Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-26; Isaiah 53:6
"The Lord said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover."
"He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. He shall bring forward the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat."
"When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption."
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. The most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. A day of fasting. Of affliction. Of complete stillness. No work. No food. No water. Just a nation holding its breath, waiting to hear whether their sins have been covered for another year.
The high priest prepares for weeks. He bathes. He changes into white linen garments, not his usual ornate robes. He is not approaching God as a representative of his own merit. He is approaching as a sinner who needs atonement just like everyone else. Before he can do anything for the people, he must offer a sacrifice for himself and his household. The first blood of the day is for the priest.
Then he takes two goats. Two identical goats. Both without defect. Both presented before the Lord. And he casts lots. One lot for the Lord. One lot for the scapegoat. The goat for the Lord is slaughtered. Its blood is carried behind the curtain, into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled on the mercy seat. The goat for the scapegoat remains alive. The high priest lays his hands on its head and confesses over it all the sins of Israel. Every failure. Every rebellion. Every uncleanness. And then the goat is led away into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the people as far from the camp as possible.
Two goats. One sacrifice. One removal. The first goat deals with the penalty of sin. Blood is shed. A life is given. The second goat deals with the presence of sin. It is carried away, removed, forgotten. Together, they paint a complete picture of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. His blood dealt with the penalty. His body carried our sins away. The writer of Hebrews says it with devastating clarity: "He appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Do away with. Not cover. Not postpone. Do away with. The Day of Atonement had to be repeated every year because animal blood could never actually remove sin. It could only cover it. Temporarily. Pointing forward to the day when the true High Priest would enter the true Holy of Holies with His own blood and settle the matter permanently.
The veil of the temple tore from top to bottom when Jesus died. The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple, the curtain that only the high priest could pass through, and only once a year, and only with blood, was ripped in two. God tore it. From top to bottom. From heaven to earth. The way into His presence is open. No more veil. No more once-a-year access. No more high priest standing between you and God. Jesus is the High Priest. And He has sat down at the right hand of the Father because the work is finished.
The high priest never sat down in the earthly tabernacle. There were no chairs in the Holy of Holies. The work was never done. But Jesus sat down. Hebrews makes a big deal of this. "When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God." The sitting is the point. The sitting means it is finished.
"He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood."
Here is what I want you to hold onto. Your sins are not covered. They are removed. The scapegoat carried them into the wilderness and they are gone. As far as the east is from the west. Buried in the deepest sea. Forgotten by the One who remembers everything else. The Day of Atonement was a shadow. Jesus is the substance. And the substance is better than the shadow could ever be.
With the veil torn and the mercy seat satisfied, Claire