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Barnabas (Lightfoot)

5.

1. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ὑπέμεινεν ὁ κύριος παραδοῦναιτὴν σάρκα εἰς καταφθοράν, ἵνα τῇ ἀφέσειτῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἁγνισθῶμεν, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ αἵματιτοῦ ῥαντίσματος αὐτοῦ.¹ 2. γέγραπται γὰρπερὶ αὐτοῦ ἅ μὲν πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ἃ δὲ πρὸς² ἡμᾶς, λέγει δὲ οὕτως· Ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰςἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίαςἡμῶν· τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν· ὡςπρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἄφωνοςἐναντίον τοῦ κείραντος αὐτόν. 3. οὐκοῦν ὑπερευχαριστεῖνὀφείλομεν τῷ κυρίῳ, ὅτι καὶ τὰπαρεληλυθότα ἡμῖν ἐγνώρισεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐνεστῶσινἡμᾶς ἐσόφισεν. καὶ εἰς τὰ μέλλοντα οὐκ³ ἐσμὲν ἀσύνετοι. 4. λέγει δὲ ἡ γραφή· Οὐκἀδίκως ἐκτείνεται δίκτυα πτερωτοῖς. τοῦτο λέγει,ὅτι δικαίως ἀπολεῖται ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἔχων ὁδοῦδικαιοσύνης γνῶσιν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὁδὸν σκότουςἀποσυνέχει. 5. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, ἀδελφοί μου·εἰ ὁ κύριος ὑπέμεινεν παθεῖν περὶ τῆς ψυχῆςἡμῶν, ὢν παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου κύριος ᾧ εἶπεν ὁ⁴ θεὸς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπονκατ̓ εἰκόνα καὶ καθ̓ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν·πῶς οὖν ὑπέμεινεν ὑπὸ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπων παθεῖν; 6. μάθετε. οἱ προφῆται, ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ ἔχοντες τὴνχάριν, εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπροφήτευσαν· αὐτὸς δέ, ἵνα⁵ καταργήσῃ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν⁶ δείξῃ, ὅτι ὲν σαρκὶ ἕδει αὐτὸν φανερωθῆναι,[P. 356]()ὑπέμεινεν, 7. ἵνα τοῖς πατράσιν τὴν ἐπαγγελίανἀποδῷ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸν λαὸν τὸν καινὸνἑτοιμάζων ἐπιδείξῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤν, ὅτι τὴνἀνάστασιν αὐτὸς ποιήσας κρινεῖ. 8. πέρας γέτοι διδάσκων τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τηλικαῦτα τέρατακαὶ σημεῖα ποιῶν ἐκήρυσσεν, καὶ ὑπερηγάπησεναὐτόν. 9. ὅτε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους ἀποστόλους τοὺςμέλλοντας κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ ἐξελέξατο,ὄντας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρους,⁷ ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰἁμαρτωλούς, τότε ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι υἱὸνθεοῦ. 10. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἦλθεν ἐν σαρκί, οὐδ̓ ἄν πως⁸ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐσώθησαν βλέποντες αὐτόν, ὅτε τὸνμέλλοντα μὴ εἶναι ἥλιον, ἔργου τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦὑπάρχοντα, ἐμβλέποντες οὐκ ἰσχύουσιν εἰς τὰςἀκτῖνας αὐτοῦ ἀντοφθαλμῆσαι· 11. οὐκοῦν ὁυἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τοῦτο ἐν σαρκὶ ἦλθεν, ἵνα τὸτέλειον τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἀνακεφαλαιώσῃ τοῖς διώξασινἐν θανάτῳ τοὺς προφήτας αὐτοῦ. 12. οὐκοῦνεἰς τοῦτο ὑπέμεινεν. λέγει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τὴν πληγὴν⁹ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν· Ὅταν πατάξωσιντὸν ποιμένα ἑαυτῶν, τότε ἀπολεῖται τὰπρόβατα τῆς ποίμνης. 13. αὐτὸς δὲ ἠθέλησενοὕτω παθεῖν· ἔδει γάρ, ἵνα ἐπὶ ξύλου πάθῃ.¹⁰ λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφητεύων ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ. Φεῖσαί μου¹¹ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ ῥομφαίας, καί· Καθήλωσόν μουτὰς σάρκας, ὅτι πονηρευομένων συναγωγαὶ ἐπανέστησάν¹² νέστησάν μοι. 14. καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ἰδού, τέθεικάμου τὸν νῶτον εἰς μάστιγας, τὰς δὲ σιαγόνας εἰςῥαπίσματα. τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου ἔθηκα ὡς στερεὰν πέτραν.P. 358

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The Epistle of Barnabas

Chapter V.--The new covenant, founded on the sufferings of Christ, tends to our salvation, but to the Jews' destruction.

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." ¹ 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." ² 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," ³ 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." ⁴ 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? ⁵ 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 prophets ⁶ to the death. For this purpose, then, He endured. For God saith, "The stroke of his flesh is from them;" ⁷ and ⁸ "when I shall smite the Shepherd, then the sheep of the flock shall be scattered." ⁹ 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, ¹⁰ fasten my flesh with nails; for the assemblies of the wicked have risen up against me." ¹¹ 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." ¹²