Jesus
Celebrated Hanukah
This musical is about a group of kids who go to a
retirement home in order to tell people about Jesus. They encounter an unusual
old Jewish man who proceeds to tell them that Jesus was Jewish. He then makes the startling revelation to
the children that Jesus actually celebrated Hanukah! This leads to songs about each of the biblical festivals
described in Leviticus 23. Ultimately,
we learn that Jesus not only celebrated all of the festivals, but he fulfilled
the spring festivals in his first coming, and will fulfill the fall festivals
in his second coming. We learn that the
festivals still have great meaning today.
Goldy
Cast of characters:
Benny
John
Cindy
Kathy
Scene:
Benny and John and Cindy and Kathy are doing an assignment
from their Sunday school class. They
are driving in a pretend car over to the retirement home while singing about
it. They are visiting a retirement home
in order to make some friends and tell people about Jesus.
Mother: Ok kids.
Let’s get on our way to the Cherry Crest retirement home.
They drive
around as they sing:
The Cherry Crest
Retirement Home
Well I’m
going on an outing with my Sunday school class,
I’m going
to make the name of Jesus be known,
Gonna
Rockem Gonna Sockem,
Off their
feet we’re gonna knockem,
At the
Cherry Crest Retirement Home.
They
arrive at the retirement home. The
mother drops them off.
Mother: Ok kids.
We’re here at the retirement home.
I’ll pick you up in 3 hours.
The mother drives off. They enter the retirement home.
The sign on the door says “Finkelbaum Senile Center”.
Benny: Are you sure we’re in the right place? The sign on the door says “Finkelbaum Senile
Center”. And none of the other kids
from our class are here.
Kathy: Well, this is where my mom dropped us
off. We must be in the right place.
John: Let’s start telling these old folks about
Jesus.
Cindy: Yeah.
Let’s try this room.
They enter
a room where an old man is lying on the bed.
He appears to be asleep.
Benny: Excuse me sir. May we come in?
The man
startles awake.
Man: Welcome youngsters. I see you’ve come to visit me and my friend!
John: With all due respect sir, there is nobody
in this room except for you and us.
Man What? So you think I’m a little crazy? You think that maybe I have a case of brain
drain?
Kathy: Of course not sir. We’re just stating a fact.
Man: Come a little closer. I don’t see so good anymore.
The kids
move closer to the man. The man grabs
Benny by the cheek and squeezes it.
Benny: Ouch!
Man: You seem like a smart, healthy young
man. Come meet my friend.
Benny: Where is he sir?
Man: He lives inside me!
Cindy: Kathy, I knew that your mom dropped us off
at the wrong place. Let’s get out of
here.
Man: Wait a minute. What day is it?
Kathy: It’s Friday sir.
Man: Please stay a little longer. My grandchildren are coming to visit me
today. I want you to meet them.
John: Ok.
I suppose we can stay for about one more second.
Man: Wait!
Did you hear that? I think my
grandchildren are here!
Benny: I don’t hear anything. Nobody else is here!
Man: Hello precious grandchildren!
Suddenly
the lights focus on the choir.
Choir: Hello grandpa Plotznick!
Cindy: Oh my!
You have so many grandchildren!
Man: Of course I do. The Lord said to be fruitful and multiply. I was fruitful, and I multiplied! Just look at all of those cute little
Plotznicks!
Choir: We love you grandpa Plotznick!
Man: I love all of you too. I was just about to introduce these young
people to my special friend that lives in me.
Choir: You must mean Jesus!
Kathy: Wait a minute. We’re supposed to tell you about Jesus.
Man: Young people. I’m sure that you have much to tell me. But humor an old Jewish man.
John: You’re Jewish?
Man: Of course! This is the Finklebaum Senile Center.
John: And you believe in Jesus?
Man: Of course! Wasn’t Jesus himself Jewish?
Choir: Yes!
Man: Were Peter and Paul Jewish?
Choir: Yes!
Man: Were all of his first followers Jewish?
Choir: Yes!
Man: Jesus is the Jew of Jews, the Jewish
Messiah. He even celebrated Hanukah!
Benny: Are you sure about that?
Man: Of
course! Shlomo! Yenta!
Two kids in the choir answer.
Kids: Yes
grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Come
tell our fine feathered friends about Hanukah.
Kids: Yes
grandpa Plotznick!
