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The Two Goats
As most students of the Bible would agree, there are many ‘types’ and ‘pictures’ of Christ in the Old Testament. Many things that God did or instituted with Israel were a shadow of the things to come and many of them relate specifically to Jesus Christ. Some are fulfilled and some are yet to come.
Today I would like to share with you the picture of Christ shown by the two goats in Leviticus 16.
Leviticus 16:7-23 And he shall take the two goats [1], and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. [8] And Aaron shall cast lots [2] upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat [3].
According to tradition, the two goats were to be the same in size, colour, and value, and as nearly alike as possible. Both were presented to the Lord by the high priest and then the lots were cast to determine which one should die and which should live (Leviticus 16:8-10,15-22). The lot was not as we would imagine by drawing straws but by stones of different colours. The priest had two stones, a black and a white. The white stone would signify the lot falling upon that goat.
The goat that would be slain as the sin offering is called HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah (The goat for the LORD Jewish tradition calls it L’Adonai) and the one to be released is the Azazel. There is talk that the Azazel is called such because some say that Azazel is a name for the devil and the goat is carrying the sins back to him but there is no scriptural evidence for this. The word Azazel comes from the Hebrew “ez” for Goat and “azal” meaning departure, so a literal meaning would be ‘The goat of departure’ or ‘Escape Goat’. So the KJV translation ‘scapegoat’ is the proper term for English.
The word that is used for goats in this passage is “sa’iyr” which references a shaggy goat and is also translated ‘hairy’ in certain passages. It is also used of the devil too referring to the form of a half-man half-goat god. This is called the horned god or Pan. However, in this passage it is literal of goats; very hairy goats.
Let’s look at both goats and see how Christ fits in to these.
HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah
[9] And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering [4].
The Hebrew word for “Sin offering” can be translated as both ‘Sin Offering’ and also as ‘Sin’ in many instances in the OT.
Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
The context of the passage gives the proper rendering of the word. In comparison in the English language we have the word “row” which can be rendered ‘to move a boat forward by use of paddles or oars’ or ‘to have an argument’; entirely different meanings but explained by the context in which they are used.
A verse that uses both renderings can be found in Leviticus 5:6
“And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.”
Let’s look at the rest of HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah :
[15] Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: [16] And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation , that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. [17] And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. [18] And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. [19] And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Notice that this goat is killed for the atonement of sins, the sins are not placed on this goat as it must be an unblemished sacrificial offering. It is offered for the tabernacle also which reminds us of Ephes. 5:25 “…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”. Now all this was done one a year on the Day of Atonement and had to be repeated year after year but ONLY on this day.
The priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself also so he would be perfect before the Lord in order to make atonement for all Israel. We know from Scripture that Jesus is also our High Priest but needed not to offer atonement for Himself as he was perfect and without sin.
Hebrews 7:26-27 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
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.
We see also that the priest would take the blood of the goat and make atonement by sprinkling the blood upon the altar. Jesus did this for us as he ascended soon after his resurrection and atoned for our sins by sprinkling His own blood in the Holiest of Holies in Heaven.
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Of course there is no need now to do this every year as HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah was a shadow of Christ’s complete offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:8-12 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
We understand that the offering of HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah was only a covering for sins but Jesus was what was pictured in that showing that only He could be the complete sacrifice for sins.
1 Cor. 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
In is interesting to see that the priest had to bring the blood within the veil and that when Christ died the veil was ripped from top to bottom signifying that man’s atonement for sin was rendered useless because now Jesus had fulfilled that part and that no other atonement was necessary nor could be made.
Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
As the high priest was to offer the goat, Jesus (as our high priest) offered himself.
Ephes. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
We are free from the condemnation of the law. This does not mean that the entire law was abolished or destroyed because we know from 1 John 3:4 that sin is the “transgression of the law”. If there is no law then there is no sin. We still have a moral obligation not to lie, steal, blaspheme, commit adultery and especially have no other gods before HIM!
