Scapegoat

Leviticus 16:6-28

Today’s reading from Leviticus describes what Aaron must do to atone for his sins and the sins of the Israelites.  There’s an awful lot of steps he must take, but then again this is the Old Testament where rituals and sacrifices were commonplace.

Thanks be to God for sending his Son so that today’s story is quite different.  No longer are we required to slaughter bulls and goats and then sprinkle blood with our finger seven times before the atonement cover.

No, the ultimate sacrifice was made by way of Jesus’s death on the cross.  He shed his blood for our sins.  Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering (Isaiah 53:4).

Jesus became the new scapegoat.

In Leviticus 16:21-22, Aaron is to “lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”

Hebrews 9:11-14 gives us a new story, one to rejoice over: But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Witnessing Old Testament foretelling come to light in the New Testament is fascinating.

Thank you, Father, for fulfilling your promises and giving us the ultimate gift of mercy - a willing scapegoat for our sins. 

God's Riches at Christ's Expense

Leviticus 16:15-22

            Scripture tells us that daily sacrifices and offerings were not enough to satisfy the wrath of God. Atonement for a year’s worth of sin needed a scapegoat to carry the wrongdoing far into the wilderness.  

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

            For much of my life, I had a basic understanding of religion and had little trouble believing there was a God.  I just didn’t get the Jesus part.  It was obvious that a divine power was at work and there was, of course, a system of right and wrong.  Christians appeared to be people who shared something, but since my family had stopped attending church, I felt excluded and uninvited.

            As a parent, I resumed church attendance because there needed to be baptisms and confirmations.  I worshiped and served.  I joined bible studies and it wasn’t until I studied scripture that I had my epiphany.  God solved our problem with sin!  That is the importance of Jesus!  But I wondered, "Why did God do that?"  He mustn't realize that the biggest motivator for good behavior is to please Him and avoid damnation. Little did I know that the significance of Jesus and God's grace could make people WANT to behave well.

written by Nancy Gleeson

            Fast forward to Sunday mornings at UALC.  With music and worship, I am uplifted in awestruck emotion filled with God’s love.  Jesus has taken the punishment and God has set me free!  No longer am I burdened by guilt or shame from past or present sin, done or left undone.  I am His to serve this world in ways that only true freedom from sin can inspire.   My spirit has been made new like a butterfly leaving its cocoon.  I now understand what God has done.

Christ is the atonement for all sin

 and our scapegoat.  Amen.

 

Mixed Messages of Life

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 NIV)

While taking my dog for one of our many daily outings, we took a new route. Many of the houses we passed were not the ones familiar to us after months of following the same path. As we passed one house I noticed a black pickup truck in the driveway. A sign posted in the rear window read: "Yes, this is my truck. No, I will not help you."

A story must exist behind the sign, and a lesson to be learned as well. Truck owners are often asked to help or for the loan of their vehicle. Some might see this as an opportunity to build a relationship, a chance to do something good for someone. Others could view this as an imposition and the flagrant sign would deter any would-be borrowers.

At times, our dealings with people hurt and offend us. If we are not careful we can become bitter and allow bad experiences in life to sour us to others. We look for scapegoats who we can blame for our behaviors. We might develop an attitude of: “no one is going to take advantage of me again.”

Interesting enough, as we continued our walk, about 6 houses down, I was treated to the complete opposite vibe. A carport attached to a house bore these words stenciled in large bold letters across the width of the frame: "WELCOME". These words redeemed the others quickly, but also made me consider the two opposing declarations.

Are we sending the same mixed messages to those we encounter daily? Are we hot one moment and cold the next? Does our manner depend on our mood?

Dear Jesus, create in me a clean heart and a desire to love and care for others by being available to them.

Leviticus 16:7-10, 21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21

Lambs, Goats and HO Trains

Have you ever been blamed for something you did not do? It probably has occurred to all of us, and it is not the most pleasant experience in the world.

 When I was perhaps 5 years old, a friend came over to play and we went down in the basement.

My dad had an HO train set in the basement, and I was not allowed to play with it unless he was there. He had modeled a village, the countryside, an unloading station and even a mountain on a piece of plywood. The train would follow the tracks from the village, to the mountain, through the countryside to the loading station.

As a kid, I thought it pretty cool. (In fact, I still do!)

The exact details escape me, but somehow my friend broke a wheel on one of the train’s cars. What does not escape me is that I was punished.

What can I say? Life isn’t fair.

Today’s reading is Isaiah 53. God, through the prophet Isaiah, is telling the Israelites that a messiah is coming. The messiah will be a descendant of King David, but will not be majestic. He will be despised, in spite of what he will do for mankind.

Our messiah, Jesus, is a lamb, a sacrificial lamb at that. Isaiah tells us, “the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.” Jesus is a perfect lamb, sacrificed for our wrongdoings.

But Jesus is more than that, much more indeed.

Isaiah continues by telling us that Jesus, “will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” That is, Jesus is our scapegoat. 

Our wrongdoings are blamed on Jesus and he gets punished for them!

I was not happy at being grounded after school one day for breaking my dad’s train. In all, I probably spent 3 hours in my bedroom.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sin, he was put to death. And he spent 3 days in the land of the dead. I have done many, many things that are wrong. I should be the one punished, not Jesus.

Fortunately for me, life isn’t fair.

So What's the Big Deal?

“The word became flesh”, is a rather catchy phrase in John 1:9-17. So what's the big deal?

We know the phrase to mean that Jesus, 100% God and 100% man, came to earth. While here, Jesus did many wondrous things, but let’s focus on three.

All are sinners, have rejected God, and deserve eternal death. Yet God loves us so much that he sent Jesus who became a sin offering for our sin. Even more, Jesus was a scapegoat, taking our sins upon himself, so that we will be without sin. Jesus’ death justifies us, that is, makes us “right before God.”

That is good for this life, but what happens after our death? Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He appeared in his bodily form on earth for 40 days before going to heaven. We, in the form of our souls, also go to heaven after death. Eventually we will get a resurrection body.

This is hard to believe, isn’t it? Jesus was a man, and his body was resurrected. Witnesses attested to this fact. Therefore, if God can resurrect the body of Jesus then, he can also resurrect the bodies of all men, even forgiven sinners.

Finally, Jesus came to establish a kingdom, and it includes all believers, past, present and future. The kingdom is heavenly, yet through the Holy Spirit it is with us today.

Many at the time of Jesus believed that Jesus would be setting up an earthly kingdom. How wrong they were. Some theologians, even today, insist Christ will set up an earthly kingdom. But Jesus clearly stated, “My kingdom is not of this earth.” Our hope is in the next world, not this one.

When God’s plans are complete, we will get our resurrection bodies. The current creation will cease, a new creation will be formed and we will live there. It will be total bliss, with neither sin nor pain.

We are justified, will have eternal life and will be part of a perfect, sinless kingdom.

And that's the big deal about “The word became flesh”!