The Meaning Behind Animal Sacrifices and Atonement
This collection features editable articles by James Schucker, drawn from the teachings of Pastor Charles Russell, the seventh messenger to the Church. These writings seek to bridge the gap between Russell’s day and our own by exploring prophetic scriptures fulfilled in the intervening years and forward to the end.
James Schucker
The Meaning Behind Animal Sacrifices Offered for Sin
Especially those done on the Day of Atonement
What lesson did the Lord intend Israel to learn from the sacrifices in scripture? This puzzled me for years, and only since 2024 have I understood it more clearly. I especially struggled with why the person offering the sacrifice had to own the animal. If it represented Jesus, how could Jesus belong to the offerer? Weren't we the ones “bought with a price?” 1Corinthians 6:19-20, Leviticus 1:2-3 See also: 2 Samuel 24:20-24 and Deuteronomy 12:6.
What makes Atonement
I have learned that under the law, Scripture distinguishes between an animal’s flesh and its life. Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood… and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar." Israel could eat the flesh for nourishment, but not the blood, because it represented its life. Conversely, in a sin offering sacrifice, the offeror receives the animal’s life but could not eat its flesh; that flesh belonged to the priest, as stated in Leviticus 10:17-18: “it was given to you [the priesthood] to take away the guilt of the congregation by making atonement for them before the LORD.”
In Leviticus 4, the guilty offerer lays his hand on the appropriate animal [based on his status in the community] so it may be accepted on his behalf to make atonement. This laying on of hands transfers the offerer’s guilt: the animal represents his flesh, and he places the sin of his flesh on the altar while committing to put to death the flesh that led him to sin. Paul expresses this in Galatians 5:24-25: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its (sinful) passions and desires… Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.” Baptism pictures the same truth: going under the water represents putting our Adamic life to death, and rising again pictures receiving life from the blood contained in the animal—representing help from our risen Lord Jesus. Likewise, Colossians 3:3 says, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God… When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."
Under the law, the animal’s blood represented the life received through sacrifice. By offering it, the worshiper was, in effect, saying: my flesh is being put to death, and the animal’s blood-life now lives in me. Paul presents the antitype in 2 Corinthians 4:10-12: “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body… death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” In other words, Paul was spending the life and strength he received from Jesus for the Corinthians. Baptism points to the same reality. Likewise, Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
The passages in Galatians and Corinthians illuminate Israel’s sacrifices. The unblemished animal pointed to the Messiah, whose flesh would be perfect—“holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26)—and who alone could truly keep the law. The animal’s life also pictured the Messiah’s God-given life and the life believers are now called to live. Therefore, strive to live as Jesus lived. As the animal’s life was offered for you, offer your time and abilities for others, becoming a sin offering yourself, as taught in Romans 12:1.
Can the Lives of Animals Atone for Sin?
Animal sacrifices were limited because they contained no eternal life; they only pointed to what Jesus would later accomplish. Animals die as we do, as Ecclesiastes 3:19 says: “For the fate of men and beasts is the same: as one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals. 20All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.” This is shown when God killed an animal to cover Adam’s sin. Though Adam was, in a legal sense, “atoned” for by that animal’s life, he was driven from Eden and lost access to the tree of life; therefore, he still died, as Genesis 3:22-24 states: “And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever... therefore Jehovah God sent him out from the garden of Eden to till the ground.” The problem was not knowing good and evil itself, but how humanity would learn that knowledge. God’s plan limits the suffering caused by sin: He barred the tree of life so death could end that experience, while beginning to reveal that another life would be needed to cover that sin, because Adam’s own life was now lost. Spiritually speaking, the blood of the animal God slew was now running through Adam and Eve’s veins.