1 John 3:4-5 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. [5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Romans 8:1-5 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
We see that it is important from Romans to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh so that the law of righteousness be fulfilled in us because of Christ. He saved us from the condemnation of sin, He saved us so that we could be free from the power of sin but this is an area that many people struggle with but we can be free from sins power if we deal with it in the correct way and one day, Praise God, we will be free from the presence of sin!
Of course to be the perfect sacrifice Jesus himself needed to be perfect and without sin.
1 Peter 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
If we focus on the second part of the verse we see that Christ “Knew no sin” that means he has no idea what it means to sin. He knows what it’s like to be tempted but not what it’s like to actually sin.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
To be HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah , Jesus had to be a perfect Lamb without blemish.
Then we take the first part “to be sin for us”…we first see that “to be” is in italics this means there is no direct rendering of these words found in the Greek but that these are implied by the use of the Greek word. If we look at the word “sin” it is the word “Hamartia” which like the OT word can be rendered sin OR sin offering. Again like in the Hebrew rendering, the meaning is found in the context of the passage.
Now if we take the OT WITH the NT and look at the Greek OT (Septuagint) which is probably what many of the Gentile NT churches had as they did not speak or read Hebrew; and look at Lev 16:9 we see the word used there is none other than Harmartia.
Leviticus 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Bearing in mind that most of the NT was written to Greek speaking churches they would no doubt have understood the rendering of the word as sin offering and not that Jesus was literally made sin which means that he did know sin and that he took on a sin nature which in turn means he ceased to be God. I have had people argue saying but “that’s what the Bible says!” Whilst that is true we must also point out other verses that may appear one way but when a study is made the true interpretation is found:
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
These verses are used of those who wish to push a doctrine of baptismal regeneration attributing that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection was not enough for salvation but that we must be a work be baptised to be saved. A close look at the context, comparing scripture with scripture and study of the translations gives us the answer. Acts 2:38 translates the word for from the Greek Eis to mean ‘because of’. To be fair, a proper understanding of English grammar gives the answer without Greek.
So, when so many Scripture tell us that Jesus knew no sin and was perfect and without sin we have to conclude that the word sin is that he was the sin offering.
1 John 3: 5 …and in him is no sin.
The same rendering is used in Hebrews 9:28 showing that when Jesus comes again He will not need to be the sin offering this time.
Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
It would appear that 1 Peter 2:24 contradicts what is being said in other verses but let’s look closely at the whole verse:
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare[6] our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
First we see from this Scripture that it was His own body and not that of anyone else. That’s what it means by saying “in his OWN body”, this doesn’t mean that the sins were IN His body but that it was Him personally that suffered. Secondly we must take the whole verse together; “by whose stripes ye were healed” is important to understand what stripes are and why they are administered. Stripes are the result and the punishment for transgressions, thus the stripes that Christ took were the punishment for our sin so what He took in his own body on the tree was the punishment for our sins.
For further proof we can look at the Lord’s Supper in regard to taking Unleavened Bread because leaven represents sin & predominantly false doctrine and the bread represents his body so there again we see that there is NO SIN IN CHRIST!
1 Cor. 11:23-24 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: [24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
If we look in Matthew 16 we see that the leaven here is definitely referring to the false doctrine of the Pharisees.
Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Matthew 16:11-12 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mark 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
It is said by some that leaven can represent doctrine both good and evil having that interpretation of Matthew 13:33
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened
It would appear that the kingdom of heaven cannot be likened unto false doctrine but context is vitally important. Matthew 13 contains the explanation of what the Kingdom of Heaven is and we must understand this before we understand what the leaven represents here. A full study of Matt 13 reveals that the kingdom of heaven here is all those who have made a profession in Christ on earth. Some saved and some certainly not as we know from the tares. The man in this chapter is always Christ so to see a woman is the opposite of man therefore the opposite of Christ which is the enemy, the devil. By that standard we see that the meal is the true doctrine and the leaven the false doctrine that the devil has brought into the churches. The kingdom of heaven has lost people, false churches and certainly false doctrine in it and this rendering is consistent with the rest of the scriptures.
