Devo Week 17

The Great Escape -- Forgiveness

Jesus Himself is our great escape from sin. When we repent, Jesus as our scapegoat takes our sin upon Himself, carries it away by His life, and releases us from all its effects. The scapegoat ritual highlights the power of forgiveness and the exchanged life for all followers of Jesus.

Key Concept: Jesus as our Scapegoat

Most religions are based upon merit and ritual. Followers of Jesus, however, receive a new relationship with God -- one established by grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8-9) Forgiveness and cleansing of sin are offered to all who receive Jesus as their Savior.

The scapegoat ritual was a foreshadowing of Jesus' sacrifice and gives us insight into the exchanged life: one goat was a substitute offering or atonement for the sin of the people; the other goat (the 'scapegoat') was released into the wilderness as an escape from the guilt of sin. The sin of the nation was placed upon his head by the priest and driven into the wilderness never to return. Some believe Jesus fulfilled the scapegoat role by being driven into the wilderness for temptation. (Luke 4:1-13) In the role of Messiah, Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself (II Cor. 5:21), completely identifying with all of humanity and carrying our sins away.

This is one of the key ways in which the New Covenant surpasses the Old Covenant. Sin was only covered not cleansed by the sacrifice under the Old. The cleansing of a guilty conscience only comes by the blood of Jesus. (Heb. 10:22) Under the New, we are released and cleansed from sin -- its power, influence and penalty -- through forgiveness. We are made holy once and for all by His sacrifice. (Heb. 10:10)

Forgiveness is a powerful aspect of our redemption and unique to Christianity in many ways. The psalmist says that 'as far as the east is from the west, so has God removed our transgressions from us.' (Ps. 103:12) That is Good News!

Key Word Definition: scapegoating (verb)

-- shifting the blame from one person to another.

Excerpt from Devotional 17 with highlighted word:

"Passing blame is a universal behavior. It is one of our natural reflexes since the Garden. Like Adam and Eve, we run from responsibility and hide in our feelings of guilt and shame. Today’s phenomenon, known as scapegoating, is rooted in an ancient Jewish ritual given to Moses."

Scripture: Leviticus 16:10

“But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.”