The second time God provided an animal to foreshadow Christ is when Isaac asked Abraham, “where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” In Genesis 22:7-8, Abraham answered, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Yet animal sacrifices could only point forward to Christ because they had no everlasting life in themselves. Romans 8:3 explains the solution: “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God provided by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, as an offering for sin.” Likewise, John 6:51 says, “This bread represents my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Therefore, forgiveness and atonement require more than time and effort; as Hebrews 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
To understand this account, we must notice the details. Abraham and Isaac spoke of God providing a lamb, yet God ultimately provided a ram. A lamb is a young sheep; a ram is an adult male sheep. Since Scripture pictures Jesus through different creatures—a lamb, ram, goat, bullock, serpent, and lion—each picture highlights a different truth. With Adam and Eve, the animal’s kind is not named because that detail was not yet the point. But in Genesis 22, the distinction matters. Spiritually, the lamb was slain “from before the foundation of the world,” as shown in Revelation 13:8 and Ephesians 1:4. Jesus was still pictured as the Lamb at His baptism in John 1:29, but by the cross He is pictured as a ram: perfected through suffering, having “learned obedience by the things he suffered. 9And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Note: It was Jesus’ unjust suffering that made Him the “Sin Bearer,” and therefore a “sin offering.” Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Jesus kept the law perfectly, yet He was condemned for that obedience. In this sense, “the Letter kills but the spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
With this understanding, I began studying the foundational laws of the sin offering sacrifices in Leviticus 4 and how they apply to the yearly Day of Atonement offerings in Leviticus 16. These passages describe four types of animal sacrifices, each connected to the social status of the person offering it.
"If a priest sins, bringing guilt on the people", a bullock is required to be offered to offset the effect of that sin… Lev 4:3 (transferring his guilt to the bullock)
"If the whole congregation sins and incurs guilt," again a bullock is required, and the elders of the congregation are required to put their hands upon the head of that bullock and it is then that it is slaughtered (transferring their communal guilt to the bullock) … Lev 4:13
"When a leader (an exalted one, a king, or prince) sins unintentionally, he incurs guilt…" he is required to bring an unblemished male goat as his offering… Lev 4:22 Note at the time the Lord was giving Israel these laws Israel had no king or prince. More about this later.
"If one of the common people sins unintentionally, he incurs guilt." He is required to bring an unblemished female goat or lamb as his offering for that sin…" Lev 4:27 Note: this reminds us of the parable of the Sheep and Goats of Matthew 25:31-46
Laying on of Hands Heb 6:2
The Apostle Paul writes: “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, 2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment…” Bible students rarely discuss the laying on of hands, largely because it belongs to the sacrificial practices of the law, a subject Christians seldom examine today. Yet Paul identifies it as a foundational teaching, especially important for understanding the meaning of animal sacrifices.
In Scripture, the person offering a sacrifice for sin had to own the animal. Leviticus 1:2-3 says the offering must come from their own herd or flock, and 2 Samuel 24:20-24 records David refusing to offer sacrifices that cost him nothing. This ownership matters because what the offerer did to the animal pictured what we are called to do with our own flesh. By laying his hand on the animal’s head and slaying it, the offerer symbolically transferred his guilt to the animal, representing his flesh, while also putting that flesh to death. The animal’s death released the sinner from the death penalty so he could continue living. Thus the one receiving atonement always stood beside his own animal and killed it as the redemption price of life. This same pattern appears in the two goats on the Day of Atonement: one goat pictures the redemption-atonement of the other, like a ransom in which one dies to set free the other. Paul points to this principle in Romans 5:11-21, showing how Jesus died as the corresponding price for Adam. The two goats served as stand-ins because Adam had already died and Jesus had not yet come. As Romans 5:18-19 says, “just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men… through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” In this way, Paul is pointing to the meaning portrayed by the two goats of the sin offering.
The animal sacrifices seem to show how a sinner may be “set free” from the guilt and death penalty of sin, as Paul describes in Romans 6:7, 18, 22, and Romans 8:21. When Paul speaks of being “set free,” he may be drawing on the image of the scapegoat, released into the wilderness because another goat died in its place. Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sins, it shall die.” Thus, the sacrificed animal dies for the sinner, allowing the guilty person to be “set free” from sin and continue living. In this way, the sacrifice redeems or ransoms the sinner and ultimately points to the sacrifice of Jesus our Messiah and Redeemer. This can be hard to explain because many already hold fixed views about Israel’s sacrifices. For me, Paul gives the clearest explanation: his familiarity with those sacrifices helps account for his frequent use of sacrificial language and the insight behind it.
