Jesus the Scapegoat

Oct 20

We have all worked for companies or governments where rules were in place, but the accepted practices didn’t always follow the “letter of the law”. The intent of the accepted practice was pure, and the outcome was the same, but it didn’t follow the step by step, outlined, over regulated, or absurd practices the company or government had specified. These accepted practices go on for years and sometimes decades. Everyone from the top down is aware they exist, and that people are using them. At some point an unfortunate person is using the accepted practice and something bad happens, equipment is damaged, a person is hurt, or production time is lost. Now the spotlight is on the “accepted practice” that has been in use for years. Inspectors and investigators are sent in to determine what happened. They decide the cause was someone didn’t follow the “letter of the law” but instead used a different process. Everyone acts shocked that people were using this “accepted practice” instead of the approved process. At this point the company or government wants to set an example of intolerance to short cuts so they pick some middle manager that admitted to knowing the accepted practice was being used and act against them. We all know everyone from the top down knew about the accepted practice but only one person took the punishment for it. We call that person the “Scapegoat”. The bad behavior that had been going on for years and was known by everyone was packaged up and put on one person. They needed a scapegoat.

The bible talks about a scapegoat in Leviticus 16. God outlined the process that would atone for the sins of the people. I need to stay true to my original commitment of explaining “church talk”. The word atone means to offer something to pay for or serve as repayment or compensation for something bad. The day of atonement was once a year and involved two goats. God told Aaron (the priest) he was to cast lots (roll the dice or flip a coin) to see which goat was to be killed and the blood used to atone or cleans three places 1. Most Holy Place, 2. the tent of meeting and 3. the altar. The second goat the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21-28) Aaron (the priest) was to place his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the sins of the Israelites. If I lived in that village that could take a while. The sins of the Israelites were now packaged up and put on this goat. When God saw this goat what he saw was all the sins of the Israelites. The goat had to be removed from the Israelite camp immediately. God could not stand to have all that sin so close to His Most Holy Place. One person was to take the scapegoat and lead it outside the camp and into the wilderness. God wanted the sins removed from the camp away from His presence and sent into the wilderness or outer darkness. One of the interesting things you will read in Leviticus 16 is that the person that led the goat outside the camp into the wilderness had to clean their clothes and bathe themselves before they could reenter the camp. The transfer of sins was so real that it had to be washed off and left outside the camp. The person could not come back into the camp or near Gods Most Holy Place until all the sin had been washed off. Two goats were used to atone for the sins of the people. One was killed and its blood used to pay the price for the sins of the people. The scapegoat had the sins of the people placed upon its head and then taken outside the camp away from God’s Most Holy Place.

The one thing God could not tolerate close to his presence was sin. God had set his tent up in the center of the camp among his people. The 12 tribes of Israel were to set up their tents around God’s tent. Inside God’s tent was the Most Holy Place. Once the sins of the people were packaged up and placed on one goat God’s anger burned against it. His holy nature could not tolerate that sin so it had to be removed or taken outside the camp. You see at a base level sin is God’s creation acting against Him or betraying God. If you have ever been betrayed by a friend you know how angry that can make you. In the same way when we choose sin, God has a holy anger that must be satisfied. Think of it this way. God took the time to make an environment that could sustain human life. He then created two people. He loved them, walked with them, and talked with them. The only thing he asked was that they not eat from one tree. Yet they decided to act against the creators will. They betrayed God’s trust, and His love. In government they would call that treason. It would be like you approaching someone that had just been released from prison and offering to set them up in a house. You had taken the time to furnish the house just for them. You stocked the refrigerator prepared the lawn and garden and placed then in the house. You would come by every week and take care of everything for them. You provided them food and shelter. The only requirement you had was that they not return to their old life of crime. All was fine for a little while but then one day the person you had been caring for chose to sell off all the things you were providing so they could buy the equipment they needed to rob your bank so they can have all your money. My guess is you would be angry. In the same way when we chose sin, we are taking what God has designed for us and acting against Him. Yes, sin makes God angry. We need a scapegoat to have our sins taken away from our camp.

The prophet, Isaiah, wrote about Jesus being the scapegoat for you. In Isaiah 53:4-6 says (I am going to paraphrase this a lot) “4 Surely Jesus took up your pain and bore your suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for your bad decisions and bad actions, Jesus was crushed for your sins and iniquities; the punishment that brought you peace was on Him (Jesus), and by his wounds you are healed. 6 we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.” As you read further in that chapter you will find that it says

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.

Why would God want to “Crush” Jesus and “cause him to suffer”? it is because back in verse 6 it tells us that God has laid our sins on Jesus’s head. Jesus was our scapegoat. God laid our sins on his head thus requiring Jesus to be lead outside the camp away from God’s protection and blessing. Jesus had to be taken away from the Most Holy Place. Where did this happen? In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to God. Jesus knew that our sin was about to be placed on his head. This is a legal transaction. Your sin was about to be placed into Jesus’s account. Once God placed our sin into Jesus’s account or on his head, Jesus felt all the pain, guilt, shame, and remorse for evil, that you have felt over your entire life. Up to this point in Jesus’s life he had never felt these things. Jesus had led a sin free life. Now he felt the weight of all that. From God’s perspective all our ugly sin had now been combined and placed in one spot. God’s anger burned against our sin. Jesus was taken before the Jewish Sanhedrin (religious court). At this point in time the Jews were under Roman rule. One of the thing Rome did not allow it subjects was capital punishment. The religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. To accomplish this, they had to lead Jesus outside the camp and over to the Roman court. Jesus was bound and beaten. Jesus had been protected from injury had harm up to this time in his life but now that our sin was on him all God could see was that sin. God removed all protection, and His anger struck our sin which was Jesus. The beatings Jesus took was a result of our sin and our evil deeds. In the end the court allowed the people to choose who they wanted to live and who they wanted to die. Jesus was chosen to die.

Remember that on the day of atonement there were two goats. One goat had the sins of the people placed upon it while the other had to be killed and it’s blood used to cleanse the Most Holy Place. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that Jewish law required that almost everything be cleansed with blood, and that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Jesus had all our sins placed on him and took the beatings and exile we deserved to satisfy God’s anger. Now one more task had to be completed. Jesus had to be killed and his blood spilled. The people chose Jesus to die so the Roman ruler allowed Jesus to be killed. Remember that the Bible teaches in Romans 6:23 that the wage of sin is death. The bible also teaches that Jesus had led a sinless life. The transfer of sin from us to Jesus was so real that Jesus would now die. Death was what we deserve because we have sinned. Jesus didn’t deserve death, he accepted it so he could cleanse us from sin.

The bible records Jesus was hung on a cross by the Romans. The scapegoat had to be lead outside the camp. Jesus was led away from the Jewish camp into the Roman camp because of our sin. He would be hung on a cross and die only because our sin was placed onto him. Hebrews 11-13

11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

In Matthew 27: 50-53 it tells us that when Jesus died the curtain that separated the people from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. Jesus’s blood and his death cleansed us from our sins. Jesus offered himself to God to pay for or serve as repayment or compensation for all our sins. Jesus was my scapegoat. Jesus is your scapegoat as well. The Bible teaches that those who know Jesus came to earth, lead a sinless and righteous life, and understand that Jesus took their sin upon himself and paid the price for their sin, if you trust what Jesus did as your way to get to heaven, then you will be saved from eternal life in Hell.

Jesus was both the atonement and the scapegoat. Please accept the free gift Jesus is offering.

Len Masengale

Jesus the Scapegoat

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