The Gospel According To JohnSýnishorn

Feast of Dedication and Third Passover: John 10:22-12:50

The sixth section of Jesus’ public ministry records the events surrounding his observance of the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22–11:57. John 10:22-40 reports that Jesus observed and fulfilled the Feast of Dedication.

This feast was not instituted in the Old Testament. Its observance began in 165 B.C., after the priestly family the Macabbees led a successful revolt against the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus had taken the title Epiphanes because he believed himself to be a manifestation of god. He massacred many in Jerusalem, defiled the temple, and ordered the worship of Zeus by the Jews. So the Feast of Dedication celebrated the purifying of the temple by re-consecrating it after it had been reclaimed by the Macabbees. Today, the feast is best known by its Hebrew name, Hanukkah, which means “dedication.” 

This passage implicitly contrasts Jesus with Antiochus. On the one hand, Antiochus falsely claimed to be divine as he massacred God’s people and defiled his temple. On the other hand, Jesus really is God’s Son who faithfully does the Father’s work, including giving eternal life to his people. In John 10:36, Jesus even claimed that he had been set apart—or as some translations put it, “consecrated”—and sent into the world. And this language recalled the consecration of the temple in the Feast of Dedication. And of course, Jesus had already compared the rebuilding of the temple to the resurrection of his body in John 2:19-21. 

These themes are carried into the story of the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11:1-57, which demonstrates Jesus’ divine power over death. And the raising of Lazarus from the dead also foreshadows Jesus’ own resurrection at the end of the gospel, when all the hopes of the Feast of Dedication are finally fulfilled.

The seventh section dealing with Jesus’ public ministry is centered around preparations for a third Passover in John 12:1-50. 

Jesus’ preparations for this third Passover that John mentioned set the stage for his ministry to his twelve disciples in John 13–17, as well as for his sacrifice as the Passover lamb in chapter 19. Jesus’ preparations began with him being anointed for burial in 12:1-11. In verses 12-19, John recorded Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In John 12:20-50, Jesus announced publicly that it was the time for him to be glorified through his death and resurrection. Jesus called for those in his hearing to believe in him. After performing miracles before them, many Jews believed but many others did not.