Section 2—Barnabas. A.D. 70
Section 2—Barnabas. A.D. 70
Barnabas was a Levite, of the country of Cyprus (Acts 4:36), and a companion of the apostle Paul; there is an epistle extant which goes under his name, and is thought to have been written after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, and about A. D. 70,[992] in which he not only says,[993] "that the Son of God being Lord, and who also shall judge the quick and the dead, epathen ina e plege autou zoopoiete emas, suffered that by his stripes he might quicken us;" that he could not suffer ei me dis emas, "but for us;" and that he offered the vessels of the Spirit a sacrifice, uper ton emereron amartion, "for our sins,"but also introduces Christ[994] thus speaking of his sufferings, "I see that I shall thus offer my flesh, uper amartion tou laou tou kainou, for the sins of the new people; meaning a special and peculiar people that should be taken out from among the Gentiles under the New Testament dispensation, called a new people, to distinguish them from God's ancient people the Jews.