Commentaries:
This festival was a Jewish national festival and is not one of God's commanded festivals—under any covenant! Even in this, He set us a perfect example by showing us that it is not wrong to observe national holidays that do not do service to paganism.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Was Jesus Christ Born Under the Law?
John 10:22-23 shows Jesus walking in the Temple area in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication. Today, the Jews call this feast Hanukkah. It is the national celebration of the rededication of the Temple by the Jews at the end of the Maccabean revolt. Jesus gives no indication He was avoiding the day and its accompanying social and spiritual activities. If he had, He would have avoided the Temple. Commentators raise no questions about whether He was keeping the day; they conclude that His walking in the Temple was purposeful.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Thanksgiving or Self-Indulgence?
Library resources that contain this verse:
E-mail this page
