Current Events as Scapegoat
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44
Most of us have experienced the term scapegoat. Maybe we were the scapegoat for someone else, or we used another to benefit our situation as the scapegoat. A scapegoat is a person or thing blamed for the misdeeds of others. Scapegoat is akin to someone being the fall guy or the person thrown under the bus; this term derives from the Hebrew word, Azazel. The Azazel occurred yearly during the Jews' Yom Kippur celebration. During this celebration, the high priest performed an elaborate ritual consisted of a goat killing as an atonement for the nation's sins. In Leviticus 16, the high priest offers a sacrifice for his sins and those of his household. Afterward, he would perform a sacrifice for the nation. This sacrifice will occur as follows: The priest will take two male goats and cast lots between the two goats to determine which will die or live. One goat will serve as the sacrifice, and the other one will become the scapegoat. The priest will slaughter the first goat on the altar for the sins of the people. Then the priest will use the goat's blood to cleanse the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. After this thorough cleansing, the high priest will lay his hands on the second goat's head and confess all the nation's sins. Then an appointed individual will leave the camp with the goat to release it in the wilderness. Symbolically, the second goat, the scapegoat, carried the nation's sins from the camp of Israel while enabling them to become a cleaned nation before God, as noted in Leviticus 16:20-22 (Message).
When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat's head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat's head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.
As new testament believers, we recognize the events of Jesus' crucifixion as the embodiment of Leviticus 16 that enacts His atonement for the world's sin. First, He represents the great High Priest, as noted in Hebrews 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Secondly, when Jesus died on the cross, he represented the ultimate sacrifice created before creation (Revelation 13:8). Finally, His resurrection and presentation to God serve as the scapegoat for our shortfalls of living far below God's standards. The Apostle Paul further explained that God required His Son, Jesus, who had no sin, to become sin for all. (II Corinthians 5:21).
Using this explanation to build the scene that displayed Jesus weeping over the city of Jerusalem before His crucifixion, I wonder if he was grieving for the city or the people. Remember, the Romans seized this city and destroyed the temple in AD 70, which He predicted as He wept for the city. His weeping represented a lack of knowledge among the people about their inability of discernment for current events. Earlier, He had raised Lazarus from the dead, which created malice among the religious leadership and confusion among the people regarding their belief in Him as their Savior. They wanted a savior to relieve them from their oppressors instead of a savior to lead them to God. Jesus predicted the destruction of the city and temple because they failed to recognize His visitation to fulfill Yom Kippur.
Regarding today's current events, are they drawing us closer to God or away from God? Do we recognize God's hand in the affairs of man? As believers that Jesus is the Savior, we must refute any trend that leads us from God and allow the same events to lead us to God. We should recognize the awesomeness of God despite the pervasiveness of our current circumstances. We must stop allowing current events to become our scapegoat that provokes fear neither excites happiness. Remember, current events are only temporal when compared to our eternal home with God. Let us acknowledge this visitation of God in our current events as a sign that He is fulfilling His will for humanity as we individually draw closer to His promises.
And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:22