Jewish rebels found only a one day supply of purified oil, legend has it they lit the lampstand anyway and it burned miraculously for eight days until more oil was available. Thus the eight days of Hanukkah. Symbolizing the lampstand with a Hanukkah menorah is a staple of the celebration of this joyous Feast. However, this modern day menorah has nine stems, eight of which hold a candle representing the days of the Feast, and one called the Shamash or servant candle.
Notably, the stem holding the Shamash is higher than the others, and the Shamash is the only candle lit directly. It is then used to light the appropriate number of candles depending on the numbered day of the Feast. Traditionally the lighted menorah is then placed in the window for all to see.
Amazingly, though the Hanukkah menorah is a non-biblical custom, it easily can be understood as a symbol of Yeshua, Who said of Himself in Matthew 20:28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” He is the servant Who stands higher than those He serves.
And just like the eight candles have no light of their own, but get their light from the servant which is higher than they, so it is with us. We get our light from our servant Messiah, the light of the world, and then are to let it shine for all to see, just like the menorah placed in the window.
More importantly, the Hanukkah victory of the Maccabees tells our story as well. Just like the Holy Temple, we were created for God’s holy purposes. However, like the Temple, sin desecrated our lives. It took great bloodshed, the greatest price of blood ever, Jesus’s own blood, to win the victory, allowing us to be re-dedicated to the Lord for His holy purpose. Indeed, the Hebrew word Hanukkah literally means dedication.
The Christian Christmas is all about Jewish, and the Jewish Hanukkah points right to Yeshua. It’s a collision of unity of faith in Jesus.