The Talmud does not affirm that Jesus is the Messiah - far from it - but it does give many bits of information that unintentionally support the messianic claims of Jesus of Nazareth. You must realize that the Talmud was written centuries before sophisticated arguments were formulated against Christianity.

For instance the Bible in Zechariah 12:10 says "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." Today's traditional Jewish apologists will strenuously argue that this could not refer to the crucifixion of Jesus in which His hands and feet were pierced. Jewish apologists would argue that this verse is not a messianic prophecy. Most present day Jewish Bibles also give a different rendering of the wording of Zechariah 12:10 that renders its messianic ramifications less clear.

The Talmud, however, is very direct in affirming that the ancient rabbis considered this a messianic prophecy. In the section called Sukkah 52a the verse in Zechariah 12:10 is paraphrased: "They will look upon me, the Messiah, who they have pierced." The rabbis went so far as to actually insert the word "Messiah" into the text!

The Talmud in Sukkah 52a does not directly state that Jesus is the Messiah but does show that the ancient Jewish rabbis believed that the Messiah would be pierced. In fact the Talmud goes to great lengths to affirm that the Old Testament prophecies of a suffering Messiah (Isaiah 53, etc.) are indeed messianic prophecies.

The Talmud in Sanhedrin 97b and 98b affirms that the prophetic passage in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah refers to the Messiah. Isaiah 53, as I've written in several DTF articles, clearly prophesies that the Messiah would die for the sins of the people. Jesus fulfilled this and over 300 other predictive prophecies contained in the Old Testament. No other figure in all of world history can make anything like that claim!

The Talmud dealt honestly with the prophecies of the sufferings of the Messiah but also had to explain the prophecies of the glorification of the Messiah. Some of the ancient rabbis taught that there would be two Messiahs, one a suffering Messiah who would die and the other a glorious Messiah who would be king. They didn't see a first and second coming of one Messiah. Importantly however, the rabbis did see, as Christians do today, that the predictions of both the suffering and the glory are messianic. This is powerful ammunition for Christian apologists.

When quoting a messianic prophecy to a Jewish apologist he will often say "If you knew the Hebrew you'd know that the passage in question is not messianic." The ancient Talmudists did know the Hebrew and they affirmed that the prophecies are messianic!!!

The Talmud also contains eyewitness accounts of some miraculous events that occurred in the first century. In the Talmud, in tractate Yoma 39b, four distinct unusual phenomena are recorded. These events occurred during the 40 years before the destruction of the second Temple. The second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 AD so we're talking about the years 30 AD to 70 AD.

The year 30 AD is the approximate time that Jesus the Messiah died for the sins of the people. When He died and rose again the Temple sacrificial system of animal sacrifices was superceded and became obsolete. God no longer honored the animal sacrifices.

Yoma 39b has to do with the Day of Atonement which is called Yom Kippur. In this tractate it is stated that the lot for the Lord's goat came up in the left hand of the High Priest during those 40 years. That was a bad sign because of what the left hand means in Judaism. On Yom Kippur two goats were selected. One was to be sacrificed on the Lord's altar and one was to be the scapegoat. The lot for the Lord's goat always came up in the left hand during those 40 years!

Another phenomenon recorded in Yoma 39b has to do with the scarlet cord. On Yom Kippur they hung a scarlet cord. This cord, in the years before 30 AD, often used to miraculously turn white which was reminiscent of Isaiah 1:18 which says "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." In the 40 years before 70 AD on Yom Kippur the cord always remained scarlet; it did not turn white.

Yoma 39b also records that the Temple doors opened by themselves during those 40 years. This also was a bad sign. The rabbis connected it with Zechariah 11:1 which is a Bible verse that implied that one day the Temple would be burned as indeed it was in 70 AD.

Yoma 39b also records the fact that the westernmost light of the menorah in the Temple would not stay lit. This was yet another bad sign. The westernmost light was the light used to light all of the other lights.

The sins of the people were not forgiven through animal sacrifices after Jesus died and rose again around 30 AD. They had rejected the Messiah. There was no forgiveness by animal sacrifices. They must repent and turn to Messiah to receive forgiveness of sins. Many Jews did turn to Jesus and these formed the early church. In our own day many Jewish people who believe in Jesus as Messiah have formed Messianic Jewish synagogues.

There was a 40 year transition at the beginning of the Age of Law when the Jews spent 40 years in the wilderness under Moses. There was also a 40 year transition at the end of the Age of Law from 30 AD to 70 AD. God was warning His precious Jewish people during this time. God gave them signs that showed that the animal sacrifices were superceded and final atonement was made by Jesus the Messiah.

The Jewish Talmud contains much in the way of law, interpretation, argument, folklore, narrative and biography. It does contain some blasphemous sayings against the Christian faith. But like a lawyer arguing a case we can appeal to the witness of the opposition. When your opponent makes statements that support your case, those statements carry special weight. The Talmud makes many statements that have the unintended consequence of proving that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah of Israel!

Source for much material in above article is Jesus in the Talmud by Jacob Prasch of Moriel Ministries.

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2009 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

DEFENDING THE FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world. The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel. All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given. To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)