“They took Jesus, and led Him away.” — John 19:16
Jesus had prayed all night in agony. He had spent the early morning in the courts of Caiaphas. They led Him away from the Garden of Gethsemane to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and back to Pilate. The scapegoat, exhausted and weak, stumbled, yet they offered Him no refreshment nor did they permit Him to rest. Jesus was that scapegoat who cast the shadow in the Old Testament.
One week prior, people spread their garments and palm leaves across the road when He entered the city. They yelled, “Hosana!” as He rode in on a young donkey. Now, those same people were eager for His blood. They yelled, “Crucify Him!” Then, they led Him away.
In Leviticus 16, God commanded the high priest to take two goats and cast lots for them; one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. Then, the high priest shall present the scapegoat before the Lord to make atonement upon it, and then the high priest shall let it go into the wilderness. He was to lay his hands on the head of the goat, thereby transferring the people’s sins to the goat. Then, the goat was to be led by a fit man into the wilderness, carrying with it, the sins of all the people.
The Scapegoat
Today, we can comprehend the truth that God set before us in the shadow cast by the scapegoat. In John’s gospel, we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounced Him guilty. However, it was God Himself who imputed our sins on Him, “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6 NIV); He was the substitute for our guilt, for God “made Him who knew no sin, to become sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV). They led Him away. God’s appointed officers of justice led the scapegoat away, carrying on Him the world’s sins.
Surely, Jesus carried our sins; but are you sure that He carried your sins? Does the cross He carried on His back represent your iniquities? When you look at the cross, examine yourself. Have you laid your hands upon His head? Have you confessed your sins and put your trust in Him? If you have done these things, then your sins are not on you. They are on the scapegoat, and He has carried them into the wilderness, where no one can find them, ever again.
If you are not absolutely sure that God has forgiven your sins, you can know today by laying your hands upon the head of the Scapegoat. Give Him your sins, for He is the ‘fit man’ who alone is able to bear them. Receive the divine gift of God: His righteousness. They led Him away captive so that you could walk away free.