Another example would be in Galatians,
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Again the understanding is that of false doctrine. Leaven is not necessarily yeast but it is what causes the dough to rise. Often dough was left out till the natural yeast in the air reacted with the water in the dough causing it to ferment, which in turn caused the swelling of the dough. To render leaven solely as sin is very misleading and indeed leaven in itself because it is primarily false doctrine which in turn is sin.
If there was ANY sin or false doctrine in the body of Christ then it was not a sinless sacrifice and then null and void and it would stand to reason that any man could have been the sacrifice but as we have seen the La Adonai had to be a perfect sacrifice without sin because the sin was laid on the Azazel which we will now look at to see the difference.
The final example to prove that Jesus did not have any sin in Him or on Him on the cross is WHEN He died. We know that He is not only HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah at His death but also the Passover Lamb. There is a deeper study on Passover and other feasts further on; but for now I will give you the main points. The Passover Lamb had to be without blemish, which Jesus was. It had to be offered WITHOUT leaven because it was the week of unleavened bread. For Jesus to have any sin or leaven in His body would be against the commandment and therefore He would have broken the Law; which is of course sin in itself. Leaven is only permitted after the end of Unleavened bread which is 6pm Saturday evening. This next day is firstfruits. This is the point where Jesus took care of our sin.
Azazel
[10] But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
[20] And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: [21] And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: [22] 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. [23] And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
The first thing to jump out is that this goat that carried the sin away must be alive in order to do so. We also see that the sin is laid on the goat not in the goat.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
According to the Talmud, the goat had a scarlet cord tied round its neck which would change colour to white as the goat was lead out of the city, thus signifying that the sins offering had been accepted and the sins were not carried away. It later says that 40 years before the destruction of the temple in AD70 the cord ceased to change colour.
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157).
A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).
What this means is that the priest from AD30 only ever pulled out a black stone signifying that the goat could not be chosen.
Let’s look at another passage:
Matthew 8:16-17 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: [17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
How was this fulfilled? Look at Isaiah…
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Did Christ become sick? Did he then take on all the psychological problems of the people he healed? No, just the same way as he carried away their sickness, He carried and carries our sin away.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
We are told in Hebrews 10:17-18 “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. [18] Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” That God does not remember our sin once it is forgiven. This means He will never bring it up again. It does not mean that God forgets it as some would teach. That would mean that God could lose His memories and thus not know all things and therefore He would cease to be omniscient. It would also mean that; because we often remember our old sins even after repentance and forgiveness; we would know something God doesn’t. That, my friends, is unbiblical and impossible! This emphasises His love toward us that He knows all things that we have ever done but promises NEVER to bring it up again! Hallelujah! Satan on the other hand will always use our past to bring us down if we let him but if you rebuke him in the name of Jesus and use the Sword of the Spirit, he will flee.
Christ is Both Goats?
Romans 4:24-25 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; [25] Who was delivered for our offences[7], and was raised again for our justification[8].
1 Cor. 15:15-17 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. [16] For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: [17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1 Cor. 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
So Christ is HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah in his death but the Azazel in his resurrection!
It is here at the resurrection, the day of firstfruits, that Jesus entered into the Holy place and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat in Heaven making the atonement complete and carrying away our sin. It was not sufficient for Christ to simply die; He had to rise again. If not, as 1 Cor 15:17 says, we would be yet in our sins were it not for the resurrection. Christ arose in His physical body, not His glorified body because that would not be a true resurrection from the dead. He still had a job to do in that body and that was to rise and enter heaven. Once His blood was sprinkled He returned to the earth and allowed people to touch Him and see He now had a new body with flesh and bone, but no blood!
Remember that the Talmud says that the cord stopped changing colour? 40 years before the destruction of the temple in AD 70 was AD 30. This is the most likely date for the crucifixion. Many say Jesus was born 3BC and died aged 33 which would have been AD 30.
Another proof of this from Judaism is that the Menorah in the temple would not stay lit after AD30
''In fact, we are told in the Talmud that at dusk the lamps that were unlit in the daytime (the
middle four lamps remained unlit, while the two eastern lamps normally stayed lit during the
day) were to be re-lit from the flames of the western lamp (which was a lamp that was supposed to stay lit all the time — it was like the 'eternal' flame that we see today in some national monuments) . . .
