Transcript Epistle of Barnabas - Institute of Catholic Culture

Epistle of Barnabas
Institute of Catholic Culture
April 6, 2014
Prof. Eric J. Jenislawski,
Christendom College
The Epistle of Barnabas
I. What is Apocrypha?
II. Background of Barnabas
A.
B.
C.
Date of Composition
Authorship
Genre
III. Overview of Barnabas
A.
B.
C.
The Symbolism of the OT Covenant
Excessively Negative view of Jewish Observances
The “Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
I. What is Apocrypha?
 Early Christian writing concerning the Good
News, what Christ has revealed.
 Judged by the Church to be not divinely
inspired.
 Thus, often similar in tone and theme to
Biblical writing, but without its inspired
character.
I. What is Apocrypha?
These books are called “apocrypha” (literally,
hidden works) because they were not as well
known as the biblical books.
The Bible is the most published book in the
world. Even as the canonical books of the
New Testament were emerging, the
apocrypha were, generally speaking, not as
prominent as the books of the NT.
I. What is Apocrypha?
A thumbnail sketch of canon formation:
 The canonical books of the NT written during
the mid- to late- first century AD.
 Copied and shared among the early
churches. This process took time!
 Other Christian writing was emerging at the
same time: some good, some not-so-good,
some positively contrary to the Gospel.
I. What is Apocrypha?
 The Liturgy was an engine of canonical
development: what books could be read at
Mass?
 Already in the second century, we have
record that bishops were including apostolic
writings in the early Christian liturgy, side-byside with the writings of the Law (Moses) and
the Prophets, the divinely inspired books of
the OT.
St. Justin Martyr, First Apology
Chapter 67:
Written circa 155-157 A.D.
And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in
the country gather together to one place, and the
memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets
are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader
has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts
to the imitation of these good things.
Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before
said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and
water are brought, and the president in like manner
offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability,
and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a
distribution to each, and a participation of that over
which thanks have been given, and to those who are
absent a portion is sent by the deacons.
I. What is Apocrypha?
 Thus the question “Can it be read at Mass?”
was the way the divinely-inspired character
of a book was assessed.
 In other words, is this book “on par” with the
already-accepted OT books of the Bible?
I. What is Apocrypha?
 In the second century, no centralized Church
action governed either the circulation of
texts, or the appraisal of their worth.
 Individual bishops determined the practice of
their local churches.
 The Magisterium of the Successors of the
Apostles determined what was appropriate.
I. What is Apocrypha?
 When bishops could not share texts, they at
least shared opinions about known works:
“canonical lists.”
 An early example: The Muratorian Fragment
(Rome, 170s).
 Divides known books into three categories:



Fit to be read at Mass (divinely inspired)
Useful for Christians but not inspired
Harmful: heretical, erroneous, forgeries, etc.
I. What is Apocrypha?
 The great increase of Christian writing in the
second, third and fourth century prompts the
need for more universal agreement about
what are the divinely inspired books of the
New Testament.
 Not only an explosion of Christian literature,
but a welter of heretical works, including
forgeries written in the name of apostles to
support them.
I. What is Apocrypha?
Some Apocryphal Gospels
Some Apocryphal Apocalypses
 Gospel of Thomas
 Apocalypse of Peter
 Gospel of Peter
 Ascension of Isaiah
 Gospel of Hebrews
 Apocalypse of Thomas
 Gospel of Nicodemus
 Apocalypse of Paul
(Acts of Pilate and
Descent to Hades)
 Proto-evangelium of
James
 Infancy Gospel of
Thomas
 Apocalypse of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
 Seventh Vision of
Enoch
I. What is Apocrypha?
Other apocryphal works included:
 Various “Acts”
 Dozens of Epistles
 Various “Sayings” purported to be from Our
Lord, post-resurrection teachings, or “secret”
Gospels claiming to elucidate Jesus’
teaching for the intellectual elites.
