January 16

Day 308: Scapegoat

Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. For contemporary Jews, this is the big day of the calendar year. A political holiday, celebrating an event that just so happened on that year's Yom Kippur.

But the roots of the Day of Atonement go way way back to Leviticus 16. And their constant (thus annually acknowledged) need for atonement. Payment for sins committed. A ceremony God initiated to give His people a fresh start each year.

Two goats were selected. Dice were cast. One goat became the sin offering, and was almost immediately dispatched. Blood drained and sprinkled on just about everything. The carcass burned on the altar.

The more fortunate of the two goats became the...wait for it...the scapegoat. The High Priest would lay his hands on this goat's head, confess all of his sins and the sins of the people. Then, the High Priest would go and take a bath. Presumably to wash the sins off of himself.

Some other guy would then lead the scapegoat out into the wilderness, far far away from the camp. The scapegoat would then be released to live out its life on its own. Symbolically carrying all of that year's sins. Carrying those sins away. Never to return.

This was done every year. Because the atonement didn't stick. It was repeated every year, because each subsequent year included subsequent new sins against God. It was meant to be a picture of something greater and more permanent to come.

The High Priest knew. The people knew. They were not blaming the scapegoat for their sins committed. The scapegoat just symbolically carried those sins away.

But not unlike how contemporary Jews have morphed Yom Kippur to mean something other than personal and corporate atonement, we view a scapegoat differently. For us in our day, a scapegoat is someone to blame, justified or otherwise. The very fact we do that is proof positive we need atonement ourselves.

Atonement can only be accomplished after we stop blaming others, while excusing ourselves. To blame others for our own sin is to say essentially that we don't need, and thereby refuse any atonement at all.

Christians become Christians only when/after they've been granted enough self awareness to see their own sin, their own need for atonement. And no longer blame others.

If we believe, like Jesus believed, that the entire Old Testament points to Him, then it's not too hard to see the gospel in Leviticus 16.

For He is our scapegoat. Sinless Himself, He carried our sins, and was led "out of the camp" to a cruel Roman cross, where He made atonement for us, those who finally own up to their own culpability, their own guilt. Those who cry out for and thus receive God's grace.

Jesus has carried our sins away, never to return. But instead of a natural death, He died a violent death. And instead of a permanent death, He defeated death by rising to life again.

For Christians, our Yom Kippur happened over two thousand years ago. Our scapegoat has done what we could not do for ourselves. His blood atoned for us.

And unlike the ancient scapegoat, our scapegoat has and will return to the camp, forever to be worshipped. Not as a goat, but as the lamb that was slain. For us.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau