More Than a Scapegoat

Leviticus 16:20-30; Psalm 37:30-40; Mark 8:29-38

Rev. Chris Harbin, Rocks Baptist Church—Pamplin, VA

27 February 2005

We claim to serve Jesus as Lord and Savior. At times we must pause as Jesus had the disciples do, reflecting on who this Jesus is. Who is the One who claims our allegiance, and what is following Him all about? We sing His titles and proclaim His attributes, but do we allow Jesus identity to affect the daily routines of our lives? Isn’t Jesus more than a scapegoat for our guilt and rescue from the consequences of our unfaithfulness?

The people following Jesus during His earthly ministry had many reasons to follow. Some were after the show, some looked for the acceptance that Jesus offered, some sought miracles for themselves or their friends, some grasped for any excuse to validate their questions regarding the system of religious life in Israel. They thought Jesus was a prophet—God’s spokesman for their time. Peter chose a different word, one charged with meaning for First Century Judaism—Messiah, God’s Anointed!

Jesus did not want Peter using the word, “Messiah.” There was too much misunderstanding tied to the term. Jesus had spent the first half of His ministry explaining that God’s reign was so much more than the authority and power structures of this world. There was still much ground to cover to get that message across.

For centuries, Judaism had worshipped Yahweh with an eye on “What’s in it for me?” From the day of Abraham, there had been little to no thought about a life beyond the limits of the grave. It was only during and after the Babylonian exile that an understanding of life after death had arisen. The Sadducees still did not accept such a teaching. They claimed to hold to the pure traditions in which there was no spirit, no angels, and no resurrection. The focus of faith for them was on the here and now. This is where we receive God’s blessing or judgment, reward or punishment. We find God’s system of reward and retribution in the circumstances of this earthly life.

Jesus taught against such a focus with impetus. He spoke of the loving Father seeking after the lost sheep of Israel. He lived an expression of God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness as He touched the lepers, the poor, the blind, the lame, and encouraged women and children to enter the fellowship of His disciples. He categorized His identity to John the Baptist as fulfillment of showering the outcasts with the grace and love of God, preaching Gospel to them. This was a sharp critique of Sadducee and Pharisee theology. It was a word of discomfort for those whose lives were comfortable, for Jesus called them by example to go beyond themselves and actively share God’s blessings with others.

That is not where Jesus’ teaching ended, however. He went further in emphasizing the spiritual and eternal reality of life with God. He spoke of God’s reign as an active reality within an individual’s. He categorized God’s reign as a spiritual reality calling us beyond the material concerns of this world. He taught repeatedly about entering the spiritual reality, leaving the physical in its place and using its resources for the sake of God’s reign. Jesus exchanged “It’s all about me,” for “I am all about them.”

In correcting Peter, Jesus went beyond the standard categories of understanding Messiah. While the people were wrapped up in concerns of comfort, power, control, stability, wealth, and freedom, Jesus spoke of suffering. That wasn’t the picture they had in mind. Suffering and death did not mesh with their concept of Messiah and their interests in physical comfort in the here and now. They wanted release from Roman taxation. They wanted freedom for self-determination. They wanted autonomy to live their lives without the cloud of Roman oppression hanging over them.

They didn’t want to hear about suffering, rejection, and death. These were the very things they were attempting to escape! Messiah was all about getting beyond those things into an ideal theocracy in which the entire nation could pursue God’s blessings without the intervention of some form of political oppression. They liked the concept of the kind despot that Jesus appeared to represent. They wanted a government ruled by folks of Jesus’ character—interested in the welfare of the entire nation!

That is, the outcast and oppressed liked the idea. Jesus knew that He was making the ruling parties uncomfortable. Their complicity in oppressing those who weren’t like them was becoming more apparent. He prepared the disciples for the fact that they would make Jesus the brunt of their anger, guilt, and desire to maintain control. They would turn Jesus into what we understand a scapegoat to be. They would kill Jesus as though Jesus were to blame for all the unrest.

That is not a good picture of what a scapegoat was, but neither is out picture of Jesus’ identity all that clear. The scapegoat was featured in the Yom Kippur celebration—the Jewish Day of Atonement. It was one of two goats used in approaching Yahweh for purification and renewal. One goat was sacrificed to cleanse the sanctuary with its holiest items. The scapegoat, however, was not killed at all. The people’s guilt would be laid on its head, and the scapegoat would be taken out into the wilderness, bearing the nation’s guilt away from the Temple.

Jesus was no scapegoat. He was so much more. He bore the brunt of the anger and frustration of the Jewish and Roman authorities. As they were intent on maintaining power and control in search of their own comfort and welfare, they felt it necessary to destroy any and every threat. While scapegoats were exiled into the wilderness to face whatever judgment God deemed necessary, Jesus would bear the brunt of the human drive for power directly. In a sense, Jesus marched to the cross to force the hand of the religious and political structures. He gave them the chance to define themselves and make their stand to live up to the demands of God’s reign or to oppose God’s will categorically.

He made no attempt at escape. He brought the demands of the Gospel to them directly. He called them to show their hand, revealing their true allegiance. Would they follow a “What’s in it for me?” mentality, or would they live according to “It’s all about them.” Would they be willing to lay down everything to live in faithful service to God? Would they truly surrender their lives and resources to serve God, or would they continue to serve self at the expense of others?

When was the last time we denied ourselves in order to serve God? When did we sacrifice our own comfort in order to live out the demands of Jesus’ Gospel? When was the last time we took Jesus’ words about self-denial seriously? How have we let those words impact our lives? How long has it been since we spent more time and resources ministering God’s grace to people outside our walls than on our own entertainment?

It would be simpler if Jesus had just been a scapegoat. Then we might be free of guilt and live as we please. He is more than a scapegoat. His demands are so much greater. What will we do with Him?

—©Copyright 2005 Christopher B. Harbin

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