With this in mind, consider Adam’s experience. In Genesis 2:16–17, God warned him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” Adam and Eve disobeyed, and their sin brought death. Yet Adam lived more than 900 years and had descendants before dying. Before allowing them to continue, the Lord slew an animal for them, used its skin to clothe them, and began revealing what was needed to cover their sin—a covering God Himself would provide. Isaiah 61:10 expresses this spiritual reality: “He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness…” This points to Christ, who clothes us with His own spiritual covering—antitypically, His “skin,” or “a robe of righteousness.” Paul states the same truth in Romans 13:14: “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”
Adam and Eve paid for the knowledge of good and evil by losing the right to remain in the paradise God had prepared. They and their descendants were instead condemned to a life of hard labor in a wilderness condition. In that sense, we all share their sentence and are learning the knowledge of good and evil together. To show how salvation and reconciliation would work, the Lord gave Israel sacrificial “skits” with live animals, illustrating what He deemed necessary for humanity’s redemption from sin. Paul expresses this in Romans 3:25–26: “God presented Jesus as the atoning/propitiation sacrifice through faith in His blood… 26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” This appears to refer again to the Day of Atonement sacrifices. Yet because many translations use propitiation rather than atoning sacrifice, Paul’s connection to those sacrifices can be overlooked. He develops the point further in Romans 5, where he points back to the Day of Atonement ritual in Leviticus 16. The clue is his statement in Romans 5:11 KJV that “we have now received the Atonement.” He then explains how the two goats correspond to the flesh of Adam and Jesus. But if a reader does not know that ritual—or if translations replace atonement with terms like propitiation or reconciliation—the link can be missed. Paul continues: “12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned… 18So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the same many shall be made righteous.” Paul could hardly state the correspondence more plainly.
The Atonement Day Sacrifices
The Day of Atonement sacrifices were a once-a-year sin offering with special instructions. They followed the rules for the sin-offering sacrifices in Leviticus 4, while adding further details. They appear to show how Jesus, through His one sacrifice, could redeem both Himself and His body, the Church [pictured in the bull], and the world of mankind [pictured in the scapegoat]. They also show that, when the sacrifice is complete, the Lord will appear—not only in the “cloud above the mercy seat” of Leviticus 16:2, but in the cloud of Revelation 1:7: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him…” Hebrews 7:27 further contrasts Jesus with other high priests: “Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all time when He offered up Himself.”
The same pattern appears in Hebrews 9:7: “Only the high priest entered the second room, once a year→{Atonement Day, Leviticus 16:34}←and never without blood, offered for himself→{the bull, Leviticus 16:6, 11}←and for the sins of the people→{the goat, Leviticus 16:15, 24}←committed in ignorance.” Paul is referring to Leviticus 16:6, where Aaron offers the bull to make atonement for himself [Jesus and the Church] and his household [the Great Company]. He also points to Leviticus 16:15, where Aaron slaughters the goat as the sin offering for the people and brings its blood behind the veil, just as he did with the bull’s blood.
In the Day of Atonement arrangement, two unblemished goats of equal value are chosen to picture the ransom—Paul’s “one for one” principle in Romans 5:11–21. One goat dies for the other, which is then “set free.” This follows the sin-offering pattern: one life is given so another may be released. Here, the released one is not a person redeemed by an animal, but a goat freed because another goat died in its place.
This recalls Adam and Eve: before they were expelled from Eden into the world’s uninhabited wilderness, an animal was sacrificed to cover their sin. Likewise, the scapegoat, representing Adam, is “set free” and sent into an uninhabited wilderness. This suggests that the scapegoat spiritually pictures Adam after God provided the covering for sin in Genesis 3:21–24.