''This 'western lamp' was to be kept lit at all times. For that reason, the priests kept extra
reservoirs of olive oil and other implements in ready supply to make sure that the 'western lamp' (under all circumstances) would stay lit. But what happened in the forty years from the very year Messiah said the physical Temple would be destroyed? Every night for forty years the western lamp went out, and this in spite of the priests each evening preparing in a special way the western lamp so that it would remain constantly burning all night!'' (The Significance of the Year CE 30, Ernest Martin, Research Update, April 1994, p.4).
Christ was also the High Priest
No one offered Christ as the sacrifice. He offered HIMSELF.
John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. [18] No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Hebrews 9:11-14 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. [13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: [14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
So we see that Christ was the La Adonai, the Azazel and the High Priest. He was the 3 in 1 sacrifice!
There is no need of this ceremonial law anymore because Jesus fulfilled that part of the law. Praise His name!
Clean Garments
The last thing to be done was the priest to leave his garments in the holy place as he would not need them till the next time of sacrifice.
[23] And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Compare this with the following passage:
John 20:5-7 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. [6] Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, [7] And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
So we see that Jesus too left his linen garments but there is a difference…
Hebrews 10:11-12 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
…Jesus will never need them again!
References
As most students of the Bible would agree, there are many ‘types’ and ‘pictures’ of Christ in the Old Testament. Many things that God did or instituted with Israel were a shadow of the things to come and many of them relate specifically to Jesus Christ. Some are fulfilled and some are yet to come.
Today I would like to share with you the picture of Christ shown by the two goats in Leviticus 16.
Leviticus 16:7-23 And he shall take the two goats [1], and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. [8] And Aaron shall cast lots [2] upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat [3].
According to tradition, the two goats were to be the same in size, colour, and value, and as nearly alike as possible. Both were presented to the Lord by the high priest and then the lots were cast to determine which one should die and which should live (Leviticus 16:8-10,15-22). The lot was not as we would imagine by drawing straws but by stones of different colours. The priest had two stones, a black and a white. The white stone would signify the lot falling upon that goat.
The goat that would be slain as the sin offering is called HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah (The goat for the LORD Jewish tradition calls it L’Adonai) and the one to be released is the Azazel. There is talk that the Azazel is called such because some say that Azazel is a name for the devil and the goat is carrying the sins back to him but there is no scriptural evidence for this. The word Azazel comes from the Hebrew “ez” for Goat and “azal” meaning departure, so a literal meaning would be ‘The goat of departure’ or ‘Escape Goat’. So the KJV translation ‘scapegoat’ is the proper term for English.
The word that is used for goats in this passage is “sa’iyr” which references a shaggy goat and is also translated ‘hairy’ in certain passages. It is also used of the devil too referring to the form of a half-man half-goat god. This is called the horned god or Pan. However, in this passage it is literal of goats; very hairy goats.
Let’s look at both goats and see how Christ fits in to these.
HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah
[9] And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering [4].
The Hebrew word for “Sin offering” can be translated as both ‘Sin Offering’ and also as ‘Sin’ in many instances in the OT.
Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 18:20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
The context of the passage gives the proper rendering of the word. In comparison in the English language we have the word “row” which can be rendered ‘to move a boat forward by use of paddles or oars’ or ‘to have an argument’; entirely different meanings but explained by the context in which they are used.
A verse that uses both renderings can be found in Leviticus 5:6
“And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.”
Let’s look at the rest of HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah :
[15] Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: [16] And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation , that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. [17] And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. [18] And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. [19] And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Notice that this goat is killed for the atonement of sins, the sins are not placed on this goat as it must be an unblemished sacrificial offering. It is offered for the tabernacle also which reminds us of Ephes. 5:25 “…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”. Now all this was done one a year on the Day of Atonement and had to be repeated year after year but ONLY on this day.
The priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself also so he would be perfect before the Lord in order to make atonement for all Israel. We know from Scripture that Jesus is also our High Priest but needed not to offer atonement for Himself as he was perfect and without sin.
Hebrews 7:26-27 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
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.
