The Goat of God

In introducing Jesus, John the Baptist made a striking pronouncement, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). A lamb may refer to a baby sheep or a baby goat. The instructions about the Passover lamb, given to the Jews at the time of their escape from slavery in Egypt, indicated this, “”Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats” (Exodus 12:5). This can be alarming for those who are used to Jesus being referred to as the “Lamb of God.” We much prefer to think of Jesus as a lamb because it conjures up images of a warm, soft, fuzzy, cute and gentle animal. Goats on the other hand, are wiry, coarse, and frenetic. So we naturally prefer the metaphor of a cute, cuddly creature rather than a smelly, dumb nuisance. But the designation “Lamb of God” is not about likening Jesus to a soft, silky stuffed animal.
John the Baptist had in mind the whole rich history of the use of lambs as sacrificial animals. In Genesis 4 the sacrifice of a lamb by Abel represented thanksgiving and dependence upon God. But it was more than simply thanksgiving because Cain’s sacrifice of produce from the field was not acceptable. It was an atoning sacrifice for sin, a death to pay for sin. In Genesis 22, Abraham was directed to sacrifice his only son, Isaac on Mount Moriah (the site of Jerusalem). Abraham told Isaac that God would supply a lamb in his place and at the last minute God did supply a lamb. A father sacrificing a son makes no sense except as a symbolic message about what God would eventually do.

In Exodus 12 there is the Passover lamb. Its blood applied to the doorpost of a home would save the firstborn son from death during the final plague in Egypt. In Leviticus 16 instructions are given for the Day of Atonement. When two one year old goats (lambs) are taken, one is sacrificed and upon the other the high priest lays his hands and pronounces all the sins of the nation. This second goat (the scapegoat) is then led away to the wilderness and released, taking away the sins of the nation. This day of “atonement” is the satisfaction of God’s justice in condemning sin and thus provides reconciliation between God and the nation. Isaiah 53 takes up this sacrificial imagery of the suffering servant of God (the prophetic prediction of Jesus as Messiah) being led like a sacrificial lamb to slaughter. Isaiah proclaims that by his sacrifice we are healed. All these examples, and the whole sacrificial system, point to our sin as a barrier to our relationship with God and our need for atonement and reconciliation.

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, did not become a man to show us how warm and fuzzy God is. He did not come to give us another chance or a fresh start. He did not come simply to teach us the way of wisdom or to be a model of exemplary behavior. There may be aspects in which each of those descriptions is true but they were not the focus of His life and ministry on earth. He came to be the Goat of God, to be both the sin offering and the scapegoat. That is the core of Christianity!

So what do we do with this? The first thing to understand, recognize and acknowledge is that we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). We are separated from God and we can’t fix it. We are in need of a savior and there is no room for pride and arrogance when it comes to relating to God. Second, our salvation does not depend upon how good we are; it depends on what we do with Jesus. The Gospel of John is direct: “But to all who receive Him, who believe in His name, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

by Dr. J. Patrick Curtis, Senior Pastor
Valley Bible Church
851 Fairview Terrace
White River Junction, VT
Sponsored by Valley Bible Church
Published in the Valley News Tuesday, April 11, 2006