[the Lord said] “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:20-22 ESV).
Our reading today is a part of a much longer passage that details the instructions of a part of the sacrificial system that was required for the atoning and forgiveness of sin on behalf of the nation of Israel. The slaughtering of animals to atone for people’s sins is a precursor to the work of Jesus on the cross. One such image is the scapegoat. The word scapegoat is still used in the English language today, meaning “someone who bears the blame for others.” Usually, though, when people today are looking for a scapegoat, they want to avoid admitting wrong.
The scapegoat image in Leviticus didn’t work that way. The people were called to repent and acknowledge their guilt as the priest laid his hands on the goat’s head and confessed over it all of the people’s sins. This was not some magical recitation; it was not God instructing them to say “abracadabra”. God, in his grace, was accepting a substitute for the people, taking away their sin, sending it out into the wilderness for destruction, and counting them righteous.
This is a picture that points to the Savior, Jesus, who came to take on himself the curse for all human sin. He became the scapegoat for us all. As the apostle Paul put it later, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is a critical picture of our redemption as it gives us an understanding of the truth that there is nothing we can do for forgiveness; and, it shows how God has already done what needs to be done in His only begotten Son, Jesus. This is God’s amazing grace!