I’ve recently seen people draw a connection between the release of Barabbas at the crucifixion (Matthew 27) and the sending off of Azazel’s goat at Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16). Because both instances involve someone, or something, being released on a holy day, people are jumping to a conclusion that Azazel’s goat at Yom Kippur is a prophetic foreshadowing of Barabbas’ release.
Unfortunately, this is a misinterpretation. This is an example where two unrelated events, taken out of context, appear similar to one another but are actually not related. The seeming similarity of the events is coincidental; but, people are attempting to link the two because of a preconceived idea they look alike.
Why do I say the two events are not related?
Too many people are led to believe that Salvation is the ultimate goal, and once they “get saved” they are “eternally secure”. This type of thinking leads to complacency. I’ve seen congregations full of people who think nothing is really required of them and nothing they do really matters, because they are “saved by grace” and “once saved, always saved”. The common result of this thinking is people sitting in a pew once a week, waiting to be “raptured” away, and spending the other six days a week with business as usual.