The Jewish people have a word that we recite at Passover, dayenu, that means, essentially, “It would have been enough.” If God had only done this for us, it would have been enough, but He went further. It would have been enough if God had only allowed the Messiah to be born. But He went further. God sent us the greatest gift of all when He sent the Messiah, who was born, of a virgin, fully God and fully human, who would die for the sins of the world. And that would have been enough. But God went further.

The Messiah did not get His start in Bethlehem on Christmas day.  In fact, our true hope lies in the fact that this baby, born in a manger, was first a part of the Godhead, existing with the Father, and with the Spirit, from the beginning of creation. According to Micah, God says, “One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). He is speaking of this child born in Bethlehem. This child would be the manifestation of someone eternal. He was God in the flesh! And as a result, He was able to say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58).

This controversial statement is our greatest Messianic hope! God was made flesh, and dwelt among us. God took our sin upon Himself, and carried it to the cross. God Himself went to the grave, but overcame death, so that each one of us who believes could have eternal life. God Himself did this, because we could not. And now, because of Messiah Jesus, God made flesh, the conqueror of death, we can all say, “Dayenu!!”

Let’s pray together. O Lord, thank You for sending your Son, Yeshua, the Light of the World, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. At the conclusion of this Feast of Dedication, we remember that You were so dedicated to us that you sent Your Son, Who became flesh, and walked with us, so that we might be given the opportunity to follow Your Light, and walk with You. And You are more than sufficient! In Yeshua’s name, Amen.