Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/420759
December 18 John 8:12 Celebrating e Light of eWorld Hélène Dallaire, PhD Professor of Old Testament E ach year near Christmastime, Jews around the world celebrate the Festival of Lights, also called the Feast of Dedication: Hanukkah. is non-biblical feast commemorates a miracle that occurred in Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabees (second century BCE), after Seleucid king Antiochus IV had desecrated the Temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar. After defeating the Seleucids, the Maccabees found a one-day supply of non-desecrated oil in the Temple. e oil was used to keep the Temple menorah lit until a new batch of oil could be produced (it would take eight days to produce new kosher oil). To everyone's amazement, the one-day reserve miraculously burned for eight days. To celebrate this event, Jews traditionally light a candle each night of the Festival, place it in a nine-branch menorah, and set it in a window to remind the community of this miracle. e apostle John speaks of Jesus celebrating the Festival of Lights in Jerusalem (John 10:22). Before this event, Jesus had professed to scholars, to Pharisees, and to a blind man whose sight He restored, "I am the light of the world.… e one who follows me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12; 9:5). In John 11, Jesus proclaims, "If a man walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the world," identifying Himself once again as the Light of the World. In John 12, Jesus declares, "While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light." At Christmastime we celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World—a Light that will never be extinguished and will forever guide us. Let us walk in the Light and let our light so shine that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). 13