The Crimson Thread: Evidence for Jesus

Evidence for Jesus Outside of Scripture

We've all heard people ask about evidence for Jesus Christ outside of scripture. I'm about to share with you one of the most interesting accounts from the 1st century AD, an account inked in the most unlikely of sources, the Talmud.

The Talmud is a collection of ancient rabbinical writings extending back to before the time of Christ and reaching completion around 550 AD. It includes polemics against Jesus and it is the furthest thing from Christian doctrine. Orthodox Jews regard the Talmud as authoritative and place it above the Hebrew Bible. Surprisingly, this document also provides support for one of Christendom's most important claims.

It is time you've heard the most fascinating story that far too few are telling. It is time you've heard the story of the crimson thread.

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Surprisingly, this document also provides support for one of Christendom's most important claims.

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The Crimson Thread on Yom Kippur

In ancient times, while the temple in Jerusalem still stood, the high priest would perform a special ceremony on the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur. It involved two goats, one as a sacrificial offering to the Lord and the other known as the scapegoat. In Leviticus 16 verses 7 through 10 we read,

The Talmud records a practice of tying a red strip of cloth to the horns of the scapegoat. Part of this strip was also cut off and attached to the temple door. The crimson thread represented the sin of the people, which was atoned for by the blood on the mercy seat. Miraculously, this strip of cloth was reported to turn white, signaling God's acceptance of the sin offering.

Isaiah 1, 16 through 19 reads, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Forty Years Without Atonement

In 30 AD, something ominous began. The thread did not turn white. It remained crimson. The sins of Israel were not forgiven. The same thing occurred the next year, and the next, and then the next after that.

For 40 consecutive years, from the crucifixion of our Lord until the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, the thread did not change color. The animal sacrifices offered by the temple priests were never again accepted. Hebrews 10, 11 through 13 gives insight into what changed.

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For 40 consecutive years, from the crucifixion of our Lord until the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, the thread did not change color.

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The Casting of Lots

There is more. Part of the Day of Atonement ritual was the casting of lots for the goats, as ordained in Leviticus 16:7. Lots were represented by a black and a white stone. The Lord's lot was the white stone.

In earlier times, according to the Talmud, during the reign of the priest known as Simon the Righteous, the white stone came up in his right hand and the thread turned white during all 40 years of his service. During the 200 years after Simon, it was mixed. Sometimes the Lord's lot came up in the right hand, sometimes it did not.

However, following the crucifixion of Jesus, the Lord's lot never turned up in the right hand again during any of those final 40 years. Every single year, the black stone was chosen by the right hand of the temple priest. The statistical odds of this occurring by chance, the equivalent of flipping a coin and getting tails 40 times in a row, is less than one in a trillion. Proverbs 16:33 reads, the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

The Temple's Western Light Went Out

There is more still. The temple had a very important light called the western light, also known as the eternal flame. It was to be kept burning perpetually. The doors of the temple faced east, and during the day, only the western lamp and the two eastern lamps remained lit. The priests kept extra oil on hand and tended to the western light fastidiously so that the flame would never be extinguished.

However, in 30 AD, the western light of the temple went out. This was a horrendous omen for the people of Israel. It did not just go out one time. It happened continuously. For the next 40 years, all the way until the destruction of the temple, no matter what precautions the temple priests took, they could not keep it lit.

Perhaps they were looking to the wrong light. John 8:12 reads, then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

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For the next 40 years, all the way until the destruction of the temple, no matter what precautions the temple priests took, they could not keep it lit.

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The Temple Gates Opened by Themselves

There is yet still more. The gates to the temple were massive and heavy. Each one was said to be 10 meters tall by 5 meters wide and overlaid in gold. The priests together would close the massive gates at night. However, in the morning, they were in for a surprise. The gates of the temple were open. The Talmud specifically reports the gates opening by themselves during the period of time starting in 30 AD.

Revelation 3 verse 7 states, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. Of course, this verse refers not to physical gates, but to spiritual ones, which Jesus opened wide for all who believe on his name to come and sup with him in the temples of our bodies, not in buildings hewed by men from stone any longer. John 4:23 reads,

Verbatim Records from the Talmud

That you may test the validity of the story I have shared with you, here's a section of text verbatim from the Jerusalem Talmud. Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open.

A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states: Our rabbis taught, during the last 40 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 westernmost light shine, and the doors of the temple would open by themselves.

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Forty years before the destruction of the temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand.

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Recorded by Those Who Opposed Jesus

One of the most profound elements of this story is the source. The Talmud as a whole rails against Jesus, yet its historical records still reveal God's hand was set against the temple following the crucifixion of Jesus. Indeed, the very high priests who called for his death were the first ones to experience these omens. Could you imagine their faces after this succession of events? The thread may not have turned white, but I bet some of their faces did.

Of course, for those who prefer to remain in darkness, they will attribute these events to something else. Some even blame Jesus and his followers instead of placing the responsibility where it truly rests. Matthew 27, 24 to 25 reads,

If just one single time in 40 years the thread had turned white, the priests would have presented it as a refutation of Jesus's claim as the one-time sacrifice for all sin. But it did not turn white. No, not one single time. Not as recorded by early Christians, but as recorded by the very ones who conspired against our Lord.

The Very Stones Cried Out

Luke 19 verses 37 to 40 describe the final time Jesus entered Jerusalem.

Indeed, with all these recorded omens that I have shared with you, have not the very stones that form the temple itself cried out? Luke goes on to say in verse 41,

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Indeed, with all these recorded omens that I have shared with you, have not the very stones that form the temple itself cried out?

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Praying to Know the Truth

To be clear, I do not endorse the Talmud and the opinions expressed within it. In fact, the text as a whole is at enmity with our Lord and Savior. I only share the event recorded and not the interpretations of the speculating rabbis. Many of those in darkness will discount a Christian's testimony of Jesus and his miracles, but will find it more difficult to dismiss the miracles following his death that were recorded by those who opposed him.

While some will push for other explanations, I invite each of you to hear this story and to come to your own conclusion. Better yet, I invite each of you to hear this story and to pray to our Father in heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal if these things are so. I give you my testimony that what I have shared with you is true, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed the truth of it to me, but our Father in heaven. Seek him through the only path he has given us, indeed the only path we will ever need, his son and our redeemer, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.