Of Gods and Men at Hanukah

The New Year is beginning, and the Bible Study is continuing. We took our Christmas break and now we return to find Jesus (the Son of God) celebrating Hanukkah (with men) in Jerusalem. Of course, the timeline's complicated and hard to figure out. But this is the timeline we've chosen to follow. We're heading into those final months before Passover and Easter, and we're following Jesus in his final months of teaching. Join us!

(64) Of Gods and Men

It’s hard to work out an accurate timeline in the Bible. But let’s assume Jesus visited Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of his final year’s ministry. Then he returned to Galilee before traveling back through Samaria to Jerusalem in winter, for the Feast of Dedication, which is where we return to the Gospel of John. Read John 10:22-30

1.       Read John 10:24 Do you remember the earlier arguments (John 7:25, 8:13, 8:25, 9:35-37, 10:21) at the Feast of Tabernacles, not so long ago? Do you think the crowds remembered?

a.       How easily do we just revert to the same old questions instead of listening for answers?

2.       Read John 10: 25 How should they have known who Jesus was?

a.       How do we know? How do you, personally, know?

3.       Read John 10:26-27 How do we know Jesus’ voice? (And how/where/when do we hear it?)

4.       Read John 10:28 I love this verse, and I hear it as music. What do you love about this or other favorite verses?

5.       Read John 10:29-30 What do the authorities want to happen to Jesus’ ministry?

a.       Who wanted to “snatch” Jesus’ followers away? Why have “snatchers” failed for 2,000 years?

b.      Who wants to snatch followers away today? And why will the Christian faith continue?

c.       Would we prefer Christianity to thrive through our efforts or through God’s power?

Jesus’ words seem to cause some offense. Read John 10:31-33.

1.       How do works and words go together in showing who Jesus is? Can they really be separated like this?

a.       What about our works and words; do they show who we are?

2.       The Feast of Dedication was a very nationalist feast, remembering the rededication of the Temple (Hanukkah). How might this affect the people’s response to:

a.       A potential Messiah?

b.      The Son of God?

3.       Read John 10:34, Exodus 15:11, 20:3, Job 1:6-7, Psalm 82:1,6 What are gods—idols? demons? any to whom God gives spiritual power? Perhaps reading on will help…

4.       Read John 10:35-36 Jesus’ arguments usually make perfect sense, so let’s assume this made sense to his listeners.

a.       Read Psalm 82:1-8 When God called his people “gods” and “sons of the Most High” in this psalm, what was he calling them to do? (And what is God’s judgement on their failure?)

b.      What does God call us to do?

c.       Jesus calls himself “the Son of God.” How is that different from a son of the Most High?

d.      Logically speaking (as Jesus is doing), should they stone him (remember Exodus 20:3)?

5.       Read John 10:37-39 What should stop them from stoning him?

Jesus leaves Jerusalem again, for the last time before that final Passover week. Read John 10:40-42 How far does he go?

Next week we’ll find Jesus in Bethany, with Martha and Mary (and possibly Lazarus). It seems fitting to view those last months bracketed by this family’s experiences. There’ll be lots of disagreements, healings, and parables between here and Passover. So… before you stop reading today, do you have a favorite parable or miracle, and what makes it a favorite?