Hanukkah 2025

Hanukkah 2025: Those in Darkness See A Great Light

Hanukkah is here! And it is one for celebration and great reflection on the time and season we are living in, according to Scripture. With the fatal terror attack on the first night of celebration (Dec. 15), 15 were murdered in cold blood, and many more are still receiving treatment. In light of this, we are praying especially for supernatural protection for all who are celebrating Hanukkah around the world. Unfortunately, this is not the first nor the last time this will happen, but let us take special care to bless and pray for the protection of all those celebrating the Festival of Lights, while also remembering to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of Israel while we are at it (Psalm 22:1).

As we pray, let us remember the deep significance Hanukkah has not only for Jews around the world, but for believers in Yeshua as well. While the defeat of Antiochus the 6th by the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration are highly significant, Yeshua celebrating Hanukkah in the Temple in Scripture takes on a deeper meaning altogether.

Imagine being the writer John, recording Yeshua celebrating Hanukkah, knowing He Himself is the Light of the World. Hanukkah becomes a window into the heart of Yeshua’s mission: to cleanse, to restore, to rededicate, and to reveal God’s Kingdom in the midst of darkness. Now, instead of the Greeks, the Israelites were under the iron rule of Rome, and a revolt similar to the Maccabean revolt was on the minds of many, as was the soon coming of the Messiah, but not as expected.

As we light the Hanukkiah from December 15–22, let each lighting be a reminder of the Light of the World coming into ours to redeem us, and, in His ascension, allowing for the receiving of the Holy Spirit so that we too may be His witnesses, as a light to the world ourselves. “The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it, overpower it, appropriate it, or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it]” (John 1:5). May Yeshua shine brighter and brighter in you this Hanukkah celebration, and may those walking in darkness be drawn to and imbued with His perfect love in the process. “The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness will see a great Light; those who live in a dark land, the Light will shine on them” (Isaiah 9:2). Chag Hanukkah Sameach, and may Yahweh bless you and keep you!