It was the Feast of the Dedication and the Jews gathered around Jesus in Jerusalem. They confronted Jesus and said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” (John 10:24) Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe… You do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.” (cf. John 10:25-26)
Is there a connection between the Feast of the Dedication and Jesus as the Good Shepherd? The Feast of the Dedication (Hanukkah) is an 8-day festival held in December to celebrate the Maccabees’ re-consecration of the temple in 164 B.C., after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 34 contains the parable of the shepherds – it is a passage where God rebukes the shepherds of Israel who led the sheep astray. These shepherds of Israel are the kings and leaders who turned away from God and embraced pagan worship, violence and injustice. They led the sheep, which are the people, astray. God promises that He Himself will search for His sheep and pasture them. But at the same time, God also promises to appoint a future shepherd, in the likeness of the great king David, to pasture them. (cf. Ezekiel 34:23).
As Jesus declared to the Jews: “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), He was telling them that He is the future King appointed by God to shepherd the people. But at the same time, Jesus also declared: “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30); He was also telling them that He is God Himself who has come to and pasture His sheep. Once again in John’s Gospel, Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets. The Jews understood what Jesus said quite clearly, such that they protested, saying, “You, a man, are making yourself God”, and they picked up rocks to stone Him (cf. John 10:31-33).
The declaration of Jesus that He is the Good Shepherd on the Feast of the Dedication is very meaningful. On the one hand, the festival commemorates the bravery, righteousness and victory of the Maccabees who fought valiantly and were unafraid of death; they had the qualities of what a good leader should be. On the other hand, Jesus declared Himself as the Good Shepherd whose qualities surpass that of the Maccabees – He is God’s appointed Shepherd and King. Jesus the Christ did not come as a military leader to liberate people from political oppression; He came as the Son of God and as the Son of Man to liberate people from sin and eternal damnation.
Jesus also said, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) As the Good Shepherd, Jesus ultimately gave up His own life for His sheep in His Passion and Death. At the re-dedication of the temple, a sacrifice was offered on the altar. At the time of Passover, Jesus became the ultimate Sacrifice whose Blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. The vision of John is a testament of the Good Shepherd who offered Himself as a sacrificial Lamb: A great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” (Rev 7:9-10) Finally, Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29) How wonderful it is to be counted as the sheep of the Good Shepherd. The blessing that Jesus gives to those who take His words to heart and follow Him is priceless – no one, not even Satan, can snatch them away from the Father and the Son.