I. What is Apocrypha?
 Origen of Alexandria first attempts to
ascertain the mind of the episcopacy
regarding what books the world’s bishops:



Universally Accept
Dispute
Universally Reject
I. What is Apocrypha?
 Eusebius (4th century) further refines the census of
episcopal opinion.
 Our 27-book NT can be seen in those books:


Universally accepted by the bishops
Accepted by most bishops
 Prominent bishops confirmed this teaching multiple
times to their regions:




Pope St. Damasus I (Synod of Rome, 382)
St. Athanasius (Epistola Festalis, 367)
St. Augustine (Synods of Hippo & Carthage, 390s)
Pope St. Innocent I (Letter to Exuperius, 405)
I. What is Apocrypha?
 The canon was therefore a settled matter by the fifth




century A.D. (Also defined at Trent, 1546.)
The canon was settled by episcopal magisterium.
You can’t be sola scriptura without a scriptura! And
you wouldn’t have a scriptura without the first four
centuries of the Church believing in the definitive
teaching authority of the bishops of the Catholic
Church!
Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium have always
gone hand-in-hand. (Likewise Scripture and Liturgy.)
For more info, see my other ICC presentations.
I. What is Apocrypha?
In summary, the Apocrypha:
 Are not divinely inspired; thus, not inerrant.
 Span a wide range of quality:



Could be morally useful
Could be historical insightful
Could be positively heretical
 Provide an interesting insight into the
teachings circulating in the early Church
 Must be approached critically, like any
ancient text.
II. Background of Barnabas
The scarcity of information about Barnabas
(and the abundance of speculation about it),
provide a good example of the challenges of
working with NT apocrypha!
II. Background of Barnabas
Basic Questions:
 Who wrote Barnabas?
 When did he write?
 To whom did he write?
 Why did he write?
II. Background of Barnabas
Internal evidence is scarce.
The text provides:
 No Identification of Author
 No Identification of Audience
 Only a few clues relating to its date
II. Background of Barnabas
External evidence is also relatively scarce:
 Widely known in & around Alexandra from
the second century
 A frequently-mentioned book in the appraisal
of bishops of the third and fourth century
 Never received by all; indeed, disputed by
most bishops.
 Yet not universally rejected. Some churches
viewed it as helpful non-inspired literature.
II.A. Date of Composition
Our best internal evidence: Barnabas 16:3-4:
On the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem:
3. Furthermore he says again, "Lo, they who
destroyed this temple shall themselves build
it."
4. That is happening now. For owing to the war
it was destroyed by the enemy; at present
even the servants of the enemy will build it
up again.
II.A. Date of Composition
Most scholars interpret this as a
reference to the Roman
Emperor Hadrian.
 After Rome destroyed the
Temple in 70 A.D., Hadrian
had a mind to rebuild it.
 Visited Jerusalem in 130 A.D.
 Permitted the rebuilding of the
city.
II.A. Date of Composition
Great hope attended the news that the
Temple would be rebuilt.
But the Emperor seemed to fear a
restoration of the Temple to YHWH
would be a cause of sedition. He
announced a pagan name for the
rebuilt city (Aelia Capitolina, after
Jupiter Capitolinus), directed that an
altar to Jupiter be built on the Temple
ruins, and outlawed circumcision.
Desecration of the Temple ruins
provoked the massive Bar Kochba
rebellion (132-136 A.D.), the final,
massive and bloody chapter in the
Roman-Jewish wars.
II.A. Date of Composition
As a result, several scholars
date Barnabas to the period
after Hadrian’s visit in 130AD,
but before the rebellion began in
132 AD.
Therefore, a date of composition
130-132 A.D.
II.A. Date of Composition
Alternative Hypothesis: The Building-up of the Church,
the New Temple, amongst the Gentiles.
