Celebrating Messiah

This December 25, 2024 Christmas and Hanukkah fall on the same day. This only happens once every thirty years so I wanted to explore how the two might come together.

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14

A familiar Christmas verse but when? When did this amazing event happen?

And does it matter? I always thought it was when Jesus was born. That these two events, being made flesh and dwelling amongst us happened simultaneously; all wrapped up on a winter’s Christmas mornin’.

But what if they are distinctly separate events? What if Jesus was first made flesh and then dwelt among us? If so, then we would have not one but two events to celebrate!

It is so simple, really. The answer to “when” these separate events took place, hidden in plain view.

The first event, “And the Word was made flesh,” is most accurately true not at Messiah’s birth but at His miraculous conception foretold to Mary by Gabriel in Luke 1:31. “And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Conception was truly the moment when Christ came to earth in human form. Truly when the Word was made flesh.

So how do we find, as accurately as possible on our Gregorian calendars, when the Word was made flesh? The annunciation was not the conception as that was to take place in the near future. “And behold you will conceive . . . “ Certainly by the time Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, in Elizabeth’s sixth month, because unborn John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb upon Mary’s arrival.

So we are looking for two separate things. A block of time which allows for a space between the annunciation and the conception that is then also separated by nine months to allow for Messiah’s birth, when the Word “dwelt among us.” Should we begin our search among the things already celebrated? Does it stand to reason that God has not allowed 2,000 years to pass without showing us when to celebrate the precious gift of His Son?

I believe if we look to God’s holy feasts the pieces to the puzzle will fall into place. In Leviticus 23:33-55 God instructs His people, of which we belong, to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles from the 15th to the 21st of the seventh month to commemorate their exodus from Egypt. The time when they dwelt in tents/booths/tabernacles.

Luke 2:7 tells us that Jesus was born in a booth of sorts, a shelter that is not a home. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Also, Matthew 1:23 tells us that Jesus had come to dwell, to tabernacle, with us. “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

The Feast of Booths is seven days long and it was seven days after Jesus’s birth that his parents took him to the temple to be presented to the Lord. And as a man when Jesus celebrated this festival he declared two great truths concerning Himself; the light of the world (John 8:12) on day one and and the living water (John 7:37-39) on day seven.

I will add that the Festival of Tabernacles is also, in all probability, two fold as Jesus is promised to dwell amongst us twice; on His first and second comings. Therefore this feast is only half fulfilled as we await Messiah’s second coming.

Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a loud voice from the thrones, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

And so we can see with great probability that Jesus was born in the seventh month during the Festival of Booths. And if we count nine months backwards from this we come to the Festival of Lights also known as Hanukkah. And although this festival is not one of the seven God commands in Leviticus - it is still an interesting fit in four ways.

First, that Hanukkah celebrates the light coming from the lamp stands in the temple. When Jesus declared He was the light of the world at the Festival of Tabernacles He was standing among the lit lamp stands in the temple. Second, that it concerns having enough oil to keep the lamps lit. In the parable of the ten virgins Jesus tells us that it is those who have enough oil in their lamps, which represents the Word of God, which represents knowing God (Matt 7:21-23) who “are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Third, that the Festival of Lights is eight days long which affords a reasonable gap of time between the annunciation and the conception. And fourth, that Jesus Himself honored the feast (also called the Feast of Dedication). In John 10:22 we read of His being in Jerusalem for the occasion. “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.”

This Christmas, when Hanukkah falls on Christmas Day, is a perfect year to begin a new tradition of celebrating the word made flesh! And I hope that you will join me, at least in spirit. My new celebration, in it’s simplest form, will entail a single tapered candle; tan in color, to represent Mary’s humility, made of pure bee’s wax, to represent her pure body and heart. It will be held by a simple candle stick carved of wood representing Joseph her carpenter husband who supported her as she carried the light of the world. On the first day of Hanukkah I will assemble and set the candle out representing Gabriel’s announcement. Then I will wait seven days to light the candle on the eight day (Jan 2, 2025) to represent the moment the Son of God became human.

Other ideas have come to mind. Hosting a candle lit gathering on the eighth day; perhaps setting the table with white linens and hosting a beautiful dinner party. Filling a room with dozens of candles after the first candle is lit. Buying a new candle every year but saving the old so that each year celebrated is remembered. Reading Luke 1:46-56, Mary’s magnificat. Lighting fireworks on the eighth day representing the flash of light, known as zinc sparks, that occurs at fertilization.

In 2025 celebrating Messiah’s first coming. “And the Word . . . dwelt among us,” begins on October 6th through the 13th. Many celebrate by setting up tents in their back yards or by going camping. More on this later!

It was late in 2023 when I began praying for God to show me the ancient way. Honestly, I was expecting direction for some sort of homesteading but what has come to me is this; Celebrating Messiah through His Father’s holy feast days. Thank you for letting me share this with you. I look forward to finding the good way and walking in it and hope that you will join me.

“This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: 'Where is the good way?' Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16

K. A. Shows