Samantha Rinne
Resident Genderfluid Writer/Artist
So anyway, the Talmud also mentions a strange event. In the 40 or so years before the temple fell, there were alot of creepy signs.
Talmudic Evidence for the Messiah at 30 C.E.
Yoma 39b
So let's break this down (cutting the quote for length).
Was it because of Jesus being crucified? Or was it another cause? And no, I am not trying to sell you on "Jesus was the Messiah." I honestly feel like the person of Jesus was less important than what he taught, which got ignored entirely. So yea, let's talk about other options.
Collusion with Rome
In the NT lesson about taxes to Caesar, Jesus asks them to show the coin. They show a denarii with Caesar's face, not a shekel, meaning they were in the pocket of Rome. And they were involved in turning in people for crucifixion. Even without this, it was a pattern of conduct that when Judah/Israel let outside interests govern them or worshiped other gods, they tended to get punished.
They rejected or dishonored God's commands and failed to atone
This is consistent with Judaism (at least of that time). Judaism then had a different focus than modern Judaism, and was very much about sin and atonement. They had the sacrifice mentioned above of bleeding an animal for atoning for sins, but perhaps God could sense there was a sin they were not apologizing for.
Well, there was one, as mentioned above, they did little to apologize for either things Jesus accused them of (their part in the death of many of the prophets, priority of Sabbath over pikuach nefesh and criticizing ppl for healing on the Sabbath, and neglect of widows/orphans/lepers/outsiders), and they seem to have swept Jesus under the rug so to speak (the Talmud portrays him as a sorcerer and a son of a whore).
They failed to make reforms God told them through prophets and/or Jesus
Jesus while being an actual Jew, obviously had a laundry list of reforms (see above). They kinda didn't do them.
But he was hardly the first. Hosea had to go and marry a prostitute to show the people were unfaithful. Elijah had a king plotting his life. There were alot of prophets that weren't listened to in their time. And Jesus quoted Isaiah and Hosea and many of the other prophets. Meaning they were getting ignored then, too.
They denied Jesus as the Messiah
Pretty self explanatory. Basically that because the Jews rejected Jesus, this is what happened.
They denied a personal relationship with God
This one takes some explaining. Jesus is often called Emmanuel or "God with us" and it seems like a large part of his ministry was to teach about a personal relationship with God. In other words, it wasn't about him being the Messiah (or not) at all, but rather to teach the Jews that they didn't need priests or curtains or gates at all, but could directly speak to God. It also explains the torn curtain in Matthew 27:51. Obviously this would explain why any mention of him in the Talmud was chilly at best, a personal relationship would undermine their authority.
So what do you think? Or will you reject that this happened, even though Jewish rabbis say it did?
Talmudic Evidence for the Messiah at 30 C.E.
Yoma 39b
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves"
So let's break this down (cutting the quote for length).
The Miracle of the "Lot"
The first of these miracles concerns a random choosing of the "lot" which was cast on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The lot chosen determined which of two goats would be "for the Lord" and which goat would be the "Azazel" or "scapegoat." During the two hundred years before 30 CE, when the High Priest picked one of two stones, again this selection was governed by chance, and each year the priest would select a black stone as often as a white stone. But for forty years in a row, beginning in 30 CE, the High Priest always picked the black stone! The odds against this happening are astronomical (2 to the 40th power). In other words, the chances of this occurring are 1 in approximately 5,479,548,800 or about 5.5 billion to one! By comparison, your chances of winning your local state or municipal-run cash Lottery would be much more favorable!
The lot for Azazel, the black stone, contrary to all the laws of chance, came up 40 times in a row from 30 to 70 AD! This was considered a dire event and signified something had fundamentally changed in this Yom Kippur ritual. This casting of lots is also accompanied by yet another miracle which is described next.
The Miracle of the Red Strip
The second miracle concerns the crimson strip or cloth tied to the Azazel goat. A portion of this red cloth was also removed from the goat and tied to the Temple door. Each year the red cloth on the Temple door turned white as if to signify the atonement of another Yom Kippur was acceptable to the Lord. This annual event happened until 30 CE when the cloth then remained crimson each year to the time of the Temple's destruction. This undoubtedly caused much stir and consternation among the Jews. This traditional practice is linked to Israel confessing its sins and ceremonially placing this nation's sin upon the Azazel goat. The sin was then removed by this goat's death. Sin was represented by the red color of the cloth (the color of blood). But the cloth remained crimson that is, Israel's sins were not being pardoned and "made white."
As God told Israel through Isaiah the prophet:
''Come, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet [crimson], they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as [white] wool'' (Isaiah 1:18).
