THE SCAPEGOAT OFFERING

 

 

Lev. 16:5-11; 15; 21-24; 29-31

 

Prayer

 

The scapegoat was sacrificed on the Day of Atonement.

Modern Jews call it “Yom Kippur.”

 

 

Yom means “the Day.”

Kippur means “to cover.”

 

 

The Day of Atonement (or Yom Kippur) was the day God covered the          

people's sins.

It was a special day.

 

 

The High Priest took a bath;

Dressed in his holy white garments;

 

 

Walked to the tabernacle;

Offered a young bullock as a sin offering for himself and his family.

 

 

He was required to get his heart right with God before he could offer  

sacrifices for the people.

After he offered a sacrifice for his own sins, he selected two young male       

goats;

 

 

They had to look as much alike as possible.

They were like identical twins or clones.

 

 

 

The High Priest took them to the door of the Tabernacle.

He presented them to the Lord.

 

 

He had an urn there containing two lots.

He reached into the urn,

 

 

Took hold of both lots,

Pulled them out,

 

 

Placed one lot on one goat,

And the other lot on the other goat.

 

 

According to how the lots fell,

One goat was called the Lord's goat.

 

 

And the other goat was called the scapegoat.

The High Priest had two pieces of scarlet cloth.

 

 

He tied one piece of scarlet cloth around the “neck” of the Lord's goat.

He tied the other piece of scarlet cloth around one of the “horns” of the        

scapegoat.

 

 

He killed the Lord's goat;

Caught it's blood;

 

 

Took the blood into the holy of holies in the Tabernacle or Temple;

Sprinkled it on the mercy seat;

 

 

Confessed the sins of the people;

Came out to the scapegoat;

Laid his bloody “hands” on it,

Confessed the sins of the people a second time.

 

 

He gave the scapegoat to an unknown man.

The High Priest removed his holy white garments.

 

 

He washed his hands and took a bath.

The unknown man led the scapegoat into the wilderness.

 

 

He turned it over to a second unknown man.

This second unknown man led the scapegoat further into the wilderness and

turned it over to a third unknown man,

 

 

And a fourth, and a fifth.

And on and on the scapegoat went into the wilderness.

 

 

No one knew where it wound up.

It just disappeared.

 

 

Now let's go back and look at the significance of these things.

1^st---We need to understand that there were two goats.

 

 

But just one offering.

Each goat is just part of the picture.

 

 

It takes both goats to get the whole picture.

2^nd---The scarlet cloth that was put on the goats represented sin;

 

 

Sin that's easy to see;

Sin that's bright red.

At the cross, Roman soldiers put a scarlet robe on Jesus.

That scarlet robe symbolized two things:

 

 

It symbolized the royalty of Jesus.

And it symbolized sin that was put on Jesus.

 

 

The Mother of Harlots in Revelation seventeen is dressed in purple and         

scarlet.

These colors represent the riches and sin of her one world religion.

 

 

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:”

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;”

 

 

“Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18).

Scarlet represents sin.

 

 

White represents purity.

3^rd---The death of the Lord's goat meant that sin must be covered.

 

 

It meant that someone or something had to die to cover sin.

It was done on the Day of Atonement;

 

 

The day God covered the people’s sins.

God said, “It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul” (Lev 17:11).

 

 

He said, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin”

(Heb. 9:22).

He said, “The wages of sin is death.”

 

 

 

So sin must be covered by the death and shed blood of a sacrifice.

4^th---The death of the Lord's goat meant that God will accept a substitute.

 

 

The people didn't shed their own blood.

They shed the blood of the Lord's goat;

 

 

The blood of a substitute.

“The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

 

 

“We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without       

blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18).

He was our substitute.

 

 

5^th---The death of the Lord's goat pleased God.

He forgave the people's sins.

 

 

Picture Jesus on the cross.

Blood is on His back where He took an awful beating.

 

 

Blood is on His brow where a crown of thorns was jammed down on His     

head.

Blood is on His face where His beard was plucked out.

 

 

Blood is on His hands and feet where He was nailed to the cross.

What a horrible sight!

 

 

But the Bible says, “It pleased God to do that” (Isa. 53:10).

Why?

 

 

 

Many would believe on Jesus.

And be saved.

 

 

His blood covered our sin.

His sacrifice pleased God.

 

 

6^th---Covering sin isn't enough.

There was a second goat called the scapegoat.

 

 

And because this scapegoat goat was needed,

We know that the sacrifice of the first goat wasn't enough.

 

 

So the High Priest went to the scapegoat;

Laid his bloody hands on the scapegoat;

 

 

And confessed the people's sins.

This laying on of hands symbolized the transfer of sin to the scapegoat's

body.

 

 

The scapegoat bore the people's sins in his own body.

Jesus was our scapegoat.

 

 

“The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

“Surely he hath borne our griefs; and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 1:4-6).

 

 

Peter said, “He bore our sins in His own body” (I Pet. 2:24).

So covering sin isn't enough.

 

 

A scapegoat was needed to bear sin in his own body.

7^th---Sin must be removed and forgotten.

 

The scapegoat removed the people's sins by carrying them into the     

wilderness.

They were forgotten forever.

 

 

Concerning Jesus, “As far as the east is from the west,”

“So far hath He removed our trangressions from us” (Psa. 103:12).

 

 

God said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and  

their iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 8:12).

Now, I want to show you something interesting.

 

 

This choosing of two goats, killing one, and letting the other go, was played  

out at the cross.

Two men were brought before Pontius Pilate.

 

 

We call one Jesus;

The other Barabbas or Bar-abbas.

 

 

Bar-abbas means Son of Abba or Son of the Father.

It's like Peter whose name was Simon barjona (Matt. 16:17).

 

 

He was Simon son of Jona

Do you know what the first name of Barabbas was?

 

 

An ancient manuscript says the first name of Barabbas was Jesus (Syriac      

version of the Bible).

If you want to check this out, there's a footnote about it in the Revised         

Standard Version of the Bible at Matthew 27:17.

 

 

So, two men were brought before Pontius Pilate:

One was Jesus Son of God.

The other was Jesus Son of the Father.

Jesus the Christ;

 

 

And Jesus Bar-abbas.

Because God forgave the people's sins, it was the custom of the Roman       

government to forgive and release one Jewish prisoner at this time.

 

 

Barabbas was scheduled to die for the sins of insurrection, murder and theft

          (Mk. 15:7; Luke 23:25; Jn. 18:40).

Pontius Pilate brought Jesus and Barabbas before the crowd.

 

 

He asked which one do you want released?

He wanted to release Jesus.

 

 

He thought Barabbas was so bad the people would choose to release Jesus.

But the people chose to release Barabbas.

 

 

Jesus was killed like the Lord's Goat.

And Barabbas walked away like the Scapegoat.

 

 

This is a picture of Jesus dying in our place.

And us walking away.

 

 

But there's more.

The High Priest washed his hands after he released the Scapegoat.

 

 

Do you remember what Pontius Pilate did after this?

He washed his hands.

 

 

 

The Scapegoat just disappeared into the wilderness.

Barabbas just disappeared off the pages of history.

 

 

Jesus was like the Lord's goat that died to cover the people's sins;

Like the scapegoat that carried away the people's sins.

 

 

And we are like the guilty Barabbas that just walked away.

The two goats were offered on the Day of Atonement.

 

 

Paul said, through Jesus Christ “we have now received the atonement”

(Rom. 5:11).

I invite you to take communion.

 

 

And to be thankful.

You have received the atonement.

 

 

Your sins have been covered;

And removed forever.