Jesus Celebrated Hanukah
Shlomo sings:
The story is told so everyone will know,
It was in the land of Israel a long time ago.
A terrible king came with all of his men,
He captured the temple and committed many sins.
But God raised up the mighty Macabees,
They fought so very brave and they set the temple free.
They worked so hard and the temple they restored,
And Hanukah was celebrated by the Lord.
Jesus Celebrated Hanukah,
Jesus Celebrated Hanukah,
Jesus Celebrated Hanukah,
Jesus Celebrated Hanukah.
Yenta sings:
Dreidel, dreidel spinning around,
When it drops I’m a winner and I’ll make a happy sound.
Presents to open and latkes to eat,
There’s cookies and candies and lots of other treats.
Candles are burning, they’re burning so bright,
Come light the Menorah and fill our house with light.
Kathy: That’s all fine and dandy. But how do we know that Jesus actually celebrated Hanukah?
Shlomo: It says in John 10:22-23 “Then came the Feast
of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was
winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.”
Cindy: What is the Feast of Dedication?
Yenta: That’s Hanukah! Hanukah means dedication!
Jesus was in Jerusalem celebrating Hanukah!
Cindy: So that’s the story of Hanukah. Who are the Macabees?
Shlomo: The Macabees were a family that continued to worship God, even though they weren’t supposed to. They fought against the enemy until the enemy was defeated and the temple was recaptured and rededicated to the Lord. Macabees means hammer, because they struck the enemy fast and hard like a hammer.
Kathy: It sounds like Hanukah is a fun holiday!
Man: Fun? Hey! Let’s have some fun today. Let’s celebrate all of the Holidays
John: How many are there?
Man: There’s lots of them. Fannie! Simon!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Get down here!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: These kiddies need to learn that Jesus not only celebrated the festivals, he is the fulfillment of each one. Let’s tell them how Jesus died on the Passover.
Benny: I know that. Everyone knows that! It was on Passover that Jesus declared the new covenant.
Jesus Died on Passover
Benny sings:
Jesus Died on Passover,
God’s innocent lamb was slain,
And if we put our trust in him,
Eternal life we will gain.
Because of God’s great love for us,
He sent his only son,
He died for every one of us,
And finished what he’d begun.
Then he broke the bread,
And this is what he said.
This is my body given for you,
Do this in remembrance of me.
Then he took the cup,
And he raised it up.
This is the blood of the covenant,
That is poured out for you.
Simon Sings:
On Passover we celebrate,
Our time is bittersweet,
We used to be in bondage,
But God has set us free.
God raised up a deliverer,
And Moses was his name,
He led us through the desert,
To the promised land we came.
Fannie Sings:
On Passover we drink grape juice,
And eat unleavened bread,
We sing songs of deliverance,
And pray as we feel led.
On Passover there’s lots of food,
That we just love to eat.
Matzoh ball soup and Gefilte fish,
And charoses that’s so sweet.
Benny sings again:
Jesus Died on Passover,
God’s innocent lamb was slain,
And if we put our trust in him,
Eternal life we will gain.
Because of God’s great love for us,
He sent his only son,
He died for every one of us,
And finished what he’d begun.
Cindy: What is charoses?
Fannie: Charoses is a mixture of chopped apple, walnuts, and grape juice. It reminds us of the mortar used by the Israelites when they built the Egyptian cities. We eat the charoses mixed with a bitter herb like horseradish, to remind us that the bitterness of slavery can be sweetened by God’s redemption.
Man: Oy Vey! You are making me so hungry. I could just die for some of that Charoses! It has nuts. I go nuts over nuts!
Simon: Passover is really a bittersweet holiday. For over 400 years the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but God redeemed them. All of us were once slaves to sin, but when we trusted Jesus, we were redeemed too!
Fannie: Jesus is the Passover lamb. 1 Cor 5:7 says “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”.
John: Yes, but the good news is that 3 days later he was raised from the dead on Easter!
Man: Not so fast young man. He was raised from the dead on First Fruits.
John: No sir! I’m afraid it was on Easter!
Man: You might call it Easter now, but he rose from the dead on First Fruits. Minnie! Milton!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Tell our little visitors about First Fruits.
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Milton: 1 Cor 15:20 says “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”.
Cindy: Where is this First Fruits talked about in the bible?
Minnie: All of the biblical festivals are described in Leviticus 23. It first tells us about the Sabbath. Then it tells about the spring festivals of Passover, First Fruits, and the Feast of Weeks which we call Pentecost.