We see also that the priest would take the blood of the goat and make atonement by sprinkling the blood upon the altar. Jesus did this for us as he ascended soon after his resurrection and atoned for our sins by sprinkling His own blood in the Holiest of Holies in Heaven.
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Of course there is no need now to do this every year as HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah was a shadow of Christ’s complete offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:8-12 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
We understand that the offering of HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah was only a covering for sins but Jesus was what was pictured in that showing that only He could be the complete sacrifice for sins.
1 Cor. 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
In is interesting to see that the priest had to bring the blood within the veil and that when Christ died the veil was ripped from top to bottom signifying that man’s atonement for sin was rendered useless because now Jesus had fulfilled that part and that no other atonement was necessary nor could be made.
Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
As the high priest was to offer the goat, Jesus (as our high priest) offered himself.
Ephes. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
We are free from the condemnation of the law. This does not mean that the entire law was abolished or destroyed because we know from 1 John 3:4 that sin is the “transgression of the law”. If there is no law then there is no sin. We still have a moral obligation not to lie, steal, blaspheme, commit adultery and especially have no other gods before HIM!
1 John 3:4-5 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. [5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Romans 8:1-5 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
We see that it is important from Romans to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh so that the law of righteousness be fulfilled in us because of Christ. He saved us from the condemnation of sin, He saved us so that we could be free from the power of sin but this is an area that many people struggle with but we can be free from sins power if we deal with it in the correct way and one day, Praise God, we will be free from the presence of sin!
Of course to be the perfect sacrifice Jesus himself needed to be perfect and without sin.
1 Peter 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
If we focus on the second part of the verse we see that Christ “Knew no sin” that means he has no idea what it means to sin. He knows what it’s like to be tempted but not what it’s like to actually sin.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
To be HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah , Jesus had to be a perfect Lamb without blemish.
Then we take the first part “to be sin for us”…we first see that “to be” is in italics this means there is no direct rendering of these words found in the Greek but that these are implied by the use of the Greek word. If we look at the word “sin” it is the word “Hamartia” which like the OT word can be rendered sin OR sin offering. Again like in the Hebrew rendering, the meaning is found in the context of the passage.
Now if we take the OT WITH the NT and look at the Greek OT (Septuagint) which is probably what many of the Gentile NT churches had as they did not speak or read Hebrew; and look at Lev 16:9 we see the word used there is none other than Harmartia.
Leviticus 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Bearing in mind that most of the NT was written to Greek speaking churches they would no doubt have understood the rendering of the word as sin offering and not that Jesus was literally made sin which means that he did know sin and that he took on a sin nature which in turn means he ceased to be God. I have had people argue saying but “that’s what the Bible says!” Whilst that is true we must also point out other verses that may appear one way but when a study is made the true interpretation is found:
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
These verses are used of those who wish to push a doctrine of baptismal regeneration attributing that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection was not enough for salvation but that we must be a work be baptised to be saved. A close look at the context, comparing scripture with scripture and study of the translations gives us the answer. Acts 2:38 translates the word for from the Greek Eis to mean ‘because of’. To be fair, a proper understanding of English grammar gives the answer without Greek.
So, when so many Scripture tell us that Jesus knew no sin and was perfect and without sin we have to conclude that the word sin is that he was the sin offering.
1 John 3: 5 …and in him is no sin.
The same rendering is used in Hebrews 9:28 showing that when Jesus comes again He will not need to be the sin offering this time.
Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
It would appear that 1 Peter 2:24 contradicts what is being said in other verses but let’s look closely at the whole verse:
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare[6] our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
First we see from this Scripture that it was His own body and not that of anyone else. That’s what it means by saying “in his OWN body”, this doesn’t mean that the sins were IN His body but that it was Him personally that suffered. Secondly we must take the whole verse together; “by whose stripes ye were healed” is important to understand what stripes are and why they are administered. Stripes are the result and the punishment for transgressions, thus the stripes that Christ took were the punishment for our sin so what He took in his own body on the tree was the punishment for our sins.
