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?