Shabbat Shalom. If you have a Bible in your hand, I would just give you a short message from the Word of God in connection with our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, and the Feast of Chanukah, the Feast of Dedication. What an amazing time it is for Israel, for the Jewish community, and also for the whole world to know that the Feast of Dedication also speaks to us about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, who is the light of this world. He is the one that in the midst of darkness, ladies and gentlemen, in the midst of conflict in this world, in the midst of wars and problems that exist here in this world, we can be assured that there is a person that can give us joy in our hearts.

And This person is our Lord Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah. I'm reading a few verses from the Gospel of John in the Brit HaChadasha in the New Testament. We read in John chapter 10 from verse 22, just about 12 verses. We read these, and please listen to me as I'm reading this text. John, Yohanan in Hebrew, chapter 10 and verse 22, event that happened 2,000 years ago. And it was at Jerusalem, at the Feast of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter. And Yeshua, this is Jesus, walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews, this is the Jewish leaders, round about him, and they said unto him, How long dost thou make us doubt?

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. And Yeshua answered them, he said, I told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one.

Then the Jews, this is the Jewish leaders, took up stones again to stone him. Yeshua answered them, many good works have I showed you for my father. For which of these works do you stone me? The Jews or the Jewish leaders, ha-yehudim ha-manhigim, they answered him and they said, for good works we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being a man, maketh thyself God. And I'm stopping here with the reading. Many years ago, when I had been exposed to the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, one of the greatest problems that I have had is to recognize the divine nature that Yeshua has and possess.

This is an amazing problem that we as Jewish people have. How can these Christians, these people from among the nations of the world believe that this Jesus, this man, this Yeshua from Nazareth is actually God the Son? It's a problem that we all have as Jewish people. Yesterday when we have visited the home of our dear sister's family who just passed away I talked to some of the family members and one of the questions was how could this man by the name of Yeshua claim to be divine? How is it possible? How can you Christians or you Messiah followers claim that this man by the name of Yeshua claim to be divine?

And one of the passages that came to my mind was immediately John chapter 10 it happened 2,000 years ago as we read in this story in John chapter 10 and it happened exactly in the city of Jerusalem in the land of Israel and it happened exactly at the feast of dedication the feast of Hanukkah is celebrated by our people Israel because about 2200 years ago there was a wicked man as we have already read by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes was a Grecian Syrian king who desecrated the temple in the city of Jerusalem. He sent his armies. He expected from our nation, the Jewish people, not to obey the law, not to be circumcised, not to keep Shabbat, not to offer sacrifices on the altar.

He wanted to influence the Jewish community and to make them not to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, he introduced idolatry and paganism, and the Jewish people were under oppression. He went into the temple in Jerusalem. He placed there an image of Zeus. He expected from the Jewish people to offer pig upon the altar. And can you imagine for the Jewish community what it meant to forsake our faith in the God of our fathers? To forsake our faith in the promises that he had given us? To forsake the law, the Torah that God had given to our people? Many did. were influenced by Hellenistic views and did not continue to follow what God had instructed the nation but in a supernatural way beloved brothers and sisters God raised the Hashmonaim God raised these men who were God fearers who stood for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

A man by the name of Yehudah, Hamakabee the hammer he rose with his brothers and he led the group of you might say rebels jewish rebels who rebel against antiochus epiphanies and they fought against his armies and slowly but surely they were successful because of the grace of god to deliver the enemies of the jews from the land They went to the temple, and what do they see? The temple of God, where the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are to be worshipped, was desecrated. An image in the temple. Pigs is offered on the altar. They had to cleanse it. They had to completely remove all that was contrary to God, and to re-dedicate the temple for the God of our fathers.

The Hebrew word to dedicate comes from the word Chanukah. Chanukat Habayit, the dedication of the temple. And then the worship of the God of Israel could continue. And it was a wonderful period of time of re-dedicating the life of the people of Israel back to the God of our fathers but time passed by and it's like everywhere in this world we failed the Lord again and it didn't take too long time and instead of being devoted to the God of our fathers many other things have been introduced among our Jewish people like in many circles in the world today it's not only among the Jewish people even in Christianity those who believe in Yeshua the Messiah.

