As mentioned in a different thread, I noted the story of Carabas from 38 CE that took place under the reign of Herod Agrippa I. Here is some scriptural evidence that would've stood out to the first century Chrisitans. Notice how most points in the passion narrative have been by these Jewish traditions. I believe it to be a combination of Carabas, a couple places in Leviticus, Barnabas 7, and Zechariah. There is just no way that the disciples could've known what happened if they all fled the scene upon the arrest. At the very least, they wouldn't know the conversations between Jesus and Pilate.
One fact that was widely agreed upon in the first century by everyone including both Josephus and Tacitus is the fact that Jesus was cruxified. Aside from the fact that this occurrence is in all four gospels, each gospel writer seems to have a very different outlook on it. Where did there sources of information come from after they fled the scene? We can at least agree that Jesus was sentenced to death for acts of sedition during the reign of Tiberius and governance of Pontius Pilate. While the followers of Jesus were searching the scriptures to look for further meaning out of the death of Jesus, The Jewish Day of Atonement is something that would have stood out to them. “He shall take the two goats and set them before YHWH at the entrance of the tent meeting; and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats; one lot for YHWH and the other lot for Azazel” (Lev.16:7-8) which means “scapegoat.” We see the theme of sacrifice for sins in the following verses to name a few which are found in John Dominic Crossan’s Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. “Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for YHWH and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before YHWH to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel”(Lev.16:9-10). We see here the priests from First Temple Judaism already practicing a custom including sacrifice for sins which does in fact lead me to ponder that from the earliest of times, Jews believed in such a notion. This occasion becomes even more suggestive in the favor of Jesus’ death being a sacrifice.
“Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness” (Lev.16:21-22). Jesus can easily be substituted for the sacrificial goat on the Day of Atonement who was “driven and killed outside of the city as atonement for the sins of the people." Another resemblance of this in the crucifixion is Jesus wearing a crown of thorns which echoes the sins of Israel being placed on the head of the goat.
Instructions in Leviticus continue in a more specific manner. “Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting, and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people” (Lev.16:23-24). Notice how Pilate washes his hands at the beginning of the trial of Jesus (Matt.27:24) as seen in Leviticus; a book that the followers of Jesus were no strangers of. The trend of using verses from the Hebrew Bible continues for our gospel writers. In fact, they were not the only ones to look back after the fact and adjust their description of present day situations to fit into ancient Jewish prophecies as they too would have seen meaning in Zechariah.
“Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of YHWH was standing by” (Zech.3:3-5).
These verses refer to the high priest dressing in clean clothes and a clean turban in order to take on the guilt of the people so that they might be acceptable before YHWH. Also keep in mind how Zechariah was wearing a filthy robe at the beginning of this scene and is now wearing a clean one. Readers should at this point be aware of the resemblance of a filthy humanity that is redeemed in order to become a clean humanity. “Those twin garments, one filthy and one clean, worked much better as a prophetic type of Jesus, first dishonored at the cross, and then triumphant at his second coming”. The book of Zechariah does not stop here in bearing future use for the gospel writers. “And I will pour out the spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on me whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zech.12:10). Who does this remind us of in the New Testament? Who do we know from the New Testament that was said to be pierced and mourned for? Before getting carried away over suggesting the fulfillment of prophecies, keep in mind that John is the only gospel to mention Jesus being pierced. The case can be made the each gospel strove further in tying Jesus into prophecy fulfillment.
All four details about the Jewish Day of Atonement; the two goats in Leviticus and the crowning and abuse of Zechariah, can bee seen from the Mishnah which is the rabbinical code of law dating to roughly 200 CE by Judah the Patriarch. “The two goats had to be alike and equal; scarlet wool was placed on the scapegoat’s head; and before it was killed there, the scarlet wool was attached between a rock and its horns. As a Jew, the author of Luke would have been well aware of the practice of attaching scarlet wool to the scapegoat’s head before it was killed. In the New Testament we see Roman soldiers attaching a crown of thorns to Jesus’ head. Secondly, he would have also known that the scarlet wool symbolized God’s promise. “Come now, let us argue it out, says YHWH; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Scarlet and crimson are metaphors for wickedness most likely because of their association with the color of blood. “The priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson material, and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is burning” (Numbers 19:6). Heifers as well as goats seem to have been sacrificed by the Jews in antiquity. Crimson material could have been a way of purifying blood. This explains the significance of attaching scarlet wool between a rock the goat’s horns. It was to relieve the people of their sins. Isaiah 50:6 is a third significant detail that the author of Luke would have known all about which is the fact that the goat was abused at the expense of the people. “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6). This verse describes one who is faithful to God and is persecuted for his faith but still remains confident that God will stand by him against his enemies. Lastly, the author knew that “people spat their sins onto the scapegoat and poked it with reeds to hurry the animal to its desert fate." Most Christians today would find the acts of a scarlet color being attached to horns on a head, blood symbolizing God’s promise, and a faithful person remaining confident in God despite being abused and spat on by his enemies to be referring to the death of Jesus. This was not always the case among those familiar with such details.
Crossan also points out that the gospel writers were not the only ones wrestling with the use of verses from the Hebrew Bible in order to point them towards Jesus. He cites the Epistle of Barnabas 7:6-12 which combines the two goats from Leviticus 16, the Mishnah, the crowning, robbing, and piercing in Zechariah, and the spitting in Isaiah 50. All four instances are described in the Epistle of Barnabas which can also be found in Bart D. Ehrman’s Lost Scriptures. Pay attention to what he commands: “Take two fine goats who are alike and offer them as a sacrifice; and let the priest take one of them as a whole burnt offering for sins” (Barnabas 7:6). Barnabas or the author of this epistle would have been familiar with Leviticus 16:7-9 which tells Aaron to cast lots for each goat; one for YHWH and one for Azazel. But what will they do with the other? “The other,” he says, “is cursed” (Barnabas 7:7 and Lev.16:
. Pay attention to how the type of Jesus is revealed. “And all of you shall spit on it and pierce it and wrap a piece of scarlet wool around its head, and so let it be cast into the wilderness” (Lev.16:10, 20-22 and Barnabas 7:7-8). And so, what does this mean? Pay attention: “The one they take to the altar, but the other is cursed,” and the one that is cursed is crowned (Barnabas 7:9). Now we start to see Barnabas combining Zechariah 12:10 and Isaiah 50:6. “For then they will see him in that day wearing a long scarlet robe around his flesh, and they will say, ‘Is this not the one we once cruxified despising, piercing, and spitting on him? Truly this is the one who was saying at the time that he was himself the Son of God’”(Isaiah 50:6, Zech.3:3-5, 12:10, and Barnabas 7:9). “For how is he like that one? This is why ‘the goats are alike, fine, and equal’ (Mishnah) that when they see him coming at that time, they may be amazed at home much he is like the goat. See then the type of Jesus who was about to suffer” (Barnabas 7:10). “But why do they place the wool in the midst of the thorns” (Mishnah). “This is a type of Jesus established for the church, because whoever wishes to remove the scarlet wool must suffer greatly, since the thorn is a fearful thing, and a person can retrieve the wool only by experiencing pain. And so he says: those who wish to see me and touch my kingdom must take hold of me through pain and suffering” (Barnabas 7:11). What the Epistle of Barnabas shows us is a reasonable idea of what the authors of the gospel might have had in mind as they wrestled with Hebrew books in order to find deeper meaning in Jesus’ death. Also, let me say that Barnabas would not have been aware of the Mishnah because he wrote his epistle towards the end of the first century, at least a century before the Mishnah was written.
