EPISTLE OF BARNABAS

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The Epistle of Barnabas is an ancient letter that aims to prove Jesus as the one who fulfills the Old Testament. Though the date and author of this letter are debated by many scholars, the writing contains a lot about Jesus, including His life, death, suffering, and divinity. 

 

The letter says that Jesus came as a man on earth, He taught people in Israel, and performed many miracles. He demonstrated His love for His people and chose His apostles, and instructed them to share the gospel. Barnabas 5:6-9 states, “He must needs be manifested in the flesh… He preached teaching Israel and performing so many wonders and miracles, and He loved him exceedingly… He chose His own apostles who were to proclaim His Gospel.”

 

There are several verses in the Epistle of Barnabas that reference Jesus’s call to suffering and crucifixion. For instance, Barnabas 7:9-10 states, “For they shall see Him in that day wearing the long scarlet robe about His flesh, and shall say, Is not this He, Whom once we crucified and set at nought and spat upon; verily this was He, Who then said that He was the Son of God. For how is He like the goat? For this reason it says the goats shall be fair and alike, that, when they shall see Him coming then, they may be astonished at the likeness of the goat. Therefore behold the type of Jesus that was to suffer.”

 

The Epistle of Barnabas also makes several references to the divinity of Jesus and His title as the Son of God. Barnabas 12:7 references that all things were made in Jesus. The verse states, “Here again thou hast in these things also the glory of Jesus, how that in Him and unto Him are all things.” This verse aligns with the Bible's depiction of Jesus and confirms His humanity and divinity. 

Barnabas 12:10 highlights the authors view that Jesus was a man on earth and that He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament law. The author said, “Behold again it is Jesus, not a son of man, but the Son of God, and He was revealed in the flesh in a figure. Since then men will say that Christ is the son of David, David himself prophesieth being afraid and understanding the error of sinners; The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand until I set thine enemies for a footstool under Thy feet.”