This acted picture shows humanity’s transgressions laid upon Adam’s flesh, while Adam is released through the life-rights Jesus purchased by keeping the Law and willingly giving His life for Adam—and, through him, for all mankind. This is what was “to be testified and effected in due time” in 1 Timothy 2:6. The scapegoat is freed by the ransom price and power of the sacrificed goat. In the figure, Adam’s goat-flesh is redeemed through the death of Jesus’ goat-flesh, which He received from God and from Mary, the “seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15.
Romans 5:11–21, especially verse 14, supports this parallel by calling Adam “a pattern of the one to come”—that is, Jesus. This also points to another figure: as Adam slept and Eve was formed from his rib, Jesus was put to sleep in death, His side was pierced, and blood and water came out, picturing the formation of the second Eve. Paul shows in Romans that the ransom is central to this part of the sin offering. Through Jesus’ sin offering, God will restore true paradise—not merely return humanity to a guilt-free life in the wilderness. See Leviticus 16:21–22. Eve is pictured as still within Adam, just as the second Eve is pictured as still within Jesus’ flesh at His death.
On the Day of Atonement, Israel’s forgiveness was enacted as a living picture: the people were restored to a guilt-free condition, like Adam after Eden. Their guilt was symbolically placed on the scapegoat, which represents Adam. Leviticus 16:20–22 says, “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place [with the blood of the bullock and goat] the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat. 21Then he lays both hands on the head of the live goat and confesses over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of Israel regarding all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. 22The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.” To be “set free” is to be released from human control. The goat is returned to the wild—the same kind of wilderness into which Adam was sent.
The challenge is that in other sin offerings, the guilt is placed on the animal that dies. Here, at least some guilt appears to rest on the live goat that is set free. This may point to the Scripture that says we “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ,” a point I will return to later.
When reading Isaiah 53:12—“Yet He bore the sin of many”—it may seem natural to identify the scapegoat with Jesus. Yet the context better fits the sacrificed goat: “He has poured out His life unto death… Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” As in the sin offerings generally, the sacrificed animal’s life is viewed as spiritually transferred to the one for whom it is offered. Here, Jesus gives His life for Adam, who is ultimately set free. Since we are born in Adam, we also are “set free” by faith in that ransom for Adam’s race, through adoption, as shown in Ephesians 1:5 and Galatians 4:5.
This still leaves the question of how Jesus bore humanity’s sin and guilt. He did so by taking flesh as the antitypical goat that was sacrificed. As Adam’s descendant, He entered the condemned race and shared its ultimate consequence—death—yet without sinning. Therefore, under the Law, He retained the right to life, as Leviticus 18:5 says: “Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.” Likewise, 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His stripes you are healed.” Thus, Jesus bore Adam’s stripes as part of the penalty for Adam’s disobedience.
In most sin offerings, the sinner both provided and killed the animal used for redemption. Three exceptions stand out: God provided the animal that covered Adam; God provided the ram for Abraham and Isaac; and on the Day of Atonement, “Aaron shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering.” Under the Law, the redeemed person is consistently placed beside the animal that supplies the redemption price. Thus, on the Day of Atonement, the two goats standing together picture one life redeeming another. Since Jesus died to redeem Adam, the connection is clear and is echoed in 1 Corinthians 15:21–22 and Romans 5:12–19. In this figure, Jesus’ flesh, given in death, covers or redeems Adam’s flesh—the antitypical goat released into the wilderness, just as Adam was.
Multiple Reasons the two Goats Represent Adam & Jesus
(#1) In Leviticus 4:22–23, a leader—or prince—who sins unintentionally must bring an unblemished male goat as his offering. Yet when God gave Israel these sacrificial “skits,” Israel had no prince. Because of Judah’s sin with Tamar, kingship was delayed ten generations, as reflected in Deuteronomy 23:2; David, Israel’s first true king, came ten generations after Judah. Thus, the goat served as a placeholder for Israel’s future prince. More deeply, however, Adam—the world’s first prince—had already died and needed redemption, as Paul explains in Romans 5:11–21. For that reason, the Lord seems to have arranged that Israel had no human prince when He established the Day of Atonement sacrifices.
