The New Day of Atonement

In this work, Hans M. Moscicke investigates the influence of the Day of Atonement on Matthew's passion narrative. The author argues that the First Evangelist crafts a sustained Yom Kippur typology in the twenty-seventh chapter of his Gospel and then remodels the Barabbas episode (Matt 27:15-26) as a Yom Kippur lottery between two "goats". Pilate acts as high priest, designating Jesus as the immolated goat and Barabbas, along with the crowd, as a sin-bearing scapegoat. Matthew also casts Jesus as a scapegoat in the Roman-abuse scene (Matt 27:27-31), in which he depicts Jesus as physically receiving the sins of the world upon himself. Finally, the author suggests that Matthew, in his death-resurrection narrative (Matt 27:50-54), conceives Jesus as offering his life-force to God as the sacrificial goat for YHWH and descending to the realm of the dead as the goat for Azazel.