Jesus was The LORD’s Goat

Thanks Morguefile.com

In the previous post last Friday, we talked about the Scapegoat, one of the two goats used in the ceremony called the "Day of Atonement." The other goat is called "the LORD's goat," and it was sacrificed as an offering for sin.

"Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering" (Leviticus 16:7-9).

Jesus fulfilled the roles of both the goats: the scapegoat and the sin offering.

After the sin offering had been sacrificed, it was carried outside the camp (in Moses' day when the Israelites where camping in the wilderness) or outside the city (of Jerusalem in Jesus' day). This is because the camp or the city of Jerusalem is symbolic of the place where God lives, where God visits His people, where God’s presence resides. And in the presence of God, there is no sin.

This is why sinful – or sin-filled – people cannot enter God's presence. He will not allow it. (Tweet that!)

In order to enter God's presence, the sin of sinful people (which includes us all, even you) must be dealt with. This is what Jesus did. (Tweet that!) Jesus came to be both:

• our Scapegoat, carrying our sins far away where they can never return, and
• our sacrifice for our sins.

"Carrying his own cross, he went out [outside the city] to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him…" (John 19:17-18).

Jesus was the LORD's goat, our sin offering.