But this is hard to reconcile with the explicit reference to
the physical temple in Jerusalem as the same one
being rebuilt, and “by the servants of the enemy,”
hardly a way to describe the Christian Church:
16:4. That is happening now. For owing to the war it was destroyed
by the enemy; at present even the servants of the enemy will
build it up again.
II.B. Authorship
Did the historical St. Barnabas, the companion
of St. Paul, write the letter?
Some problems:
1. Chronological
2. Theological
3. Second-century usage only in Alexandria
II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas?
Dates from the life of St. Barnabas:
Introduced St. Paul to the Church in Jerusalem
after Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:27)
Retrieved Paul from Tarsus (Acts 11:25-26) to
the Church at Antioch
Traveled with Paul during his first two great
missionary journeys (Acts 12-14)
Present at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts
15:12) in 50 A.D.
II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas?
Dates from the life of St. Barnabas:
Still alive, evangelizing, and working apart from St. Paul
when he wrote 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 9:6), circa 56-57.
Some interpret Col 4:10 as indicating that Barnabas may
have died, as John Mark has taken over Barnabas’
apostolic labors. Colossians written during Paul’s first
Roman imprisonment, 61-63 A.D.
Some traditions record that Barnabas was martyred in
Cyprus in 61 A.D., consonant with this, but the
Bollandist Acta Sanctorum relates: “all these traditions
are relatively late and unreliable.”
II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas?
Dates from the life of St. Barnabas:
Nothing indicates that Barnabas was a younger man,
like St. John, or that he lived long.
Therefore, it is impossible he wrote it, if we accept a
date of composition of 130-132 A.D.
II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas?
Theological Problems:
Best summarized by the Catholic patristics scholar, Johannes
Quasten:
“Modern research has definitely established that the Apostle
Barnabas was not the author of this Letter, because of the
decidedly harsh and absolute repudiation of the Old Testament.
Because of this pronounced antipathy to everything Jewish,
Barnabas cannot possibly come into consideration as the author
of the Epistle. A wide chasm…yawns between the teachings of
St. Paul, to whom Barnabas was a missionary companion, and
the views voiced in the Epistle of Barnabas.”
--J. Quasten, Patrology, Vol. 1, page 89.
II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas?
Alexandrian Usage:
An argument of lesser value:
The document was best known and cited around the
region of Alexandria, where it was also received by St.
Clement and Origen as Scripture. If the historical St.
Barnabas had written this as a “Catholic letter,” one
might expect wider recognition of it.
II.B. Authorship: So Who Wrote It?
The best answer:
We don’t know.
II.B. Authorship: So Who Wrote It?
Can we make some guesses?
Sure, but that’s all they are.
Based on its symbolic interpretation of the OT laws, similar to the
Jewish Platonist Philo of Alexandria, most scholars suspect an
Alexandrian author of the Second Century A.D.
Why is it called “The Epistle of Barnabas?”
 The real author’s name was Barnabas. This was later
confused with the Apostle Barnabas because of similarity of
Pauline themes.
 A forgery? Hard to call it that, since it never claims to be
from the Apostle Barnabas!
II.C. Genre
 It’s always called “the Epistle of Barnabas”
but it’s not much of an epistle.

Lacks an identification of sender and recipient


Lacks a parting salutation



Compare: Col 1:1-8, James 1:1-4, 1 Peter 1:1-9
Compare: Col 4:7-18
Refers to no particular persons
Doesn’t have formal Hellenistic epistolary style
II.C. Genre
So why is it called “an epistle”?
Again, I think Quasten has the best explanation:
“Early Christian writers looked upon the epistle as the
only proper genre for instruction in piety and resorted
to it even when they were not addressing a limited
circle of readers.” “Hence its form is merely a literary
convention.”
-- J. Quasten, Patrology, Vol. 1, page 85.
III. Overview of Barnabas
The Symbolism of the OT Covenant
B. Excessively Negative view of Jewish Observances
C. The “Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
A.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
The Big Picture: The Judaizing controversy
Need Gentiles become Jewish first in order to become
Christian?