Many things have departed from what God has intended them to be. And here we go later on, about 200 years later, this man by the name of Yeshua, Jesus, in Hebrew we call him Yeshua, he came to the very same temple that was rededicated by the early zealous Jewish men, the Chashmonaim, Judah, the Maccabim, who have stood for God some years before. And so he's coming to the temple. And he's coming to the temple in chapter 10 of the Gospel of John in verse 22. He's coming at the Feast of the Decation. He himself participating in the celebration of the Feast of Hanukkah. He's walking and listen to these beloved brothers and sisters in verses 22 and verse 23.

There is an encounter during the feast of Hanukkah that Yeshua had experienced with the spiritual leaders of Israel. And so he was walking in the temple. You notice verse 23. Jesus walked in the temple in the Solomon's porch. Then listen to this. Came the Jews round about him. Every time you hear the word ha-yehudim, the Jews in the Gospel of John, it always applied to the Jewish leaders. Jesus was a Jew. The disciples were Jewish. The multitude were Jewish. And the Jewish leaders were Jewish. It's a Jewish event. And the Jewish leaders confronted him. They opposed the fact that he claimed to be the Messiah, the Mashiach.

And so they come to him, as we read in this next verse, and the Jewish leaders came around him and they said unto him, How long, how long dost thou make us doubt? If you are the Mashiach, the Messiah, tell us plainly. If you are the Messiah, tell us. But you see, beloved brothers and sisters, he was by now anticipating very shortly to go to give himself as a sacrifice, give his life a ransom for many. And he already, time passed by before and he said, I have already told you this. You notice what we read here in the next verses, verse 25, 26, 27, 28, all the way to verse 30.

Yeshua said to them, I told you. I have already told you, but you did not believe me. He says, the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. Just look at what I have done. And you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, according to the Hebrew prophet of Isaiah in chapter 35, when Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah, he said, when the Messiah is going to come, the dead will rise, The blind shall see, the deaf will hear, and the lame shall walk. And throughout the life of the Lord in his ministry, he had healed the sick. He had provided food for the hungry.

He fed the multitude, beloved brothers and sisters. His works that he did proved the fact that he came in order to be this promised Messiah of Israel and savior of this world so he said look what I have done throughout my life should be evidence enough that I am the Mashiach, I am the Messiah and so you notice what we read here in verse 26 Yeshua's words he said to them but ye believe not you just don't believe and isn't it true ladies and gentlemen many hear about God, many hear about the Bible many hear about the scriptures about the Lord Jesus even today and they are still do not believe that he is the promise of God that he was the one that came from heaven in order to redeem people to God to himself it is still today the same thing that happened historically it happened today whether it is among our people Israel or among the nations of the world men by nature refuse to accept the ways of God.

The book of Psalms, David of Old many years ago said, the fool says in his heart, God no, there is no God. That's the human nature that we all possess. God has to work in our hearts in order to see that the Messiah has come. So he said to them, you believe not and I want you to know why you do not believe. And then he began to tell them in verse 26 and 27 and 28 he began to explain to them who are his sheep and who are not his sheep who belong to God and who do not belong to God and then he said to them notice and I'm reading now you believe me not verse 26 because you are not my sheep you know this expression sheep and a shepherd have been over the years is an illustration that God often look at his people Israel as a sheep and he was the shepherd you remember David of old in Psalm 23 says the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want Adonai roi lo echsar David said many many years ago.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. There are those that belong to the Lord and there are those that do not belong to the Lord. In this world in which we live in today, there's two groups only. The believers, the sheep of God. The unbelievers who are really not yet his sheep. We hope that even today if there's someone that is not yet a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah that he or she will come to know salvation today and so we continue and he give them on the other hand you are not my sheep but now he's telling them look who is really belong to the Lord to God he said my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand In verses 27 and verse 28 He explained to the leaders of Israel Who are his sheep?