For further proof we can look at the Lord’s Supper in regard to taking Unleavened Bread because leaven represents sin & predominantly false doctrine and the bread represents his body so there again we see that there is NO SIN IN CHRIST!
1 Cor. 11:23-24 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: [24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
If we look in Matthew 16 we see that the leaven here is definitely referring to the false doctrine of the Pharisees.
Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Matthew 16:11-12 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? [12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mark 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
It is said by some that leaven can represent doctrine both good and evil having that interpretation of Matthew 13:33
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened
It would appear that the kingdom of heaven cannot be likened unto false doctrine but context is vitally important. Matthew 13 contains the explanation of what the Kingdom of Heaven is and we must understand this before we understand what the leaven represents here. A full study of Matt 13 reveals that the kingdom of heaven here is all those who have made a profession in Christ on earth. Some saved and some certainly not as we know from the tares. The man in this chapter is always Christ so to see a woman is the opposite of man therefore the opposite of Christ which is the enemy, the devil. By that standard we see that the meal is the true doctrine and the leaven the false doctrine that the devil has brought into the churches. The kingdom of heaven has lost people, false churches and certainly false doctrine in it and this rendering is consistent with the rest of the scriptures.
Another example would be in Galatians,
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Again the understanding is that of false doctrine. Leaven is not necessarily yeast but it is what causes the dough to rise. Often dough was left out till the natural yeast in the air reacted with the water in the dough causing it to ferment, which in turn caused the swelling of the dough. To render leaven solely as sin is very misleading and indeed leaven in itself because it is primarily false doctrine which in turn is sin.
If there was ANY sin or false doctrine in the body of Christ then it was not a sinless sacrifice and then null and void and it would stand to reason that any man could have been the sacrifice but as we have seen the La Adonai had to be a perfect sacrifice without sin because the sin was laid on the Azazel which we will now look at to see the difference.
The final example to prove that Jesus did not have any sin in Him or on Him on the cross is WHEN He died. We know that He is not only HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah at His death but also the Passover Lamb. There is a deeper study on Passover and other feasts further on; but for now I will give you the main points. The Passover Lamb had to be without blemish, which Jesus was. It had to be offered WITHOUT leaven because it was the week of unleavened bread. For Jesus to have any sin or leaven in His body would be against the commandment and therefore He would have broken the Law; which is of course sin in itself. Leaven is only permitted after the end of Unleavened bread which is 6pm Saturday evening. This next day is firstfruits. This is the point where Jesus took care of our sin.
Azazel
[10] But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
[20] And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: [21] And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: [22] 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. [23] And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
The first thing to jump out is that this goat that carried the sin away must be alive in order to do so. We also see that the sin is laid on the goat not in the goat.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
According to the Talmud, the goat had a scarlet cord tied round its neck which would change colour to white as the goat was lead out of the city, thus signifying that the sins offering had been accepted and the sins were not carried away. It later says that 40 years before the destruction of the temple in AD70 the cord ceased to change colour.
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157).
A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).
What this means is that the priest from AD30 only ever pulled out a black stone signifying that the goat could not be chosen.
Let’s look at another passage:
Matthew 8:16-17 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: [17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
How was this fulfilled? Look at Isaiah…
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Did Christ become sick? Did he then take on all the psychological problems of the people he healed? No, just the same way as he carried away their sickness, He carried and carries our sin away.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
We are told in Hebrews 10:17-18 “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. [18] Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” That God does not remember our sin once it is forgiven. This means He will never bring it up again. It does not mean that God forgets it as some would teach. That would mean that God could lose His memories and thus not know all things and therefore He would cease to be omniscient. It would also mean that; because we often remember our old sins even after repentance and forgiveness; we would know something God doesn’t. That, my friends, is unbiblical and impossible! This emphasises His love toward us that He knows all things that we have ever done but promises NEVER to bring it up again! Hallelujah! Satan on the other hand will always use our past to bring us down if we let him but if you rebuke him in the name of Jesus and use the Sword of the Spirit, he will flee.
Christ is Both Goats?
Romans 4:24-25 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; [25] Who was delivered for our offences[7], and was raised again for our justification[8].
