The Scapegoat
by Angela Weir
What an amazing prophecy that verse is of all that Jesus would do for us when He came to die on Calvary. In Leviticus we read all the instructions God gave to Moses for the animal sacrifices, which would temporarily cover the sins of the people. The penalty for sin is death, but God allowed innocent animals to be sacrificed instead of guilty human beings. Those sacrifices however, would never be enough, and would have to be repeated continuously until Jesus Himself came to pay the penalty once for all. How wonderful it is to know that there is now no sin too big to be covered by that sacrifice which He made for us all on the cross.
There are parts of the Western Church today which want to ignore the cross and concentrate solely on the words of Jesus, believing that the cross is off-putting to people. They believe that if we preach a ‘social gospel’ it will surely be more attractive to the unsaved, who find it humiliating, exclusive and offensive to hear of their need for a Saviour. But from Genesis 3:15 onwards, the Bible is preparing the way for Jesus to come to rescue us from the death we all deserve because of our sinful nature, and set us free from guilt and shame. This means we can have restored contact with our loving Father in heaven – something impossible for us until we’re covered with the righteousness of Jesus.
In Britain we’re being encouraged by some of our Church leaders to speak out for our Christian beliefs in the ‘Not Ashamed’ campaign. Let’s hope that we shall indeed proclaim, loud and clear, the wonderful message: Jesus, the sin-bearer, died on the cross, outside the city walls, thus carrying away our sins like the scapegoat. He paid the full price, so that when we come to Him, inviting Him to be our Lord and Saviour, we’re forgiven and set free.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank You for dying on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven. I recognise my need of You as Saviour. I offer every part of myself to You, - my body, soul and spirit. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Jesus, Amen.
Angela Weir has been associated with Ellel Ministries from the very beginning, first as an associate member of the ministry team and later as an associate teacher. She trained as an actress before moving to Cumbria, where she taught drama in a girls’ school. She now teaches and ministers at various Ellel Centres.
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