Milton: Then it tells us about the three fall festivals, the Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Cindy: Yes, but those are all Old Testament festivals. We don’t celebrate them today anymore since Jesus came.
Minnie: That’s not true! We still can celebrate them today with a new understanding. Not only did Jesus celebrate all of the festivals, he also fulfilled all of the spring festivals in his first coming. We can still celebrate them knowing that their true meaning is all about Jesus!
Milton: First Fruits is also a wonderful festival where God’s people brought the first fruits of the early spring harvest as an offering to the Lord.
Chorus
First Fruits!
It’s a time of joy,
It’s the day that God did do what he said.
First Fruits!
It’s a time of joy,
It’s the day that Jesus rose from the dead.
Minnie Sings:
They brought the first fruits to the temple,
As an offering to the Lord,
God delivered them into freedom,
Their lives he restored.
Cindy Sings:
He proclaimed the sign of Jonah,
Then he spent three days in the earth,
Then the Son of Man did rise,
From the heart of the earth.
Kathy Sings:
He proclaimed destroy this temple,
He would raise if up again,
He’s the first fruits of the kingdom,
That never will end.
If you confess with your mouth,
That Jesus is Lord,
And believe in your heart,
God raised him from the dead,
You will be saved.
For Messiah has come,
He died for our sins,
and was raised from the dead,
First fruits of those asleep,
His life he gave.
Man: That song makes me so hungry. I feel like a banana!
John: Are there any more spring festivals that Jesus fulfilled?
Man: Of course there are. Sammy! Selma!
Kids: Yes grandpa Plotznick.
Man Get down here and tell them about the next festival.
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Sammy: The next festival is Pentecost.
Benny: Wow, that was such an incredible supernatural experience! Why did God choose Pentecost to give his Holy Spirit?
Selma: Well, we believe that another incredible supernatural event also happened on Pentecost way before God gave the Holy Spirit.
Sammy: Yes, we believe that a study in the book of Exodus reveals that God gave his word to Moses on Mount Sinai on Pentecost. First he gave his word, then he gave his Spirit.
Pentecost
Sammy sings:
They gathered on the bottom of Mount Sinai,
Waiting to hear from the Lord,
God was just about to change their lives,
And give to them so much more.
Sarah sings:
The sound of the trumpets grew very loud,
The crashing thunder they heard,
The mountain was covered by smoke and clouds,
Then God gave Moses his word.
Everybody come hear it,
Listen well and be sure,
Now God gives us his Spirit,
But first he gave us his word.
All you people come hear it,
Live a life that is pure,
Live your life by the Spirit,
And everyday read the word.
Sammy sings:
They gathered all together on the chosen day,
They waited in the early hours,
A violent wind came and filled that place,
And they received the gift of power.
Sarah sings:
They saw what seemed to be like tongues of fire,
That came to rest on each one,,
They were filled with the Spirit as God desired,
Then they spoke in different tongues.
The Spirit and the word go hand in hand,
Together they fit like a glove,
This is the way that God has planned,
We call them his gifts of love.
Sammy sings:
A new covenant was God’s design,
To give each of us a new start,
He put his law right into our minds,
And wrote it onto our hearts.
John: Wow. This is all so new for me! What is the next festival?
Man: The next one is the Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashana. This is where I get to blow my horn!
Choir: Wait Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Yes precious grandchildren. What is it?
Two kids come down.
Boy: Grandpa Plotznick, we missed the very first festival! We missed the one that reminds us every week of the rest that we have in Jesus. The Sabbath!
Man: Oy va voy! You are so right! When you’re right, you’re right! Of course, when you’re wrong, you’re wrong!
Girl: Grandpa Plotznick, let’s tell our friends how every week we
begin the Sabbath by singing Shabbat Shalom, which means welcome Sabbath.
Man: Why don’t you just sing it to them, you
cute little Plotznicks.
Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom.
Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom.
Boy sings:
On Friday night the Sabbath begins,
We light the candles to bring the Sabbath in,
We gather together and then to God we pray,
We say the blessings to set apart the day.
Jesus has become our Sabbath rest,
If you trust in him you will be blessed,
He is the Lord of the Sabbath,
He also has been become our Sabbath rest.
Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom.
Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom.
Girl sings:
On the Sabbath day we do no work,
We focus on God and we read his word,
We do good deeds and the time we spend,
Is used to visit with family and friends.