No! Cf. Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem.
vs. Pharisee Christians who claimed, “Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1)
Yet the error persisted, for which reason St. Paul wrote
Romans & Galatians.
Irenaeus records heretical groups (Ebionites and
Nazarenes) lasting well into the second-century, in
schism from the Church.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
The Big Picture: The Judaizing controversy
Its significance for us:
 What is the balance between the OT and
NT?
 What is the relationship between the
covenants of Moses and Christ?
The Epistle of Barnabas gives us insight into
the difficulty of getting the synthesis right!
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Familiar positions of orthodoxy:
The OT is fulfilled by the NT.
Matt 5:17: Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the
prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.
The OT foreshadows the NT.
Col 2:17: These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the
substance belongs to Christ.
The OT prepares for the NT. The OT convicts
of sin; the NT saves.
Gal 3:22: But the scripture consigned all things to sin, that what
was promised to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those
who believe.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Familiar positions of heterodoxy:
The NT must be subordinated to the OT
(Ebionites, Nazarenes)
The NT cancels the OT
(Supercessionism)
The NT reveals the evils of the OT!
(Marcion of Sinope)
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
The challenge for Barnabas:
 To show the superiority of the NT to OT
 To show the necessity of the NT for all those who
wish to follow Christ
 To show how the OT provided a preparation for the
NT
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
The approach of Barnabas:
The NT is superior because it reveals plainly what the
OT foreshadowed in its laws. Now that we see
plainly, we no longer need to abide by the Laws of
Moses.
The OT did not save. Only the NT does. In making this
point, The Epistle of Barnabas goes far beyond
Pauline orthodoxy, and errs, by denying the goodness
of the OT and Jewish observance of it from Moses to
Christ.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT:
Barnabas 1:6-7:
6 There are then three doctrines of the Lord: "the hope of life" is the
beginning and end of our faith; and righteousness is the
beginning and end of judgment; love of joy and of gladness is
the testimony of the works of righteousness.
7 For the Lord made known to us through the prophets things past
and things present and has given us the first-fruits of the taste of
things to come; and when we see these things coming to pass
one by one, as he said, we ought to make a richer and deeper
offering for fear of him.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT:
The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ
Barnabas 2:3-6:
3 While then these things remain in holiness towards the Lord, wisdom, prudence,
understanding, and knowledge rejoice with them.
4 For he has made plain to us through all the Prophets that he needs neither sacrifices nor
burnt-offerings nor oblations, saying in one place,
5 "What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of burnt offerings
and desire not the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats, not even when ye come
to appear before me. For who has required these things at your hands? Henceforth shall
ye tread my court no more. If ye bring flour, it is vain. Incense is an abomination to me. I
cannot away with your new moons and sabbaths."
6 These things then he abolished in order that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is
without the yoke of necessity, might have its oblation not made by man.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT:
The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ
Cp. Hebrews 9:11-15:
[11] But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,
then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is,
not of this creation)
[12] he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and
calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
[13] For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and
with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh,
[14] how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God.
[15] Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called
may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred
which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT:
The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ
Barnabas 5:1-7:
1 For it was for this reason that the Lord endured to deliver up his flesh to
corruption, that we should be sanctified by the remission of sin, that is, by his
sprinkled blood.
2 For the scripture concerning him relates partly to Israel, partly to us, and it
speaks thus: "He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our
iniquities, by his stripes we were healed. He was brought as a sheep to the
slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before its shearer."
3 Therefore we ought to give great thanks to the Lord that he has given us
knowledge of the past, and wisdom for the present, and that we are not without
understanding for the future.