(#2) In Psalm 82:6–7, God says, “I have said, You are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High… But you shall all die like men and fall like one of the princes.” Jesus applies this passage to Himself in John 10:34, linking Himself with those princes. The contrast is between dying as a sinner like Adam, the first prince, or dying like Jesus, the second Prince, as a sin offering, as reflected in Romans 12:1. In this view, the two goats represent the world’s two princes—Adam and Jesus—with Jesus dying to redeem Adam. I believe this is Paul’s point in Romans 5:11–21, where the King James Version uses atonement, though most translations say reconciliation. Even so, the Day of Atonement sacrifices appear to be the background of Paul’s argument.
(#3) In Genesis 22:8, Abraham says, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” God then provides a ram caught in the thicket, as recorded in Genesis 22:13. Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac was replaced by the ram, a mature lamb. A similar pattern appears on the Day of Atonement: after the bullock and goat are slain, a ram is also offered for each. This seems intended to show the acceptability of the earlier bullock and goat sacrifices, making all four animals point to the Messiah. Just as Isaac represented Jesus, the ram offered after the goat on the Day of Atonement shows that the goat also represents Jesus, the actual and acceptable sacrifice. Likewise, God’s sacrifice of an animal to cover Adam and Eve symbolizes what Jesus does for Adam and, through Adam, for mankind. In this context, the two goats represent #1 Adam, the prince needing redemption, and #2 Jesus, the prince who provides the corresponding ransom price. This is one of the clearest pictures of ransom presented in the sacrifices.
(#4) In Leviticus 4, the priest offers a bullock, while the prince offers a goat. Since Paul presents Melchizedek as a type of Jesus, and Melchizedek is both king and priest (Hebrews 7:1), Jesus must be pictured by both offerings—the bullock and the goat. The Day of Atonement sacrifices show this dual picture, which may be part of what Paul meant when he said of Melchizedek, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11).
Leviticus 16:6 says Aaron [representing Jesus] presents the bull [the congregation’s bull of Leviticus 4:13] “for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household” [the Church/congregation in the antitype]. Then Leviticus 16:15 says Aaron [again representing Jesus] slaughters the goat [Jesus’ own flesh] as the sin offering for the people [all mankind in Adam]. Since a ram follows the bullock and another ram follows the goat, both offerings ultimately point to Jesus.
Paul summarizes this in Hebrews 9:23–28: “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” The Day of Atonement therefore pictures Jesus’ one sacrifice redeeming two groups: #1, the first-born class, shown by Aaron and his bullock, picturing Jesus dying first for the Church through the congregation’s bullock of Leviticus 4:13, not the priest’s bullock of Leviticus 4:3, since Jesus had no sin; and #2, the after-born rest of mankind, shown by the two goats, picturing Jesus dying for Adam and thereby ransoming all mankind. This displays the ransom’s required equivalency—life for life—as expressed in Exodus 21:24: “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
(#5) Hebrews 13:11–13 says the high priest brought the blood of animals—the bullock and one goat—into the Most Holy Place once each year on the Day of Atonement, while their bodies were burned outside the camp. Jesus likewise suffered outside the city gate to sanctify the people by His own blood, and believers are called to go to Him there, “bearing His reproach.” Paul therefore appears to use both the bullock and the goat as pictures of what Jesus accomplished through one sacrifice: first for the Church class, and also for “the people,” meaning the world of mankind. Those who carried the remains outside the camp also picture our share in His reproach, corresponding to Paul’s statement about “filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ” in Colossians 1:24.
(#6) Leviticus 4:27–28 says that when one of the common people sins unintentionally, he must bring an unblemished female goat as his offering. In contrast, the Day of Atonement sacrifices use only male animals. This suggests those sacrifices point to specific aspects of Christ Jesus. The question, then, is why the common people were told to bring female goats for their sin offerings.
