John 10:22 to 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees
John 10:22 to 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees
It should be noted that the Feast of Purim celebrated the events recorded in the Book of Esther. We read of the following command given in the Book of Esther… (Esther 9:28 NRSV)…This verse commands a continuous celebration of Purim. According to John’s gospel, Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate a certain feast: Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival. (John 5:1 God’s Word). It is possible that this refers to Purim. If so, then this indicates that the people recognized the tradition to celebrate Purim in remembrance of their deliverance from the Persians. By doing so, it gives testimony to the authority of the Book of Esther.[1]
The exact same reasoning supports including 1 Maccabees: Jesus also attended the Feast of the Dedication (Hanukkah), as mentioned in John 10:22: “and it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.” According to the KJV notes, that is a reference to 1 Maccabees 4:59, which commands the celebration of Hanukkah just as Esther commands the celebration of Purim.[2]
Note that the Gospel of John thus clearly references Hanukkah by one of its names, whereas Purim is only possibly referenced in John 5:1 (and it might not be Purim: “It is possible that this refers to Purim”). In fact, while the KJV cross-references John 10:22 to 1 Maccabees 4:59 for the celebration of Hanukkah, there is no cross reference between John 5:1 to Esther 9:28 for the Feast of Purim.
Moreover, Jesus attended the celebration and, along the way to it, healed the man born blind and preached “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:3-5)[3] Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, where the Jews light the Menorah candles, etc. So, the reference is not just far more certain and definite than John 5:1 is, but it is far more essential to understanding the events of the Gospel, such as why Jesus says “I am the light of the world” on His way to the Festival of Lights.
Consider just how beautiful this allusion to light and sight and blindness is (all from Chapter 9):
[Jesus] I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
[Jesus] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world
[Formerly blind man] one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
[Pharisees] as for this fellow [Jesus], we know not from whence he is.
[Formerly blind man] Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. … Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing
[Jesus] I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
In addition, Antiochus was called “Epiphanes” (Epiphany) because he claimed that he was “God Manifest” (the meaning of the term) on Earth. (This is mocked throughout 2 Maccabees, with the true God manifestly aiding the Jews, e.g., 2:21 “And the manifest signs that came from heaven unto those that behaved themselves manfully to their honour for Judaism…”). Another allusion to 1 and 2 Maccabees is made when at Hanukkah: “John 10:22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then came the Jews round about him… If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly… 30 I and my Father are one. 31 … the Jews took up stones again to stone him.” The moment Jesus declares Himself to be the true Epiphany, the stones came out, because the Jews ‘were blind’ and did not recognize the true God truly Manifest in the midst of the celebration of the rededication of the very Temple He was standing in.
This is far more than just a mention of the Festival; it seems to proclaim the “fulfillment” of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights (1 Maccabees 4:59). In fact, multiple verses in 1 Maccabees were expressly awaiting fulfillment, and then fulfilled by Jesus. For example, the rededication of the altar in 4:46 (And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them) and the expectation of the arrival of a faithful prophet in 14:41 (Also that the Jews and priests were well pleased that Simon should be their governor and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet) are being fulfilled by Jesus.
All of these references and allusions go far beyond the “possible mention of Purim” in John 5:1. And the reason they go so far beyond it is precisely because of the meaning that Jesus and John give the allusions.
Still, there is no formal citation to the Book of 1 Maccabees. But compare that to (for example) the calming of the storm in Matthew 8:23-27 (And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea… And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!). In discussing this event, John F. MacArthur Jr. tells us that:
The disciples knew the Psalms. Many times they had heard and repeated the words of Psalm 89: “…” They had sung, “…” (Ps. 46:1-3). They knew well the majestic and comforting words of Psalm 107: … It was a literal fulfillment of those verses that Jesus was about to accomplish on the Sea of Galilee.[4]
I submit that the Disciples, and the audience of John’s Gospel, knew their Maccabees and that this is a literal fulfillment of those verses. Although we all agree that a clear citation would be inarguable, and thus infinitely more convenient for those who are just trying to resolve the canon debate, in reality, you usually expressly cite something because otherwise no one would know what you are referring to. Often, the reason you do not cite something is that everyone already knows exactly what you are referring to. Large, conceptual things that are well known are not in need of citations. It is little-known details that require citations.
Consider that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all repeat the story of the calming of the storm, and yet, not one of them ever bothered to cite to any of the Psalms. MacArthur focuses on the fact that the disciples knew the Psalms, and no doubt they did. But also, the audience of Matthew, Mark, and Luke also knew that the Psalms were being fulfilled, which is exactly why the Evangelists do not bother to say so. They certainly could have quoted Psalms, exactly as MacArthur does—they just did not need to. Perhaps John did not cite to 1 or 2 Maccabees because it was equally unnecessary to say which Scripture was being fulfilled when he shows the fulfillment of Hanukkah.
[1] I do not devote space to the canonicity of the Apocryphal parts of Esther, but they, too, have a strong case for acceptance by the Jews, Apostles, and early Church. 1 Clement, arguably the earliest extra-Biblical Christian writing, cites to parts of Esther not found in the shorter form. See 1 Clement 55, citing the story in Esther chapters 14-16 (using the KJV numbering) www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Additions-to-Esther-Chapter-14/. And Josephus also draws from the long form of Esther. See Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, Chapter 6 (https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-11.html) and compare to Esther 13:8-18 (www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Additions-to-Esther-Chapter-13/).
[2] Strange but true: Hanukkah is only based in Scripture in Catholic/Orthodox Bibles, and not the Tanakh. There is a tie-in to 2 Maccabees here as well, but I ignore that to focus on 1 Maccabees.
[3] This is one of the Seven Signs of the Book of Signs that forms one of John’s key messages (the new creation theology), and, thus, an undeniably crucial part of John’s Gospel. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Signs.
[4] MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Matthew.