Boy sings:
There remains for us a Sabbath rest,
For the people of God who knows what is best,
We enter the rest only by our trust,
Salvation has come to everyone of us.
Man: Speaking of rest, let’s wrap this up soon. It’s almost time for my cookies and milk, and then my nap! Danny! Rosie!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Come down here and tell these munchkins about Rosh Hashana.
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: But first, I am going to blow my horn!
Grandpa Plotznick blows a Shofar. When he finishes, everyone claps and cheers.
Man: It takes a lot of hot air, and I’ve got plenty of that!
Cindy: So, what is this Rosh Hashana festival about? I have heard of that before. Isn’t that the Jewish new year?
Danny: Yes. Rosh Hashana means new year, but the actual name is called “Yom Teruah”, which means the day of blowing. We blow a ram’s horn, and you know what that sounds like now.
Rosie: We blow it as a call to repentance, and also to remind ourselves what happens in heaven when we put our faith in Jesus.
Benny: I know what happens. Jesus said that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who don’t need to repent.
Danny: That’s right! And the other great thing that happens is that our names are written in the book of life. The traditional Rosh Hashana greeting is “May your name be inscribed”.
Kathy: So we put our faith in Jesus, God gives us his Holy Spirit, there is a great rejoicing in heaven, and our names are inscribed in the book of life. How exciting!
Cindy: Now you said that the spring festivals are all about the first coming of Jesus and the fall festivals are all about his second coming. I’ll bet that this is about the trumpet of God being blown when Jesus returns.
Rosie: You’re right! As Grandpa Plotznick says, When you’re right, you’re right and…
Kids: When you’re wrong you’re wrong!
Rosie: Scripture says that the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the trumpet call of God and we will rise up to meet Jesus in the clouds.
Danny sings:
On the Feast of Trumpets we repent of our sins,
Hear the blast of the shofar again and again,
Tradition says that it is on this day,
God will determine our eternal place.
Are you written in the book of life,
It’s not too late to do what is right,
Repent from your sins and put your trust in Messiah,
You will be written in the book of life.
Rosie sings:
On the Feast of Trumpets we remember our Lord,
We sing and dance and blow the shofar some more,
We dip apples in honey to have a sweet year,
And we will go forth in our lives with no fear.
Cindy Sings:
The trumpet will blast and the dead will rise,
Then we will go up in the blink of an eye,
We’ll live in heaven and forever we’ll sing,
And we will bow down at the throne of the king.
Man: You want me to blow it again? Here goes something!
He blows the Shofar again and holds a long note. Everyone claps and cheers.
Man: Thank you, thank you. It’s my one talent in life! Sarah! Sadie! Sophie!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Man: Come on down and tell these rugrats about the Day of Atonement.
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick!
Sarah: The next festival is the day of Atonement, which is called Yom Kippur. It is actually a very solemn festival where we fast and confess our sins.
John: You only confess your sins once a year? If I don’t do it everyday, I forget them!
Sadie: Actually, on Yom Kippur, we remember that God is our judge. In temple times, the high priest entered the inner room of the temple only on Yom Kippur, and offered sacrifices for himself and for the sins the people of Israel had committed.
Sophie: This had to be done every year. But now we have Jesus as our high priest. Hebrews 9:27,28 says: “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people” .
Sarah sings:
I am just a young girl,
With trust in God above,
I hope to live a life,
Of faith expressed through love.
There will come a Judgement day,
For each and every one,
You will stand before the Lord,
When that day will come.
When I stand before the Lord,
I will have no fear,
Jesus will remember me,
And he will draw me near.
I will be seen as white as snow,
When I stand before the Lord,
Yes I will be found as white as snow,
On that day I stand before the Lord.
Sadie sings:
As I live my life for God,
Walking in the light,
I hope what I do is good,
Always in God’s site.
When I put my faith in Jesus,
And repented for all of my sins,
I was washed clean, as white as snow,
And that’s when my life did begin.
Sophie sings:
As I run the race of life,
On God I do depend,
I hope that I finish strong,
When I reach the end.
Man: Just one more to go, little tikes. It is called the Feast of Tabernacles. Beatrice, Bessie, Bertha!
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick..
Man: Come tell these juniors about this festival.
Kids: Yes Grandpa Plotznick.
Beatrice: Jesus was required to celebrate this feast in Jerusalem.
John: Why was that?
