the Feast of Dedication: This winter feast is also known as Hanukkah. It celebrates the time when the Jews rededicated the temple after Antiochus IV (175–163 BC) defiled it in. Two hundred years before Jesus was born, Greek soldiers captured the Jerusalem Temple, stole its treasures, and made it unusable for worship.
In the winter of 165–164 BC, a Jewish army led by Judas Maccabeus reclaimed the temple and rededicated it to the Lord. The Feast of Hanukkah ("dedication") celebrates this event (see 1 Maccabees 3–4; 2 Maccabees 8:1–10:8).
During the feast, priests examined their commitment to service, using Ezekiel 34 as their main text for reflection (also Jeremiah 23:1–4; 25:32–38; Zechariah 11). At this Hanukkah celebration, Jesus used the shepherd theme from Ezekiel 34 to show he was the good shepherd (John 10:11). He also showed how Israel’s current religious leaders were bad shepherds (10:10, 12–13).