Chanukah in John Pt.9 - The Seventh Light.

As the glory of the Chanukah menorah is nearly full, so the glory of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ, is nearly manifest in John's Gospel.

It is worth noting that the Jewish authorities (John calls them 'The Jews') were present for this significant funeral.

Our seventh light is Martha. She gets all the bad press over being anxious, but here she shines. Personally, I love her. She gets dinner on the table and when a real crisis comes she is present and correct.

And this year, my wife pointed out something that I've never noticed before, nor have I heard anyone preach on. 

Martha  says to Mary, " The Teacher is calling for you". In fact, Jesus is not recorded as saying that. What is going on here?  Martha has realised exactly Who Jesus is and understands  that Jesus is always calling for those He loves.She does not need a specific instruction. How many Christians are waiting for a call when the command to go is implicit in becoming a believer?

In John 10, Jesus had spoken out at the feast of Dedication (Chanukah).  He had identified Himself with the Father and called Himself the Son of God. He also said that He would do the works of the Father.

In John 11 we get two of the oddest sentences in the Bible. You have to read it twice. Verses 5 

& 6.

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Does anybody else do that? Really?

Our key verses are John 11:25 - 27  :

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

That ' I am' in the Greek is 'ego eimi ' which means 'I, I am'. It is the equivalent of YHWH.

Note, 'Who is coming into the world' - this takes us right back to John 1:9

It is another Chanukah reference. Jesus is the Servant light.

Copyright G. I. Goodson 2013

At this time of resurrection back to this life, pray for all those who need healing of any sort and especially those who grieve.

Chag Sameach.  

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Part Four
Part Five
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Part Seven
Part Eight
 

Chanukah in John Pt.4. The Second Light.

Now I'm catching up with myself. Another re-posting from a year ago. Be blessed.

This is a passage packed with revelation.

The Second Light reveals three of the Titles of Jesus. To wit, Son of God, King of Israel and Son of Man. Two of them are revealed to Nathaniel by the Holy Spirit ( Direct Revelation) and then Jesus increases the blessing with the third. Not bad going for a man sitting under a fig tree.

John 1:43-51

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree’, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 Why was Nathaniel so privileged? According to Rabbinic teaching, a fig tree is a good place to read and meditate on the scriptures. Jesus told Nathaniel what Nathaniel had been reading. If you read Genesis 28:10 - 17 and compare it with the above passages you will see the references. Jacob was known, not entirely fairly, for his guile. Israel was his covenant name and the name of redemption. Jesus pays Nathaniel a great compliment by calling him a true Israelite. He then goes on to identify Himself with Jacob's vision. In short, Jesus is the LORD of Israel.

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Another secret of the Chanukah menorah. The candles are placed from left to right, but are lit from right to left. This is to show that no one day is more important than another. I also take this to signify that no one witness is more important than another. God blesses and uses all His people. I also take it to mean that the Jew, who reads from left to right, and the Gentile, mostly right to left, will all be enlightened by the Messiah.

Copyright G.I.Goodson 2013.

Hanukkah is a time of miracles. The great miracle of God's provision at the Temple and the greater miracle of God's provision of the Messiah at the Incarnation. I hope and pray that you will be emboldened to seek a miracle of God's provision in your life. Not a 'name it and claim it' greedy prayer but a prayer of faith, humbly seeking more of God's grace to revealed to you as He may choose.

The LORD bless you.

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