Bessie: There are three festivals that God required all Jewish men to celebrate in Jerusalem. Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. God didn’t give a reason why. He just commanded it.
Benny: Certainly we have to be obedient to God’s commandments. I heard that the only reason that the Jewish people were required to follow the kosher dietary laws was to be holy, like God.
Bertha: Yes, you’re right. As Grandpa Plotznick says, when you’re right you’re right and…
Kids: When you’re wrong you’re wrong!
Bertha: There was no other reason for following the dietary laws. People who had faith in God joyfully followed all of his commandments.
John: How many commandments are there?
Beatrice: There are 613 commandments in the Old Testament. This of course includes the Ten Commandments.
Benny: Did Jesus follow all 613 commandments?
Bessie: Of course he did. He lived his life as a Jewish man. Of course, being God, he gave the correct interpretation of many of the commandments.
John: So, with the festivals, Jesus not only celebrated them as commanded, he is also the fulfillment of them!
Bertha: That’s right! As Grandpa Plotznick says, When you’re right…
John: No offense, but I already know what Grandpa Plotznick says about this!
Bertha: With tabernacles, there were many great traditions on how they celebrated it. Jesus used these traditions to teach about himself.
Beatrice: Tabernacles is about celebrating the fall harvest and also remembering that the Jews lived in temporary dwellings when they wandered in the desert for 40 years.
Bessy: The fulfillment of Tabernacles is when Jesus returns to earth to dwell with us for 1000 years. The book of Zechariah even tells that people will continue to celebrate Tabernacles in Jerusalem when Jesus is here on earth!
Bertha: In fact, many Christians go to Jerusalem now every year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because we know that we will be celebrating it when Jesus is here tabernacling with his people.
Chorus sings:
Back in the days of old,
Beatrice sings:
They celebrated the feast of tabernacles,
Chorus sings:
There was so much joy,
Beatrice sings:
As they poured out the water on the steps of the temple.
Chorus sings:
But Jesus stood and he said,
Beatrice sings:
If a man is thirsty let him come to me and drink,
Chorus sings:
And if you believes in Jesus,
Beatrice sings:
Streams of living water will flow from within you.
Tabernacles, Tabernacles, we will celebrate Tabernacles,
We will go up year after year,
To worship the King, the Lord almighty,
We will go up year after year,
To celebrate the feast of tabernacles,
Tabernacles, Tabernacles, we will celebrate Tabernacles.
Chorus sings:
Back in the days of old,
Bessie sings:
They celebrated the feast of tabernacles,
Chorus sings:
There was so much joy,
Bessie sings:
As they lit the great lamps in the courts of the temple.
Chorus sings:
But Jesus stood and he said,
Bessie sings:
I am the light of the world,
Chorus sings:
And if you believes in Jesus,
Bessie sings:
You’ll never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
Chorus sings:
On the fifteenth day,
Bertha sings:
Of the seventh month of each and every year,
Chorus sings:
There is so much joy,
Bertha sings:
As we celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Chorus sings:
And we await the day,
Bertha sings:
When Jesus will return to be with us forever,
Chorus sings:
There’ll be so much joy,
Bertha sings:
When Jesus tabernacles with his people.
Benny: Wow! I can’t believe that we learned so many new things in the bible that we didn’t know before.
Cindy: Yes! By learning about the biblical holidays, we can learn so much more about Jesus!
Kathy: I think that we should start celebrating these festivals. I mean, If they are all about Jesus, then this is a no brainer.
Man: Brainer? You don’t need brains to celebrate these festivals! You just need a little faith!
Benny sings:
There are some days that stand out above all the rest
Chorus says:
That’s right
Benny sings:
If you follow them you’ll be blessed
Chorus sings:
That’s right
Benny sings:
They’re the holy days of the Lord.
These are God’s ways,
Established so long ago,
For God’s people to know,
That’s what these days are for.
These are:
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
Benny says:
Come on!
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
Benny says:
Come on!
Chorus
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
Celebrations of the Lord most high,
These days I just want to celebrate,
Dance and sing my praises to the Lord,
These days I declare my God is great,
I will worship him forevermore.
Cindy sings:
All the spring days,
Their purpose was revealed when he came,
They were all fulfilled in his name,
When he died and rose from the dead.
All the fall days,
They’ll all be fulfilled when he comes,
When he shows the world he’s the one,
And we will rejoice and be glad.