As Adam’s descendants, humanity includes both male and female. When Jesus called us, we were called out of Adam and into relationship with Him. In that sense, we can be seen as His female goats: once in the wilderness, but now set free by Jesus’ blood, which purchased Adam. Paul seems to describe this in Ephesians 4:22–24: “put off your former way of life, your old self” [born in Adam as a goat], “be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and put on the new self” [begotten in Christ as His bride, His female goats], “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Paul describes the same change in Ephesians 5:8: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…”
(#7) Hebrews 9:7 says the high priest entered the Most Holy Place only once a year—on the Day of Atonement—and never without blood, offered first “for himself” {the bullock, Leviticus 16:6, 11} and then “for the sins of the people” {the goat, Leviticus 16:15, 24}. This is one of the clearest links between Jesus’ sacrifice and both animals. The ram offered afterward—a mature male sheep—points to Jesus at His death and confirms the acceptability of what came before: first the bullock for the priestly house, picturing the Church; then the goat, picturing Adam and his offspring, as Paul explains in Romans 5:11–21.
This also clarifies the parable of the sheep and goats and Paul’s call to be transformed in Romans 12:1–2. In Adam, we are born with goat-like tendencies; to become acceptable offerings and prepared for the work of Christ’s bride, we must be changed into sheep-like character. This may explain why Leviticus 4:31 describes only the common person’s female goat offering as “a pleasing aroma to the LORD.”
Likewise, on the Day of Atonement, a ram (a mature male sheep) followed both the bullock and the goat, confirming each sacrifice’s acceptability. So, if we desire to be acceptable to Jesus, we must move from goat-like personalities to sheep-like character and come of age. As Hebrews 5:14 says, “strong meat belongs to those who are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Laying on of Hands continued
In an ordinary animal sacrifice, the offerer placed one hand on the animal’s head to symbolize the transfer of guilt, then used the other hand to slay it according to the Law. On the Day of Atonement, however, the high priest killed the goat. Since the high priest represents Jesus, this points to His words in John 10:17–18: “I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”
It is important that the laying on of hands is stated specifically for the scapegoat. Though not explicitly stated for the slain goat, it is implied by the general law of sin offerings. Normally, guilt is placed on the animal that dies; here, at least some of the guilt appears to rest on the goat that is set free. This recalls Adam blaming Eve in Genesis 3:12. Paul adds in 1 Timothy 2:13–14 that Adam was formed first and was not deceived, while Eve was deceived and fell into transgression. Thus, as the second Eve, the Church bears the deceived part of the blame.
The Day of Atonement sacrifices show how Jesus uses the life He earned by keeping the Law—“the life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). He first uses that life to redeem the Church, His household in Leviticus 16:11. Second, He uses it to redeem the world, the people in Leviticus 16:15. Paul reflects both aspects in 1 Timothy 4:10: “who is the Savior of all men, especiallyof those who believe.” This suggests a special salvation now for believers, the firstbornclass, who will later help guide mankind through the resurrection of judgment toward life.
The high priest then lays both hands on the live goat, confesses Israel’s sins over it, and sets it free. As noted earlier, the left hand pictures the transfer of guilt; here, the right hand liberates rather than terminates, since the other goat was the one put to death. This fits Hebrews 12:24, which speaks of “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkling of blood, speaking better things than the blood of Abel.”
Spiritually, Jesus’ life may be viewed as living within the scapegoat’s flesh. Adam’s flesh, now redeemed and set free, is sent into the wilderness, just as Adam and Eve were sent there after an animal had been sacrificed for them. This follows the pattern of sin offerings, except here a goat is set free rather than a human, as in the other sin offerings.
Why, then, does the priest confess Israel’s sins over the live goat before releasing it? Because the picture includes not only Adam and Jesus, but also Eve. Paul says in Romans 5:14 that “Adam is a pattern of the One to come.” When confronted, Adam shifted blame to Eve (Genesis 3:12). Likewise, the Church, called while still represented in Adam, shares in what remains of Christ’s afflictions. As the second Eve, the Church bears “that which remains of the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24). Thus, the released goat pictures Adam, with Eve still represented within him.
