" Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. "He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. "Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. "And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. "But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness."
Leviticus 16: 6 - 10 NKJV
Have you ever felt like a sin offering? Well, let me put it another way, have you ever felt like a scapegoat? You know, that person to which all blame is placed? I've been there more than a few times. There are indeed times where we might feel as if we were that sin laden goat set free at the door of the tabernacle to run free into the wilderness. The trouble with that is, the original scapegoat had supposedly been found guilty then set free. When we feel like a scapegoat, being set free would be considered a good thing. This was one of the original ways in which the Lords people, the Israelites, dealt with the issue of sin. Indeed, sin was a ever present reality in their lives. For anyone who doubts this, just read a bit into the old testament and you will see a nation obsessed not only of being free of sin, but knowing that they couldn't. I look a the ceremony of the running of the scapegoats and I realize how far we have come in our desire to be free of our sin. Indeed, there are many out there who continue to hold to the idea that sin is a weight we will always carry with us. Many of these individuals continue to adhere to the theology of the mainstream church. However, there is indeed hope out there. Those of you who have read this page for any length of time know that I am not one to bask in the belief that I am just a sinner saved by grace. That sin identity which I used to carry with me was put to death upon the cross of Christ. The apostle Paul assures us of this transformation in Galatians. It is Paul who assures us that we "Have been crucified with Christ" {Galatians 2:20}. Now, for those of you, like myself, who cannot recall ever being put to death on a cross, Paul was referring to our old sin nature. You may have heard some old preacher explain at one time or another that we indeed were born with a sin nature. Fortunately, Jesus has dealt with that issue.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV
When I first read into Leviticus about the scapegoat ceremony I wondered just how many guilty goats there must have been out there in the wilderness. Indeed, would Jesus have been better off casting those demons into a herd of guilty goats instead of pigs? One definitely has to wonder. Would I recognize a goat as guilty if I ever came across it? What if a scapegoat was slain and used for food by some local farmer? Would the sins cast upon it then return to the people of Israel? Can you see how my thoughts are drawn to these conclusions? This sin of the Israelites had not been permanently removed, for the next year the same ceremony would take place. This is the way the Israelites interacted with God, through ceremony and traditions. Remember that it was these Israelites who fearfully told Moses that they could not even speak to God {Exodus 20:19}. So, it was Moses who the Lord spoke to. It was indeed Moses whom the Lord developed His relationship with. This is what the people of Israel were missing out on. Contrast this with the work which Christ Jesus has accomplished in us. It was Jesus who literally became that scapegoat in our place. Yes, Jesus became sin in our place {2 Corinthians 5:21}. When He did this, we ceased being sinners and became saved. This was a one time deal. Yet, some people treat the forgiveness of sins as if there is a endless supply of Jesus' out there. The more we keep thinking that we're sinners, we invalidate the work Jesus has done for us. How many times would you crucify Jesus in order to be satisfied? As Paul tells us, "He died to sin ONCE for all. Let the scapegoats rest in peace.
~Scott~
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