4 And the Scripture says, "Not unjustly are the nets spread out for the birds." This
means that a man deserves to perish who has a knowledge of the way of
righteousness, but turns aside into the way of darkness.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Barnabas 5:1-7, continued:
5. Moreover, my brethren, if the Lord endured to suffer for our life,
though he is the Lord of all the world, to whom God said before
the foundation of the world, "Let us make man in our image and
likeness," how, then, did he endure to suffer at the hand of man?
6. Learn: -- The Prophets who received grace from him prophesied
of him, and he, in order that he "might destroy death," and show
forth the Resurrection from the dead, because he needs must
be made "manifest in the flesh," endured
7. in order to fulfill the promise made to the fathers, and himself
prepare for himself the new people and show while he was on
earth that he himself will raise the dead and judge the risen.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Allegorical Interpretation
vs. Symbolic Interpretation:
Christian allegory, NT allegory:
OT events prefigure NT events for which they prepare.
OT History  Later history.
Practiced by Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc.
(Pagan) Greek allegory = Symbolic interpretation:
Events represented in myth symbolize natural truths
expressed more clearly in philosophy.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Allegorical Interpretation
vs. Symbolic Interpretation:
Barnabas employs some allegorical interpretation, but
tends also to practice Greek symbolic interpretation,
as was common in Alexandria.
Examples:
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Christian allegory: Christ the Scapegoat:
Barnabas 7:6-8:
6 Note what was commanded: "Take two goats, goodly
and alike, and offer them, and let the priest take the
one as a burnt offering for sins."
7 But what are they to do with the other? "The other," he
says, "is accursed." Notice how the type of Jesus is
manifested:
8 "And do ye all spit on it, and goad it, and bind the
scarlet wool about its head, and so let it be cast into
the desert."
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Christian allegory: Christ the Scapegoat:
Barnabas 7:9-11:
9 What does this mean? Listen: "the first goat is for the altar, but the other
is accursed," and note that the one that is accursed is crowned,
because then "they will see him" on that day with the long scarlet robe
"down to the feet" on his body, and they will say, "Is not this he whom
we once crucified and rejected and pierced and spat upon? Of a truth it
was he who then said that he was the Son of God."
10 But how is he like to the goat? For this reason: "the goats shall be
alike, beautiful, and a pair," in order that when they see him come at
that time they may be astonished at the likeness of the goat. See then
the type of Jesus destined to suffer.
11 But why is it that they put the wool in the middle of the thorns? It is a
type of Jesus placed in the Church, because whoever wishes to take
away the scarlet wool must suffer much because the thorns are terrible
and he can gain it only through pain. Thus he says, "those who will see
me, and attain to my kingdom must lay hold of me through pain and
suffering."
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Symbolic Interpretation: The Kosher Laws
Barnabas 10:3:
3 He mentioned the swine for this reason: you shall not
consort, he means, with men who are like swine, that
is to say, when they have plenty they forget the Lord,
but when they are in want they recognise the Lord,
just as the swine when it eats does not know its
master, but when it is hungry it cries out, and after
receiving food is again silent.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Symbolic Interpretation: The Kosher Laws
Moral: Don’t be like swine. Don’t grunt for God
when you need something, and then ignore
Him once your needs are met.
Likewise, the allowed animals, ruminants,
meditate on God who feeds them (Barnabas
10:11).
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Symbolic Interpretation: The Kosher Laws
Barnabas 10:4:
“Neither shalt thou eat the eagle nor the hawk nor the
kite nor the crow." Thou shalt not, he means, join
thyself or make thyself like to such men, as do not
know how to gain their food by their labor and sweat,
but plunder other people's property in their iniquity,
and lay wait for it, though they seem to walk in
innocence, and look round to see whom they may
plunder in their covetousness, just as these birds
alone provide no food for themselves, but sit idle, and
seek how they may devour the flesh of others, and
become pestilent in their iniquity.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Christian Allegory: the Temple
Barnabas 16:6-10:
6 But let us inquire if a temple of God exists. Yes, it exists, where he himself said
that he makes and perfects it. For it is written, "And it shall come to pass when
the week is ended that a temple of God shall be built gloriously in the name of
the Lord."
