Scapegoat

“The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.” – Leviticus 16:22 

Imagine taking the blame and being accountable for something that you didn't do. Now imagine that, plus the possibility that after having the weight of people’s sins on your shoulders, the consequence for them is absolute banishment. You are no longer allowed to be with your family, not allowed to be with your friends, you have no food, no clothes besides the ones on your back, and no one to be with you. You are, essentially, used for the protection, the safety, and the salvation of everybody else. 

Hard to swallow, isn't it? 

As humans, we are wired to be egoistic – in the sense that, self-preservation comes very naturally to us. We would never intentionally put ourselves in harm’s way, not if we can help it. So while imagining all of those won’t be hard, doing and agreeing to all of them will be quite a feat. After all, saving others at the risk of your own life requires a lot of bravery. 

But what if someone already took the blame for us? What if I told you that because of Him, we dodged a really huge bullet? 

We all know the verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. From high up in His throne, God knew and saw every little screw ups that we had done, are doing, and will be doing. It displeases Him because all He ever wants from us for us to be with Him, to commune with Him, and to have fellowship with Him. And sin is like the Great Wall of China – it’s a massive obstacle to get to the other side. God saw all of these and knew that the only way that we will ever be righteous in His eyes is if the ultimate sacrifice was made. God knew that all of the world’s sins – past, present, and future – required something more than burnt, sin, and guilt sacrifices. He knew what had to be done. 

Now, I can’t say what God must have felt when the only way for all of us to be forgiven is if His Son was to die. But if it were me, I would be devastated. But He did it because He loves us, tremendously. We were disgusting and filthy in His eyes, but the blood of Jesus cleansed us. He was the ultimate sacrifice. 

He was the scapegoat. 

It’s something that a lot of us have heard so many times, have grown numb and accustomed to this fact because we have heard it so many times. But unless we have an intimate relationship with God, this fact still won’t make any sense to us. 

His perfection covered all of our imperfections. We are insignificant and undeserving, but we are precious in His sight – He wanted to take protect us, and to take care of us. So thank You, Lord. Thank You for choosing to love us, for remaining faithful, and for saving us from ourselves. Thank You for being our scapegoat.