the thought of Pilate. Of course, we know the people chose Barabbas over Y‘shua. Lost in the English
translation is a marvelous Yom Kippur nugget. (See my Pictorial Teaching CD on ―God‘s plan for the ages in
the 7 Main Feasts of Lev 23‖ to get a full understanding of the feasts.)
The name Barabbas is actually the Aramaic term Bar Abbas, meaning "son of the father". Even more
bizarre is that his actual name, according to some Greek manuscripts, was Jesus Barabbas; or Jesus son of
the father. The two identical goats used on Yom Kippur were one goat for YHWH and the other for Azazel.
There is much debate on whom or what Azazel was. Some say Azazel was the name of the mountain that
the goat was pushed off; some say that Azazel was a demonic angel, or even satan himself. I am of the
opinion that YHWH sheds light on this age-old mystery by a statement that His Son made and was penned
by John in John 8:44
―You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks
from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
Y‘shua was rebuking a group of legalistic Pharisees by bringing up the point that their father was not YHWH
as they were claiming, but rather Satan because of their unbelief.
We can conclude that everyone is either a child of Father YHWH or father Satan by Y‘shua‘s statement. With
this in mind, Matt 27:17b could actually read something similar to: "Which one do you want me to release to
you: Jesus son of the father or Jesus Son of the Father who is called Messiah?" This is clearly a fulfillment to
the two identical goats used on Yom Kippur.
Why would such richly detailed information be left out of our English translations? Believe it or not, it was
man who intervened; most likely with good intentions, but in effect robbing us of some rich Hebraic
teachings. It is believed that Christian scribes deleted "Jesus" from their copies of Matthew out of reverence,
for as the early church father Origen said, "We know that no one who is a sinner [is called] Jesus."
Fortunately, the original text is beginning to show up again in translations like David H. Stern's Complete
Jewish Bible and the New Revised Standard Version. Sadly, this isn't the only attempt by man to tamper with
the Word of YHWH. For example, Acts 12:4 in the King James Version reads:
―And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers
to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."
Why would a Pagan origin festival be mentioned in the Bible? Easter used here is actually the Greek word
"pascha" which is found twenty-nine times in the New Covenant; twenty-eight times this word is translated as
Passover. Was this a slip of the pen by a translator? I'm not trying to find flaws someone made nearly four
hundred years ago. The point I would like to make is there's more to the Bible than our Western minded eyes
sometimes see; and if we would begin to study the Scripture from a more Hebraic point of view (for indeed
the authors were Hebrews), then the Word of YHWH would come alive in our lives and bring forth abundant
faith, as it is written:
―So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom 10:17 NKJV)
A Yom Kippur thoughtYom Kippur is the time that Israel sought for forgiveness from YHWH. It is also a time in which Jews seek
forgiveness from each other. In Christianity, much focus is placed on seeking YHWH "to forgive us of our
trespasses", but little attention is placed on "as we forgive those who trespass against us".
27:18- 19 Have thou nothing to do with that just man―(18) For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. (19) When he was set down on the judgment seat,
his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things
this day in a dream because of him.‖ (Mat 27:18-19)
Pilate tried all to prevent Y‘shua from being crucified; he even scourged Y‘shua in the hope that the legalistic
Pharisees would release him.
(13) ―And having called together the chief priest and rulers and the people,
(14) Pilate said to them, You have brought this man to me as perverting the people. And, behold,
examining him before you I found nothing blamable in this man regarding that which you charge against him.