7 I find then that a temple exists. Learn then how it will be built in the name of the
Lord. Before we believed in God the habitation of our heart was corrupt and
weak, like a temple really built with hands, because it was full of idolatry, and
was the house of demons through doing things which were contrary to God.
8 "But it shall be built in the name of the Lord." Now give heed, in order that the
temple of the Lord may be built gloriously. Learn in what way. When we
received the remission of sins, and put our hope on the Name, we became
new, being created again from the beginning; wherefore God truly dwells in us,
in the habitation which we are.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Christian Allegory: the Temple
Barnabas 16:6-10:
9 How? His word of faith, the calling of his promise, the wisdom of
the ordinances, the commands of the teaching, himself
prophesying in us, himself dwelling in us, by opening the door of
the temple (that is the mouth) to us, giving repentance to us,
and thus he leads us, who have been enslaved to death into the
incorruptible temple.
10 For he who desires to be saved looks not at the man, but at him
who dwells and speaks in him, and is amazed at him, for he has
never either heard him speak such words with his mouth, nor
has he himself ever desired to hear them. This is a spiritual
temple being built for the Lord.
III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT
Laws and Covenant
Christian Allegory: the Temple
Cp. 1 Peter 2:4-9:
[4] Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and
precious;
[5] and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy
priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
[6] For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone
chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."
[7] To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe,
"The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the
corner,"
[8] and "A stone that will make men stumble,a rock that will make them fall";
for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
[9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,
that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
The Temple as “vain” and “heathen-like”:
Barnabas 16:1-4:
1 I will also speak with you concerning the Temple, and show how the
wretched men erred by putting their hope on the building, and not on
the God who made them, and is the true house of God.
2 For they consecrated him in the Temple almost like the heathen. But
learn how the Lord speaks, in bringing it to naught, "Who has
measured the heaven with a span, or the earth with his outstretched
hand? Have not I? saith the Lord. Heaven is my throne, and the earth
is my footstool, what house will ye build for me, or what is the place of
my rest?" You know that their hope was vain.
3 Furthermore he says again, "Lo, they who destroyed this temple shall
themselves build it."
4 That is happening now. For owing to the war it was destroyed by the
enemy; at present even the servants of the enemy will build it up
again.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
The Jews had the Old Covenant…for a few days!
Barnabas 4:6-8:
6 You ought then to understand. And this also I ask you, as being one of
yourselves, and especially as loving you all above my own life; take heed to
yourselves now, and be not made like unto some, heaping up your sins and
saying that the covenant is both theirs and ours.
7 It is ours: but in this way did they finally lose it when Moses had just received it,
for the Scripture says: "And Moses was in the mount fasting forty days and
forty nights, and he received the covenant from the Lord, tables of stone written
with the finger of the hand of the Lord."
8 But they turned to idols and lost it. For thus saith the Lord: "Moses, Moses, go
down quickly, for thy people, whom thou broughtest forth out of the land of
Egypt, have broken the Law." And Moses understood and cast the two tables
out of his hands, and their covenant was broken, in order that the covenant of
Jesus the Beloved should be sealed in our hearts in hope of his faith.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
The Jews continued to circumcise because “an evil angel” misled
them:
Barnabas 9:1-4:
1 For he speaks again concerning the ears, how he circumcised our hearts; for the
Lord says in the Prophet: "In the hearing of the ear they obey me." And again
he says, "They who are afar off shall hear clearly, they shall know the things
that I have done," and "Circumcise your hearts, saith the Lord."
2 And again he says, "Hear, O Israel, thus saith the Lord thy God," and again the
Spirit of the Lord prophesies, "Who is he that will live for ever? Let him hear the
voice of my servant."
3 And again he says, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath
spoken these things for a testimony." And again he says, "Hear the word of the
Lord, ye rulers of this people." And again he says, "Hear, O children, a voice of
one crying in the wilderness." So then he circumcised our hearing in order that
we should hear the word and believe.
