Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas

For to this end the Lord endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption, that we might be sanctified through the remission of sins, which is effected by His blood of sprinkling. For it is written concerning Him, partly with reference to Israel, and partly to us; and [the Scripture] saith thus: “He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities: with His stripes we are healed. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb which is dumb before its shearer.”38 Isa. liii. 5, 7. Therefore we ought to be deeply grateful to the Lord, because He has both made known to us things that are past, and hath given us wisdom concerning things present, and hath not left us without understanding in regard to things which are to come. Now, the Scripture saith, “Not unjustly are nets spread out for birds.”39 Prov. i. 17, from the LXX, which has mistaken the meaning. This means that the man perishes justly, who, having a knowledge of the way of righteousness, rushes off into the way of darkness. And further, my brethren: if the Lord endured to suffer for our soul, He being Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the foundation of the world, “Let us make man after our image, and after our likeness,”40 Gen. i. 26. understand how it was that He endured to suffer at the hand of men. The prophets, having obtained grace from Him, prophesied concerning Him. And He (since it behoved Him to appear in flesh), that He might abolish death, and reveal the resurrection from the dead, endured [what and as He did], in order that He might fulfil the promise made unto the fathers, and by preparing a new people for Himself, might show, while He dwelt on earth, that He, when He has raised mankind, will also judge them. Moreover, teaching Israel, and doing so great miracles and signs, He preached [the truth] to him, and greatly loved him. But when He chose His own apostles who were to preach His Gospel, [He did so from among those] who were sinners above all sin, that He might show He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”41 Matt. ix. 13; Mark ii. 17; Luke v. 32. Then He manifested Himself to be the Son of God. For if He had not come in the flesh, how could men have been saved by beholding Him?42 The Cod. Sin. reads, “neither would men have been saved by seeing Him.” Since looking upon the sun which is to cease to exist, and is the work of His hands, their eyes are not able to bear his rays. The Son of God therefore came in the flesh with this view, that He might bring to a head the sum of their sins who had persecuted His prophets43 Cod. Sin. has, “their prophets,” but the corrector has changed it as above. to the death. For this purpose, then, He endured. For God saith, “The stroke of his flesh is from them;”44 A very loose reference to Isa. liii. 8. and45 Cod. Sin. omits “and,” and reads, “when they smite their own shepherd, then the sheep of the pasture shall be scattered and fail.” “when I shall smite the Shepherd, then the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.”46 Zech. xiii. 7. He himself willed thus to suffer, for it was necessary that He should suffer on the tree. For says he who prophesies regarding Him, “Spare my soul from the sword,47 Cod. Sin. inserts “and.” fasten my flesh with nails; for the assemblies of the wicked have risen up against me.”48 These are inaccurate and confused quotations from Ps. xxii. 16, 20, and Ps. cxix. 120. And again he says, “Behold, I have given my back to scourges, and my cheeks to strokes, and I have set my countenance as a firm rock.”49 Isa. l. 6, 7.

V 1. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ υπέμεινεν ὁ κύριος παραδοῦναι τὴν σάρκα εἰς καταφθοράν, ἵνα τῇ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἁγνισθῶμεν, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ῥαντίσματος αὐτοῦ. 2. γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἃ μὲν πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ἃ δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, λέγει δὲ οὕτως· Ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρίας ἡμῶν· τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν· ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἄφωνος ἐνανίον τοῦ κείραντος αὐτόν. 3. οὐκοῦν ὑπερευχαρστεῖν οφείλομεν τῷ κυρίῶ, ὅτι καὶ τὰ παρεληλυθότα ἡμῖν ἐγνώρισεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐνεστῶσιν ἡμᾶς ἐσόφισεν, καὶ εἰς τὰ μέλλοντα οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἀσύνετοι. 4. λέγει δὲ ἡ γραφή· Οὐκ ἀδίκως ἐκτείνεται δίκτυα πτερωτοῖς. τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι δικαιως ἀπολεῖται ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἔχων ὁδοῦ δικαιοσύνης γνῶσιν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὁδὸν σκότους ἀποσυνέχει. 5. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, ἀδελφοί μου· εἰ ὁ κύριος ὑπέμεινεν παθεῖν περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, ὢν παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου κύριος ᾧ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ’ εἰκόνα καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν· πῶς οὖν ὑπέμεινεν ὑπὸ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπων παθεῖν; 6. μάθετε. οἱ προφῆται, ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ἔχοντες τὴν χάριν, εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπροφήτευσαν· αὐτὸς δέ, ἵνα καταργήσῃ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν δείξῃ, ὅτι ἐν σαρκὶ ἔδει αὐτὸν φανερωθῆναι, ὑπέμεινεν, 7. ἵνα τοῖς πατράσιν τὴν ἐπανγγελίαν ἀποδῷ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸν λαὸν τὸν καινὸν ἑτοιμάζων ἐπιδείξῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤν, ὅτι τὴν ἀνάστασιν αὐτὸς ποιήσας κρινεῖ. 8. πέρας γέ τοι διδάσκων τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τηλικαῦτα τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα ποιῶν ἐκήρυσσεν, καὶ ὑπερηγάπησεν αὐτόν. 9. ὅτε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους ἀποστόλους τοὺς μέλλοντας κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ ἐξελέξατο, ὄντας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρους, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, τότε ἐφανέρωσεν ἐν σαρκί, οὐδ’ ἂν πως οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐσώθησαν βλέποντες αὐτόν, ὅτε τόν μέλλοντα μὴ εἶναι ἥλιον, ἔργον τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχοντα, ἐμβλέποντες οὐκ ἰσχύουσιν εἰς τὰς ἀκτῖνας αὐτοῦ ἀντοφθαλμῆσαι; 11. οὐκοῦν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τοῦτο ἐν σαρκὶ ἦλθεν, ἵνα τὸ τέλειον τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἀνακεφαλαιώσῃ τοῖς διώξασιν ἐν θανάτῳ τοὺς προφήτας αὐτοῦ. 12. οὐκοῦν εἰς τοῦτο ὑπέμεινεν, λέγει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τὴν πληγὴν τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν· Ὅταν πατάξωσιν τὸν ποιμένα ἑαυτῶν, τότε ἀολεῖται τὰ πρόβατα τῆς ποίμνης. 13. αὐτὸς δὲ ἠθέλησεν οὕτω παθεῖν· ἔδει γάρ, ἵνα ἐπὶ ξύλου πάθῃ. λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφητεύων ἐπ’ αὐτῷ. Φεῖσαί μου τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ ῥομφαίας, καί· Καθήλωσόν μου τὰς σάρκας, ὅτι πονηρευομένων συναγωγαὶ ἐπανεστησάν μοι. 14. καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ἰδού, τέθεικά μου τὸν νῶτον εἰς μάστιγας, τὰς δὲ σιαγόνας εἰς ῥαπίσματα. τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου ἔθηκα ὡς στερεὰν πετραν.