John 10:22–23

A yearly feast celebrating the dedication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus after Antiochus Epiphanes polluted it, 165 B.C. It began on the 25th of the month Chisleu and lasted eight days. The dedication of the temple under Ezra was on the 3rd of Adar, Ezra 6:15-16; but that was not made a yearly feast. The dedication of the temple under Solomon was at the Feast of Tabernacles. 1 Kings 8:2; 2 Chronicles 5:3.

The Maccabean Jews set up the "Feast of Dedication," also called the "Feast of Lights." It remembered the re-dedication of the temple after the victories of Judas over Antiochus Epiphanes, who had desecrated it. The Chanuka generally falls in the month of Chisleu, or December, and so the mention of "winter." Notice that the Evangelist does not speak of it as a "feast" — that is, as if it had divine sanction.

Many of us know the attempt to use the opening of verse 22 to support tradition and human authority in divine things. But it is useless. Here we learn nothing about our Lord taking part in any observances of men, whatever they may have been. We learn only that He was then in Jerusalem, winter as it was, and walking in Solomon's porch.

The feast of the dedication of the temple came two months after the events just told, yet the connection with them is clear. The dedication being remembered was not Solomon's. It was the re-dedication by Judas Maccabaeus, after Antiochus had profaned the temple. Yet the Lord walking in Solomon's porch (or colonnade) is surely meaningful: it carries us back to that first dedication, if only by contrast. The massive foundations of Solomon's structure remained, but only in ruin... The glory was gone, the Living Voice that had once spoken to them was silent now. The ark and mercy seat were gone — the throne of the divine Inhabitant, where the covering blood should have been sprinkled.

And now we have the surpassingly wonderful PERSON walking there. Shall we see the priests paying homage to the One greater than the temple, greater than the sacrifices, greater than the types and shadows?... And yet He was unknown. He was insulted, called a Samaritan, an outcast, charged with being demon-possessed, and no priest did Him homage. No wonder we have the sentence, "It was winter." Truly it was spiritual winter. Not a leaf on the dead tree of ritualism; the shell had no kernel, the profession had no reality, ordinances gave no satisfaction.

"It was winter." Yes, "winter!" All was now over with Israel. They had ignored their springtime of mercy and refused the light of their summer. They closed their eyes to the long lingering shadows of their autumn, and now their "winter" had come. Their harvest was past and their summer ended.

In Solomon's porch walked One whose glory far surpassed that of the famous king. Yet He was unwanted and unacknowledged... The Holy Spirit notes, "It was winter." This describes the condition spiritually as well as physically. When Israel is in a better frame of mind, summer will come, for themselves and for all nations.

It may be "winter" outside (v. 22), but not for those within who are resting on Jesus' breast. No chilling blasts are felt inside the circle of the Father's love.

In John 10:22-23 our blessed Lord was in the temple in Solomon's porch. The temple was a magnificent structure, with all its show of religious service, and the feast of dedication was in progress. Yet "it was winter." That was true of the season of the year. It was also a perfect description of the nation's condition. Where there was no life spiritually there was no movement toward God, for all its fair show. But there is something else to notice: "Jesus walked." What a delight for the Father to look down on His beloved Son in that winter scene! In Him alone He found something for Himself. There was One who walked for His glory, where every step gave off a sweet fragrance in contrast to the corruption.

The Maccabean Jews set up the "Feast of Dedication," also called the "Feast of Lights." It marked the rededication of the Temple after the victories of Judas over Antiochus Epiphanes, who had desecrated it... It generally falls in the month of Chisleu, or December, and so the mention of "winter." Notice that John does not speak of it as a "feast." He does not treat it as if it had Divine sanction.

Yet the Lord walking in Solomon's porch, or colonnade, is significant. It carries us back to that first dedication, if only by way of contrast. The massive foundations of Solomon's building remained, but only in ruin. However much people tried to repair it, it testified to the failure and ruin that had come in... As it stood, it was the very witness of their showy rule-keeping, which covered up the decay and desolation underneath. The Glory had departed. The Living Voice that once spoke to them was silent now. The Ark and Mercy-seat were gone — the place for the sprinkling of the covering blood, the Throne of God who dwelt there.

It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon's porch. The season of the year may account for that. Further, we gather from the mention of this porch in Acts 3:11 and 5:12 that it was a place where people gathered. While He was walking there the Jews came round Him. With a show of earnest desire they said to Him: "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

And now we have the surpassingly wonderful PERSON walking there. Shall we have the priests paying homage to the One greater than the Temple, greater than the sacrifices, greater than the types and shadows? All this that lay before His eye was but the shadow. He was the SUBSTANCE. Without Him they would never have been, just as a shadow could not exist without the substance that casts it.

Solomon's Porch saw the remarkable blessing given to the sheep, and the definite condemnation of the unbelievers. It also heard that wonderful announcement of the Lord's oneness with the Father. And it was the place He left, to go back to where the testimony first began. It showed, in no small measure, the moral glory of His person, the stubbornness of His foes, and the end of His work among that guilty nation.