4 But moreover the circumcision in which they trusted has been abolished. For he
declared that circumcision was not of the flesh, but they erred because an
evil angel was misleading them.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
 It is true, both the prophets and the Gospel
encourage us to have “circumcised hearts.”
 Yet no NT writer condemns the keeping of
the practice of circumcision between the time
of Abraham and Christ.
 Moreover, even Paul expressly permits
Jewish Christians to retain the practice, only
if they realize it does not save, and are
willing to keep the whole Law of Moses.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
St. Paul, Galatians 5:2-6 to the Judaizers:
[2] Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ
will be of no advantage to you.
[3] I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is
bound to keep the whole law.
[4] You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the
law; you have fallen away from grace.
[5] For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of
righteousness.
[6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of
any avail, but faith working through love.
III.B. Excessively Negative View of
the OT Laws and Covenant
St. Paul routinely presents the Law of Moses
as necessary and good, but preparatory:
Cp. Galatians 3:19:
The Law was given to prevent transgression (Gal 3:19) until Christ
came, Who alone can remit sins.
Cp. Galatians 3:22:
The Law condemned sin, so that the remission of sins offered in
Jesus Christ might be received for the gift it is.
Cp. Galatians 3:23-24:
The Law was Israel’s custodian (paidagogos) until faith in Christ
came. It was necessary to train Israel in righteousness until the
fullness of time came (Gal. 4:4-5).
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The last section of the Epistle of Barnabas
provides a classic example of early Christian
moral instruction, similar to what appears in
the early Christian apocryphal work, the
Didache.
Here, its value is flawless and perennial, and it
testifies to the constancy with which the
Church has condemned certain sins.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The “Way of Light” vs. the “Way of Darkness”
In the Didache, we have:
The “Way of Life” vs. the “Way of Death”
OT Origins in the Canticle of Moses:
Deut. 30:15-18:
[15] "See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil.
[16] If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you
this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping
his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and
multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are
entering to take possession of it.
[17] But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to
worship other gods and serve them,
[18] I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the
land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
1 The Way of Light is this: if any man desire to journey to the
appointed place, let him be zealous in his works. Therefore the
knowledge given to us of this kind that we may walk in it is as
follows:
2 Thou shalt love thy maker,
thou shalt fear thy Creator,
thou shalt glorify Him who redeemed thee from death,
thou shalt be simple in heart, and rich in spirit;
thou shalt not join thyself to those who walk in the way of death,
thou shalt hate all that is not pleasing to God,
thou shalt hate all hypocrisy;
thou shalt not desert the commandments of the Lord.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
3 Thou shalt not exalt thyself, but shall be humble-minded in all
things;
thou shalt not take glory to thyself.
Thou shalt form no evil plan against thy neighbour,
thou shalt not let thy soul be froward [contentious].
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
4 Thou shalt not commit fornication,
thou shalt not commit adultery,
thou shalt not commit sodomy.
Thou shalt not let the word of God depart from thee among the
impurity of any men.
Thou shalt not respect persons in the reproving of
transgression.
Thou shalt be meek, thou shalt be quiet,
thou shalt fear the words which thou hast heard.
Thou shalt not bear malice against thy brother.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
5 Thou shalt not be in two minds whether it shall be or
not.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain."
Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than thy own life.
Thou shalt not procure abortion.
Thou shalt not commit infanticide.
Thou shalt not withhold thy hand from thy son or from
thy daughter, but shalt teach them the fear of God
from their youth up.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
6 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods,
thou shalt not be avaricious.
Thou shalt not be joined in soul with the haughty but
shalt converse with humble and righteous men.
