Feast of Atonement: the Grand Finale

Feasts of Israel Series: Part 23

[If you’re just tuning in to the posts about the Feast of Atonement, I suggest you begin with “The Play’s the Thing” and read forward.]

At last, we arrive at the final act in our Feast of Atonement stage play. The priesthood has been cleansed and the sanctuary of the Lord has been atoned for. Now all the holy things are ready to assist in the atonement process for all God’s people. What a climax this will be.

Having lifted the veil and penetrated the Holy of Holies, our protagonist the high priest has just come out of the holy place. The fragrance of the incense cloud he left behind is floating in his wake. His reappearance proves the Lord of the sanctuary has accepted the blood of the sacrifice which he sprinkled on the ark and veil and altar of incense.

Fresh from his encounter with the Holy One of Israel, he’s been careful to protect his white garments from blood spatter. He crosses to where one of the goats still stands on the north side of the altar facing the audience. Its twin was chosen “for the Lord” and has already been sacrificed. The red cloth tied to a horn of the remaining goat marks it as being “for Azazel.” Often called the scapegoat, this sacrifice’s moment has arrived to carry the sins of the people.

The Fate of the Scapegoat

Laying both hands on its head, the high priest lifts his voice so all can hear. The awestruck onlookers fall on their faces as he boldly declares their sins.

According to Alfred Edersheim, his prayer goes like this: “Ah, JEHOVAH! They have committed iniquity; they have transgressed; they have sinned—Thy people, the house of Israel. Oh, then, JEHOVAH! cover over (atone for), I entreat Thee, upon their iniquities, their transgressions, and their sins, which they have wickedly committed, transgressed, and sinned before Thee—Thy people, the house of Israel. As it is written in the law of Moses, Thy servant, saying: ‘For on that day shall it be covered over (atoned) for you, to make you clean from all your sins before JEHOVAH…’”

Spinning dramatically towards the audience, the high priest proclaims the final words of the prayer, “Ye shall be cleansed!’”¹

Should the stunned audience not feel liberated enough by his declaration, our hero transforms into a shepherd, leading the goat out of the courtyard entirely (Leviticus 16:20–22). He guides it through the eastern gate, across the intervening valley, and up the hill to the Mount of Olives. There, he hands the reins over to a stranger—one not belonging to the family of Israel—who will take the goat the rest of the way and release it into the wilderness.

Another Costume Change

As the goat disappears from sight, the high priest returns to the laver and steps once more behind the curtain set up in Act 1. He removes his white linen outfit and bathes as before (Leviticus 16:23–25). When he reappears this time, however, he is wearing his regular high priestly costume. He emerges as “the Lord’s anointed in the golden garments of the bride-chamber.”²

Having taken back the glory due his position, the high priest separates the flesh of the two sin offerings (the bull and the goat) from certain innards destined for the bronze altar. He sends the emptied carcasses outside the temple to be burned (Leviticus 16:27). At last, he takes up the multitude of sacrifices of the feast day, casting them into the flames to produce a sweet aroma to the Lord (Number 29:7–11).

He will put those linen garments back on one more time this day, when he reenters the Holy of Holies to collect the censers he left behind. After that, this particular white outfit will never be used again.

The Great High Priest

Have you noticed some similarities between these rituals and the life of Jesus?

Remember, the script we’ve been following is not based on a true story, it is the story—a representation of what is going on in heaven. Jesus, the Messiah of God, laid aside His glory to take on flesh, just as we saw the earthly high priest put on linen garments. He moved through the earth to prepare a sacrifice much greater than the ones we saw in this feast’s rituals.

Jesus took the idea of atonement to a level it could never reach on earth. The word “atonement” is kaphar in Hebrew—a term carrying meanings ranging from covering over sin to making appeasement for it.³

A Greater Atonement

While the earthly goat marked “for Azazel” may have sufficed for that purpose, God chose a higher calling for the Messiah it represented. “Azazel” is often translated “scapegoat.” The Hebrew word, however, implies more than covering something over, it means “entire removal.”⁴

Like His domesticated counterpart, Messiah would be burdened with sin before being guided far from the courtyard by strangers (Roman soldiers). His death, however, would provide a sacrifice so complete that sin would not simply be taken out of view, it would be abolished completely.

Represented by both goats at once, Jesus was marked “for the Lord” in total devotion as well as “for Azazel” in the total removal of sin. In an echo of the high priest’s words, “you are cleansed,” Jesus declared, “It is finished” from the cross (John 19:30).

Our sins on His back when He died, Jesus carried them where they’d never be seen again. Rising once more, He laid aside His humble costume of flesh and reappeared clothed in the glorious robes of the Great High Priest again. All to administer this great atonement.

1. Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ (Arcadia Press 2017, 1874) 112.
2. Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ (Arcadia Press 2017, 1874) 114.
3. Thomas, R. L. (1998). In New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Foundation Publications, Inc.
4. Thomas, R. L. (1998). In New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Foundation Publications, Inc.