(12.) Jesus Messiah is the Living Menorah

(12.) Jesus Messiah is the Living Menorah. (in process; article is incomplete)

What is the Menorah? “Menorah” is a Hebrew word that simply means light-bearer, or the place that shines and gives light. Menorah and lampstand are treated as synonyms throughout the Bible, even with its variations down through biblical history. The first official menorah was made according to very precise spec’s from Lord Yahweh Himself given to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 25). As with every other piece of furniture in the wilderness Tabernacle, every piece meant something profound, and was a shadow of a heavenly thing to help us understand God better (Hebrew 8:5). The other official menorah in Judaism is the Hanukkah menorah, the centerpiece of the eight-day celebration of Chanukah (Hanukkah).

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world!” (John 9:5).

The Main Point. Jesus Christ is the Menorah with flesh on, the living Lampstand. The Menorah lights in the Hebrew Bible were a symbol waiting for fulfillment, a physical picture that was finally completed by its Artist with the coming of the Light of the World. The Menorah is a tangible metaphor that anticipates the real thing, an earthly object pointing to something beyond itself. The Lampstand represents the true meaning of Jesus. The Menorah pointed to the fact that God is light, only to eventually have God Himself point directly to Jesus, sent to be the world’s light.

“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me shouldn’t abide in darkness.” (John 12:46).

The Qualities of Light. If the Lampstand’s natural light has qualities that would point us to God’s supernatural light, what would some of those qualities be?

1. Natural light reveals reality, it uncovers the truth of what has been in the darkness. Jesus fits the bill here, because He not only reveals what is true, He is Truth incarnate. He is literally and spiritually the Truth;
2. Natural light dispels the darkness, it chases away the shadows. Jesus whole life and ministry was intended to expose the world’s darkness to God’s radiant light. And the darkness has never overcome His light.
3. Natural light guides the way, it shows where to go. Jesus loves to lead people down the right path away from the traps and pitfalls to discover life purpose and meaning. In fact, Jesus called Himself The Way.
4. Natural light sustains life on earth, it brings what is needed for creation to grow. Jesus is the perfect sustainer of spiritual life, providing whatever is needed to be healthy and fruitful.
5. Natural light heals wounds, it burns away impurities. Jesus is the soul’s purifier, who eliminates any harmful contaminants and pollutants and whatever is dirtying up His people purely made in His image.
6. Natural light allows us to read and see, it provides the clarity needed to learn and gain insight for our own well-being. Jesus is Wisdom itself, helping us to grow in understanding, enlightening us to what we need to know, loving us enough to remove our ignorance.

“I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12).

Messiah and Shekinah Light. Joy and light were not the only themes during the Feast of the Tabernacles, when on the Eighth Day Jesus publicly declared Himself to be the light of the world. The other main theme was Messiah. During the Light Ceremony the people were dramatically reminded of the prophesied return of the Shekinah light during the days of the promised Messiah… “The man brought me to the east gate. Oh! The bright Glory of the God of Israel rivered out of the east sounding like the roar of floodwaters, and the earth itself glowed with the bright Glory. It looked just like what I had seen when he came to destroy the city, exactly like what I had seen earlier at the Kebar River. And again I fell, face to the ground. The bright Glory of GOD poured into the Temple through the east gate. The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and—oh! the bright Glory of GOD filled the Temple!” (Ezek. 43:1-6). So in the Jewish mind light and Messiah were intimately connected. The people would know about the rabbinic insight that light was often used in Scripture as a reference to the Messiah… Star out of Jacob, Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the Nations, the Light of Israel, the Refiner’s Fire, the Burning Lamp, the Great Light.

“He is the radiance of God’s glory!” (Hebrews 1:3). 

Light Incarnate. For those living in the deep shadows of death, Love once again has come to us at the speed of light. Since God so loved the world, He declared that light would shine in the darkness, and He beamed onto us the Light of the World. Go and be the Light of the world, the Father said to the Son, and the darkness will not overcome You. In Your light, life will conquer death. Bright truth will outshine the dim counterfeits. Radiant grace will burn away the fog of dis-grace. So arise, dear world! Shine out! Wake up from your long night of darkness, for your Light has come to you! The glorious splendor of the Lord has dawned upon you! Look! Though the darkness of night has covered over the earth, it is a thinner covering now that is destined to disappear forever. The thick darkness over the peoples has holes of light cracking through the night, for the Sun of God is rising upon you! The light has come, and it continues to arrive at your doorstep, it keeps coming in waves upon you like the ocean waves on the shore. Love comes to you at the speed of light from the heavenly glory. Blight has turned to light. Because of the Light of the world, we can expect love, love, and more love.

“You who spend your days shrouded in darkness can now say, ‘We have seen a brilliant light.’ And those who live in the dark shadowland of death can now say, ‘The dawning light arises on us.” (Matthew 4:16, Isaiah 9:2).

Pentecost. In the New Testament’s Acts 2, we see the Living Menorah sending His Holy Spirit to light all the Lampstand candles He could find. In an upper room in Jerusalem, He lit each candle in His Menorah-Body, and the result was “tongues of fire” on the head of 120 followers of Jesus. This unified group of Menorah branches together formed an earthly representation of Christ’s living Menorah, with as many branched candles as possible that are so needed in this dark world. Each church in Christ’s body is a mini-menorah as the candled members learn to walk in His light and spread it everywhere they go.

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The true light which gives light to everyone.” (John 1:1-5, 9).

The Tabernacle Menorah. This original Lampstand representing God’s eternal light points to Jesus in a number of ways: The seven branches remind us that Christ was Co-Creator and helped to complete His divine group project in seven days; the six branches and their candles were designed to face inward toward the central branch who was symbolizing Christ as the central light; the pure olive oil fueling the lights is a vivid reference to the Holy Spirit that fuels the power and glory of Christ; the Lampstand designed to appear as an almond tree, the “watchful tree“, points to our heavenly Jesus who is the eternal Watchman constantly watching out for our best interests; the light that effectively dispels the darkness in the Holy Place will never be snuffed out or neglected, reminding us of Christ’s everlasting light, in whom there is no darkness at all – none!”

“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” (Nicene Creed, 325 AD).

The Hanukkah Menorah. In the gospel of John 10:22, we see that Jesus had traveled all 85 miles from his home in Capernaum to Jerusalem to be a part of the very important Hanukkah celebration. It appears once again that Jesus wants to use a major Jewish festival as a context to reveal His identity, like He did at just days ago the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7-9. Hanukkah was a holiday of Dedication, of the rededication of the desecrated Temple two hundred years earlier; of the time of deliverance from foreign oppression; of a hero named Judah Maccabee who liberated Jerusalem from religious persecution. But here is Jesus, when a messianic fervor is at a high pitch, when the nation was looking for someone to deliver them from Roman oppression. Here is Jesus to tell the people that Yes, He is the messiah, but a spiritual deliverer, not a political one, an anointed king not for national independence but spiritual freedom. Jesus claims here that He is the fulfillment of Hanukkah in that He is a heavenly redeemer, not a political one, that He is a spiritual version of the liberator Judah Maccabee. Jesus came to say that He has a miraculous supply of holy oil just like at the Temple rededication so long ago, only His miraculous supply comes from the Temple of His body and His Holy Spirit. Perhaps the most poignant way Jesus fulfills the Hanukkah Menorah is with the vital use of the “servant candle.” This is the ninth and most important of the Hanukkah candles, because it is used to light all the other candles. The servant candle is the Source of light for all the other candles, and there simply would not be any light at all without it. Jesus is the eternal servant candle, because He is the only possible source of any light there could possibly be in this world. It is only with His light that there is light.