Who are those? Number one he said They hear my voice My sheep hear my voice They really know who is their shepherd There are many false teachings that are going on in the world Many false religions that exist in this world. And man is carelessly adopting everything. This is the God, this is God, this is the way of God, that's the way of God. The Lord Yeshua, the Messiah says, my sheep, hear my voice. He is the shepherd who calls the flock, who calls his sheep to come to him. Secondly, you notice what he says in verse 27. He says, and I know them. I know who belong to me and who is not.

He said that those that I know, they are the ones that belong to me. I know everyone that belong to me. I know them by name. If you are here today a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, God knows you. And God knows if he works in your heart, in our hearts today, to prepare us and to bring us into a relationship with him. Why is it so important? Because if sheep are going on their own, they're going to get lost. They need a shepherd to guide them. They need a shepherd to lead them on. My sheep hear my voice and I know them. And listen how beautiful he said, and they shall follow me.

Those that belong to God, that belong to the Mashiach, Yeshua, also desire to follow after him. And the reason that they follow after him, because they know he cares for them. He loves them. He feeds them. He provides for them. He meets their needs. And yet beyond this, he gives them a hope for time and for eternity. And so he continues, he said, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. I love this verse, beloved brothers and sisters. You know, life at best is very short here. How long can you live and I live? 70 years? 80 years? 90 years? We just experienced a dear sister who died at 34 years of age.

No one had expected her to pass away. A week before, she sat with us in our meeting. We enjoy to have her in our midst, but where is she today? Life at best is very brief. We do not know what's going to happen to us. We're going to leave this room today and we might not even get home. And we need to make things right with God. Because God is just. God is holy. God provided a way that you and I, sinners by nature, can receive forgiveness. And he promised, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I'm going to give them eternal life.

Not 50 years, 60, 70, 80, even 100. One of the greatest rabbis in Israel just died a few days ago. he was 104 years of age, 600,000 religious Jewish people came to his funeral service. Where is he today? Is his sins have been forgiven? Can he stand before God on what basis? And how important it is, beloved brothers and sisters, to realize that there is one who came from heaven for the express purpose that he will pay for the sin of this world to die for the sin of this world to become the good shepherd that's what Yeshua is saying to us here and notice what he says neither shall anyone be able to pluck them out of my hand those that belong to me they are saved not only for time but for eternity I will give unto them eternal life eternal life means there is never end who can provide this for us except he would be the son of God the Mashiach, the Messiah no one can provide eternal life for a sinful man or a sinful woman unless he is more than just another man and so we read in these verses that we are looking into.

That all happened in the Fist of Dedication. Celebrating the Chanukah, the candles are burning. And we are looking back at how God delivered our people of old Israel from this wicked man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. Here come the man, that is Yeshua from Nazareth, the Son of God, the one that was born of the virgin Miriam, that was born in the city of Bethlehem that is lived a life that was honorable to God a sinless man, undefiled, separate from sinners was sent to this world in order to become a Savior a Redeemer, a Mashiach, the Anointed of the Lord. He said to them in verse 29 My Father, which gave these sheep to me He is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

This is my Father, he said. He sent me from heaven to this world, and he is greater than I. In other words, he is the one that can keep all the sheep, the flock that belong to God in his hand. No one is able to pluck them out of the Father's hand. And so he said, next, a very strange statement. I and my Father are one. Notice this verse. John 10, 30. I and my Father are one. You see what he's claiming here? He's claiming to be more than just another man. He's claiming to be echad with the Father. I and my Father are one. You remember what we read in the Shema.

Hear, O Israel, Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. But within the Godhead, within the Echad, within the one single God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we understand from the word of God of the triunity of the Godhead. The Father, the Son, the Spirit. Ha'abba, ha'ben, ve'haruach. One single God expressing himself in the three persons of the Godhead. And that's the point where they couldn't take it anymore. That's where the religious leaders of Israel, they were thinking back, and I just want to mention that they were looking back at the time about 200 years before there was another wicked man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes.

He claimed to be God. He desecrated the temple. He expected from our Jewish people to worship him. Now 200 years later come another man by the name of Yeshua from Nazareth. But he also is claiming to be divine. And he says, notice that, I and my father are one. The moment he says that, you notice what he says here in verse 31. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Now imagine, if he was like this wicked man, Antiochus Epiphanes, who 200 years earlier have desecrated the temple, they had every right to stone him. But they made a mistake. They made a mistake like many make a mistake today.