Thou shalt receive the trials that befall thee as good,
knowing that nothing happens without God.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
7 Thou shalt not be double-minded or talkative. Thou shalt obey thy
masters as a type of God in modesty and fear; thou shalt not
command in bitterness thy slave or handmaid who hope on the same
God, lest they cease to fear the God who is over you both; for he came
not to call men with respect of persons, but those whom the Spirit
prepared.
8 Thou shalt share all things with thy neighbor and shall not say that they
are thy own property; for if you are sharers in that which is
incorruptible, how much more in that which is corruptible? Thou shalt
not be forward to speak, for the mouth is a snare of death. So far as
thou canst, thou shalt keep thy soul pure.
9 Be not one who stretches out the hands to take, and shuts them when it
comes to giving. Thou shalt love "as the apple of thine eye" all who
speak to thee the word of the Lord.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Life: Barnabas 19:
10 Thou shalt remember the day of judgment day and night, and thou
shalt seek each day the society of the saints, either laboring by
speech, and going out to exhort, and striving to save souls by the
word, or working with thine hands for the ransom of thy sins.
11 Thou shalt not hesitate to give, and when thou givest thou shalt not
grumble, but thou shalt know who is the good paymaster of the reward.
"Thou shalt keep the precepts" which thou hast received, "adding
nothing and taking nothing away." Thou shalt utterly hate evil. "Thou
shalt give righteous judgment."
12 Thou shalt not cause quarrels, but shalt bring together and reconcile
those that strive. Thou shalt confess thy sins. Thou shalt not betake
thyself to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the Way of Light.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Darkness: Barnabas 20:
 1 But the Way of the Black One is crooked
and full of cursing, for it is the way of death
eternal with punishment, and in it are the
things that destroy their soul: idolatry,
frowardness, arrogance of power, hypocrisy,
double-heartedness, adultery, murder,
robbery, pride, transgression, fraud, malice,
self-sufficiency, enchantments, magic,
covetousness, the lack of the fear of God;
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
The Way of Darkness: Barnabas 20:
2 persecutors of the good, haters of the truth, lovers of lies,
knowing not the reward of righteousness, who "cleave not to the
good," nor to righteous judgment, who attend not to the cause of
the widow and orphan, spending wakeful nights not in the fear of
God, but in the pursuit of vice, from whom meekness and
patience are far and distant, "loving vanity, seeking rewards,"
without pity for the poor, working not for him who is oppressed
with toil, prone to evil speaking, without knowledge of their
Maker, murderers of children, corrupters of God's creation,
turning away the needy, oppressing the afflicted, advocates of
the rich, unjust judges of the poor, altogether sinful.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
Concluding Exhortation: Barnabas 21:
1 It is good therefore that he who has learned the ordinances of the Lord
as many as have been written should walk in them. For he who does
these things shall be glorified in the kingdom of God, and he who
chooses the others shall perish with his works. For this reason there is
a resurrection, for this reason there is a recompense.
2 I beseech those who are in high positions, if you will receive any counsel
of my goodwill, have among yourselves those to whom you may do
good; fail not.
3 The day is at hand when all things shall perish with the Evil one; "The
Lord and his reward is at hand."
4 I beseech you again and again be good lawgivers to each other, remain
faithful counsellors of each other, remove from yourselves all
hypocrisy.
III.C. “The Two Ways”: Moral Instruction
Concluding Exhortation: Barnabas 21:
5 Now may God, who is the Lord over all the world, give you wisdom,
understanding, prudence, knowledge of his ordinances, patience.
6 And be taught of God, seeking out what the Lord requires from you, and see that
ye be found faithful in the day of Judgment.
7 If there is any memory of good, meditate on these things and remember me, that
my desire and my watchfulness may find some good end. I beseech you asking
it of your favour.
8 While the fair vessel is with you fail not in any of them, but seek these things
diligently, and fulfil every commandment; for these things are worthy.
9 Wherefore I was the more zealous to write to you of my ability, to give you
gladness. May you gain salvation, children of love and peace. The Lord of glory
and of all grace be with your spirit.