1 Cor. 15:15-17 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. [16] For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: [17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1 Cor. 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
So Christ is HaSa’iyr L’Yahuwah in his death but the Azazel in his resurrection!
It is here at the resurrection, the day of firstfruits, that Jesus entered into the Holy place and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat in Heaven making the atonement complete and carrying away our sin. It was not sufficient for Christ to simply die; He had to rise again. If not, as 1 Cor 15:17 says, we would be yet in our sins were it not for the resurrection. Christ arose in His physical body, not His glorified body because that would not be a true resurrection from the dead. He still had a job to do in that body and that was to rise and enter heaven. Once His blood was sprinkled He returned to the earth and allowed people to touch Him and see He now had a new body with flesh and bone, but no blood!
Remember that the Talmud says that the cord stopped changing colour? 40 years before the destruction of the temple in AD 70 was AD 30. This is the most likely date for the crucifixion. Many say Jesus was born 3BC and died aged 33 which would have been AD 30.
Another proof of this from Judaism is that the Menorah in the temple would not stay lit after AD30
''In fact, we are told in the Talmud that at dusk the lamps that were unlit in the daytime (the
middle four lamps remained unlit, while the two eastern lamps normally stayed lit during the
day) were to be re-lit from the flames of the western lamp (which was a lamp that was supposed to stay lit all the time — it was like the 'eternal' flame that we see today in some national monuments) . . .
''This 'western lamp' was to be kept lit at all times. For that reason, the priests kept extra
reservoirs of olive oil and other implements in ready supply to make sure that the 'western lamp' (under all circumstances) would stay lit. But what happened in the forty years from the very year Messiah said the physical Temple would be destroyed? Every night for forty years the western lamp went out, and this in spite of the priests each evening preparing in a special way the western lamp so that it would remain constantly burning all night!'' (The Significance of the Year CE 30, Ernest Martin, Research Update, April 1994, p.4).
Christ was also the High Priest
No one offered Christ as the sacrifice. He offered HIMSELF.
John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. [18] No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Hebrews 9:11-14 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. [13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: [14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
So we see that Christ was the La Adonai, the Azazel and the High Priest. He was the 3 in 1 sacrifice!
There is no need of this ceremonial law anymore because Jesus fulfilled that part of the law. Praise His name!
Clean Garments
The last thing to be done was the priest to leave his garments in the holy place as he would not need them till the next time of sacrifice.
[23] And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Compare this with the following passage:
John 20:5-7 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. [6] Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, [7] And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
So we see that Jesus too left his linen garments but there is a difference…
Hebrews 10:11-12 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
…Jesus will never need them again!
References
- sa`iyr, saw-eer'; or sa`ir, saw-eer'; from Hebrew 8175 (sa`ar); shaggy; as noun, a he-goat; by analogy a faun :- devil, goat, hairy, kid, rough, satyr.
- gowral, go-rawl'; or (shortened) goral, go-ral'; from an unused root meaning to be rough (as stone); properly a pebble, i.e. a lot (small stones being used for that purpose); figurative a portion or destiny (as if determined by lot) :- lot.
- `aza'zel, az-aw-zale'; from Hebrew 5795 (`ez) and Hebrew 235 ('azal); goat of departure; the scapegoat :- scapegoat.
- chatta'ah, khat-taw-aw'; or chatta'th, khat-tawth'; from Hebrew 2398 (chata'); an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concrete) an offender :- punishment (of sin), purifying (-fication for sin), sin (-ner, offering).
- chata', khaw-taw'; a primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figurative and general) to sin; by inferance to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causative) lead astray, condemn :- bear the blame, cleanse, commit [sin], by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend (-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespass.
- anaphero, an-af-er'-o; from Greek 303 (ana) and Greek 5342 (phero); to take up (literal or figurative) :- bear, bring (carry, lead) up, offer (up).
- Offences - paraptoma, par-ap'-to-mah; from Greek 3895 (parapipto); a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (willful) transgression :- fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.
- Justification - dikaiosis, dik-ah'-yo-sis; from Greek 1344 (dikaioo); acquittal (for Christ's sake) :- justification.