We continue unpacking Matthew’s sophisticated Day of Atonement typology in the Barabbas episode (Matthew 27).
Previously we saw Jesus cast as the goat for Yahweh (the sacrificed goat) and Jesus Barabbas as the scapegoat released to the people. Now we turn to the remaining figures and motifs:
- Pilate as a parody high priest who transfers bloodguilt from his own hands onto the crowd with a verbal confession
- The crowd as a type of Azazel — the demonic wilderness figure who receives the scapegoat, inherits iniquity, and is linked to the desert
- The motif of Jerusalem becoming a “wilderness” / desolate house (Matthew 23:38) after the temple’s destruction
- How the people inherit not only Pilate’s transferred guilt but the righteous blood of previous generations (Matthew 23:35)
- 70 AD as a purgative, atoning judgment that cleanses the land — one eschatological iteration of the Yom Kippur pattern
We also explore Matthew’s broader theology of sin as something that must be purged and expelled, connections to 1 Enoch and other Second Temple Azazel traditions, echoes of Deuteronomy 27 curses, and how this typology ultimately points forward to Christ as the true sin-bearing scapegoat for those who repent.
This is Part 2 of the Barabbas / Yom Kippur series. Stay tuned for the next episode where we focus more deeply on the christological side of the typology.
If you’d like excerpts from my published academic work on this topic (A New Day of Atonement), just reach out.
Follow on Instagram: @drhansbible
Also available in podcast form—Spotify or Apple podcasts.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Opening: Wilderness, curse & inheriting iniquity
0:34 – Welcome & episode overview
1:14 – Recap: Barabbas as the scapegoat
1:53 – Main theme: Matthew’s theology of purgation
3:43 – Casting-away / elimination-of-sin motif in Matthew
6:46 – Review of the thesis & redaction criticism
9:28 – The Yom Kippur typology fundamentals
10:19 – The four figures (Jesus, Barabbas, Pilate, Crowd as Azazel)
15:28 – Recap of Motifs 1–4
17:02 – Introducing Motifs 5, 6 & 7
18:13 – Motif 5: Transferring sin with the hands
19:04 – Reading Matthew 27:24–26
19:45 – Reading Leviticus 16:20–22
20:43 – Pilate “washing off” bloodguilt
25:25 – Temple Scroll parallel
28:04 – Verbal confession & transfer of iniquity
29:13 – Catherine Sider Hamilton & innocent blood
30:36 – Numbers 35: Blood pollutes the land
32:59 – Jubilees 34: Day of Atonement & Joseph’s brothers
39:29 – Jubilees 5: Watchers, Flood & Day of Atonement
45:06 – 1 Enoch 9–10: Binding of Azazel
48:36 – Summary: Scapegoat bearing sins worthy of karet
52:31 – Deuteronomy 21 (heifer ritual) as possible parallel
58:16 – Summary of Motif 5
58:48 – Motif 6: Banishment & the wilderness
59:11 – Matthew 23:37–38 (“your children” & “house left desolate”)
1:01:47 – Scapegoat banished to the wilderness (erēmos)
1:03:14 – Matthew 22 (Wedding Feast) & Azazel typology
1:06:33 – Verbal echo of 1 Enoch 10 in the Wedding Feast
1:08:37 – Motif 7: Inheritance of iniquity & curse
1:09:06 – Why Matthew switches from “crowd” to “all the people”
1:11:54 – Echo of Deuteronomy 27 covenant curses
1:14:11 – Reading Matthew 23:32–36 (“fill up the measure… all the righteous blood”)
1:15:04 – 70 AD as purgation / cleansing of the land
1:17:51 – Bearing punishment as a scapegoat function
1:18:41 – Final synthesis: Pilate transfers bloodguilt
1:20:28 – Deuteronomy 27 & covenantal curses
1:24:13 – Summary: Five ways the crowd functions as Azazel
1:26:44 – Numbers 15 & 35 applied to the crowd
1:28:04 – Unpardonable sin & eschatological pattern
1:29:27 – Looking ahead: Christ as the true scapegoat
1:30:04 – Closing remarks
#MatthewGospel #YomKippur #Barabbas #Azazel #DayOfAtonement #BiblicalTheology #SecondTempleJudaism