The Miracle of the Temple Doors
The next miracle, which the Jewish authorities acknowledged, was that the Temple doors swung open every night of their own accord. This too occurred for forty years, beginning in 30 CE The leading Jewish authority of that time, Yohanan ben Zakkai, declared that this was a sign of impending doom, that the Temple itself would be destroyed.
The Jerusalem Talmud states:
"Said Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai to the Temple, 'O Temple, why do you frighten us? We know that you will end up destroyed. For it has been said, 'Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars' " (Zechariah 11:1)' (Sota 6:3).
Yohanan Ben Zakkai was the leader of the Jewish community during the time following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, when the Jewish government was transferred to Jamnia, some thirty miles west of Jerusalem.
Might the doors have opened to also signify that all may now enter the Temple, even to its innermost holy sections. The evidence supported by the miracles described above suggests the Lord's presence had departed from the Temple. This was no longer just a place for High Priests alone, but the doors swung open for all to enter the Lord's house of worship.
The Miracle of the Temple Menorah
The fourth miracle was that the most important lamp of the seven candle-stick Menorah in the Temple went out, and would not shine. Every night for 40 years (over 12,500 nights in a row) the main lamp of the Temple lampstand (menorah) went out of its own accord no matter what attempts and precautions the priests took to safeguard against this event!
Earnest Martin states:
"In fact, we are told in the Talmud that at dusk the lamps that were unlit in the daytime (the middle four lamps remained unlit, while the two eastern lamps normally stayed lit during the day) were to be re-lit from the flames of the western lamp (which was a lamp that was supposed to stay lit all the time it was like the 'eternal' flame that we see today in some national monuments)...
"This 'western lamp' was to be kept lit at all times. For that reason, the priests kept extra reservoirs of olive oil and other implements in ready supply to make sure that the 'western lamp' (under all circumstances) would stay lit. But what happened in the forty years from the very year Messiah said the physical Temple would be destroyed? Every night for forty years the western lamp went out, and this in spite of the priests each evening preparing in a special way the western lamp so that it would remain constantly burning all night!" (The Significance of the Year CE 30, Ernest Martin, Research Update, April 1994, p.4).
Again, the odds against the lamp continually going out are astronomical. Something out of the ordinary was going on. The "light" of the Menorah representing contact with God, His Spirit, and His Presence was now removed.
Was it because of Jesus being crucified? Or was it another cause? And no, I am not trying to sell you on "Jesus was the Messiah." I honestly feel like the person of Jesus was less important than what he taught, which got ignored entirely. So yea, let's talk about other options.
Collusion with Rome
In the NT lesson about taxes to Caesar, Jesus asks them to show the coin. They show a denarii with Caesar's face, not a shekel, meaning they were in the pocket of Rome. And they were involved in turning in people for crucifixion. Even without this, it was a pattern of conduct that when Judah/Israel let outside interests govern them or worshiped other gods, they tended to get punished.
They rejected or dishonored God's commands and failed to atone
This is consistent with Judaism (at least of that time). Judaism then had a different focus than modern Judaism, and was very much about sin and atonement. They had the sacrifice mentioned above of bleeding an animal for atoning for sins, but perhaps God could sense there was a sin they were not apologizing for.
Well, there was one, as mentioned above, they did little to apologize for either things Jesus accused them of (their part in the death of many of the prophets, priority of Sabbath over pikuach nefesh and criticizing ppl for healing on the Sabbath, and neglect of widows/orphans/lepers/outsiders), and they seem to have swept Jesus under the rug so to speak (the Talmud portrays him as a sorcerer and a son of a whore).
They failed to make reforms God told them through prophets and/or Jesus
Jesus while being an actual Jew, obviously had a laundry list of reforms (see above). They kinda didn't do them.
But he was hardly the first. Hosea had to go and marry a prostitute to show the people were unfaithful. Elijah had a king plotting his life. There were alot of prophets that weren't listened to in their time. And Jesus quoted Isaiah and Hosea and many of the other prophets. Meaning they were getting ignored then, too.
They denied Jesus as the Messiah
Pretty self explanatory. Basically that because the Jews rejected Jesus, this is what happened.
They denied a personal relationship with God
This one takes some explaining. Jesus is often called Emmanuel or "God with us" and it seems like a large part of his ministry was to teach about a personal relationship with God. In other words, it wasn't about him being the Messiah (or not) at all, but rather to teach the Jews that they didn't need priests or curtains or gates at all, but could directly speak to God. It also explains the torn curtain in Matthew 27:51. Obviously this would explain why any mention of him in the Talmud was chilly at best, a personal relationship would undermine their authority.
So what do you think? Or will you reject that this happened, even though Jewish rabbis say it did?