Scapegoat

Leviticus 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat...... 20 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He 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 desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.

G. Gordon Liddy is a famous scapegoat in recent American History. Older history books will disclose him as the sole instigator, planner and driver of the Watergate break in that cost Richard Nixon the presidency. Newer accounts will point you to the fact that he was just a part of the Republican machine at the time, he was one of many engaging in "over the fringe" political tactics that dominate our politics, even today. What happened to G. Gordon Liddy that brought all of the blame on him like a lightning rod?

Two things: 1) He got caught red handed breaking in a democratic office. 2) Someone had to accept the blame for the evil done so that the republican party could separate its own image from the wrongdoings. They needed a scapegoat, and he was simply the man on whom the lot fell due to the circumstances. So what happened to G. Gordon Liddy? Two more things: 1) He was punished for the crimes by imprisonment and 2) Now after being released, he has a bit of a martyr persona because of his self sacrifice. He now makes a lot of cash doing sponsorships because even though he was rightly convicted as a felon, it is obvious he took the blame for many and that is a noble rarity in our American me-too culture.

So it is a big stretch from Leviticus 16 to Watergate you might say. Well then brace yourself as we stretch a little further. On whom fell the wrath that you and I are do? Who accepted the punishment for all evil for all time? Who is my scapegoat? Who offers to be yours?

Before we progress further, let me carefully add the fact that G. Gordon was guilty as charged of His felony. His semi heroism was just accepting more blame than was due him. Jesus Christ was perfectly blameless, yet accepted the cumulative sins of mankind on the cross. Jesus is the only scapegoat available for us to place our hands and sins on. As we do, psalms 103 takes traction in our lives as "our sins are removed as far as the East is from the West". Just as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16 was released into a remote wilderness never to be seen again, with the sins of the Israelites upon its head, Christ is the only way our sins are transferred from us. If they are not transferred from us, then they remain on us, and if that is so, then the wrath of God abides on our heads.

So do you have a willingness to take down all of the false idols of your heart like lust, pride, greed, selfishness, drunkenness, sexual immorality and cast those on Christ with the hopes that the penalty for your sins and the sins themselves will be taken away from your life? Or do you just want the penalty gone, but not the desire to sin? The majesty of the Christian faith is its core uniqueness teaches that the only way you can get to God is by letting God serve you first through Christ. All other faiths leave you in a failing attempt to please God in your good deeds. The only problem with trying to please God with our good deeds is us. You and I know what goes on in our souls and we sense the need for redemption. We know we need a scapegoat. We need a savior. Christ stands ready. He was separated from the father on the cross as a scapegoat and the wrath due my sin was on His head.

I praise Him as it is no longer on mine!

A misconception that you don't need one is the largest barrier to Christ exaltation in your life as your scapegoat. The scapegoat gets you to God. Be careful not to think that you can invent a scapegoat in Christ whose purpose is to empower you sin. He empowers us to Live in Christ and make war against sin.