They do not understand this truth, and I don't think I can do anything except the Spirit of God has to explain it to us all, To unfold it before us all. That this Yeshua, this man by the name of Jesus, Yeshua, was born to the virgin Miriam. Isaiah had prophesied to our people Israel, The virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and she shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. That was already predicted by the prophets of Israel many, many years ago. the Messiah has to come how he is going to come who he is going to be if he is going to be an ordinary man like you and I he will be a sinner but he was born to the virgin Miriam in a supernatural way by the power of the Holy Spirit God used Miriam as a vessel in order to bring into this world the promised Mashiach of Israel and when he was born into this world he was that man that was sinless, undefiled separate from sinners he was the only one who was qualified to become Israel's Messiah and the savior of this world and so beloved brothers and sisters we find out here in this passage that they took up stones and they wanted to stone him and notice beloved brothers it says here immediately in the next verse it says Jesus Yeshua answered him and he says for many good works that I've shown you, from which one of them, he says, you are going to stone me.

I did many works in your midst. I've done many miracles in your midst. For which one of those miracles you want to stone me? So listen what they said. They said in verse 33, the Jewish leaders answered him and they said, For good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because that you, being a man, makest thyself God. That was one of the greatest mistakes that they have ever made. Because you, being a man, you make yourself God, they said. And they wanted to stone him. And a mistake is this, beloved brothers and sisters. Antiochus Epiphanes was a mere sinful man who claimed to be God.

But Yeshua from Nazareth is much more than just another man. He was that eternal son of God who was willing to take union humanity with his divine nature. And He became a man in order that He will become the Redeemer, the Savior. People are going to celebrate in a few weeks the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. Why God sent His Son to this world? He was born, beloved brothers and sisters, so He will become the sacrifice for our sin and our sins. He entered humanity in the fullness of time. So he ultimately will go and die the substitutionary death on the Roman cross.

And surely when he died, he paid for our sin. God now can be satisfied. The man, the Mashiach Yeshua died on the cross and was buried and was risen and been ascended. and taken to heaven, now God can forgive a sinner who only accept him and say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I'm not coming to you, God, on the basis of my heritage. I'm not coming to you on the basis of my works. I'm not coming to you on the basis of my action. I'm not coming to you on the basis of money. I'm not coming to you on the basis of anything.

I'm confessing that I am a sinner, destitute, Deserve to be punished by you. But I accept your gift of love. The Messiah Yeshua. His love for us, beloved ladies and gentlemen, can never be measured. He came from heaven. Lived on earth for 33 years. Rejected and despised by men. And ultimately he went to the cross, to the altar. Where he cried, my God. My God, why has thou forsaken me? In Hebrew, Elohi, Elohi, lama shvaktani, lama azavtani. God had to forsake him because he doesn't want to forsake you and I. He judged him so you and I will never need to be judged. He became our substitute, the just one for the unjust so he can bring us to God.

This is amazing. You search around with candles. Find some love like this anywhere in this world. Not even the love of a mother, of a father, of a brother, of a sister, of a family member can be in a great measure to the love of God. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Let us not make that mistake. Let us not say to him, you being a man and you making yourself God. Let's understand on the basis of the word of the Lord with the power of the Spirit of God let us realize that he is that divine person that was willing to enter humanity and to become a man of sorrows acquainted with grief who went on our behalf to the altar and he was judged that you and I will never be judged by a righteous and a holy God.

And he became the light. Yeshua is the light of the world. The Bible called him the bread of life. The Bible called him the light of this world. The Bible called him the door to enter in. The Bible called him the good shepherd. The Bible called him the resurrection and the life. The Bible called him the way, the truth, and the life. And the Bible called him the true vine. I and my Father are one. May the Lord help us these Hanukkah days to take the light of Yeshua the Messiah into our hearts and to appreciate the fact that we believe on him and have forgiveness of sin.

May the Lord bless his word. Can we say amen?