As Christ has many members, Adam has many descendants, and all humanity belongs to Adam’s offspring. We enter Christ by accepting Jesus’ call to become part of His bride. Part of that calling is sharing in the consequences of the first Eve’s sin. This was pictured when the Church was persecuted as scapegoats during Revelation’s Church wilderness condition (Revelation 12:14), lasting 1,260 years, from 539 to 1799.
As noted earlier, we may die like Adam, as sinners, or like Jesus, as part of a sin offering (Psalm 82:6–7). The goat sent into the wilderness pictures the Church’s share in the sin offering. When we accept God’s call, He adopts and transforms us into Christ’s body as an offering for sin, preparing us to become the second Eve. This may explain why Leviticus 4:27–35 assigns the people only female goats or lambs.
Jesus describes this scapegoat experience in Matthew 5:11–12: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.”
This also clarifies why the female goats offered by the “common people” appear in Leviticus 4:27–35. Paul echoes the idea in Romans 5:17: “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those [goats] who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ”—as His bride.
This raises another question in Leviticus 4: why were the common people required to bring either a female goat or a female lamb when they sinned? The two offerings are almost identical, except that only the female goat is described as producing a pleasing aroma, or sweet savor. I believe the answer is reflected in Luke 15:4–7: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep! 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven [pleasing aroma] over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.” In this view, the female goat may picture a repentant sinner who brings joy to heaven, while the female lamb may picture one already consecrated—one who has recognized sin and is among those who “do not need to repent.”
This also clarifies the parable of the sheep and goats. We are born in Adam as goats, as Psalm 51:5 says: “I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” But when Jesus finds us, we repent and dedicate our lives to Him. 2 Corinthians 2:14–17 describes this as a “sweet savor of Christ.” We then begin developing sheep-like character. Some progress further than others, which may help explain the distinction between the Church and the Great Company in Revelation 7. Through our Lord Jesus and His bride, the Church, we are being changed from goat-like to sheep-like—a sweet savor/pleasing aroma to the Lord.
The female offering of the common people points to the Church’s role in restoring sinners. During the antitypical Day of Atonement—the Gospel Age—the Church shares in Christ’s sin offering. Through consecration, we are joined to Christ and become part of His sacrifice, entering His priesthood and family as His bride. In this picture, female goats represent us as bearing the blame Adam placed on Eve.
Why Sheep and Goats Matt 25:31
In the end, the Lord separates people as sheep and goats. Sheep are gentle, social, and willing to follow; goats are more independent, curious, and prone to wander. We are all born in Adam—goat-like—but if we desire life, we must be changed into sheep-like character.
In this sense, Adam’s life may still work within our flesh, even as we keep our bodies on the altar of sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and refuse its desires (Romans 13:14). When we sin unintentionally or act against better judgment, we may say, “Adam’s life still active in our flesh led us to do it.” Paul describes this in Romans 7:15–17: “I do not understand what I do… what I hate, that I do… and in that case, it is no longer I that do it, but sin [of Adam] still living in me that does it.”
On the Day of Atonement, Adamic sin is pictured as removed and placed upon Jesus. Paul expresses this in 2 Corinthians 5:19–21: “God was reconciling/Atoning the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them… Be reconciled/Atoned to God… God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Through Jesus’ sacrifice, Adam and all his descendants are justified and set free from Adamic sin. Jesus paid the ransom price, redeeming mankind from the effects of Adam’s transgression.
Hebrews 2:17 says Jesus had to be made like His brothers so He could become a merciful and faithful high priest and make Atonement [often rendered propitiation] for the sins of the people. This concerns the people’s sins, not the priesthood’s. The bullock addresses priestly sins, while Jesus as the goat redeems the sins of the people. Thus, the slain goat on the Day of Atonement pictures Jesus redeeming Adam and, through Adam, mankind.
The Day of Atonement sacrifices were symbolic. Israel repeated the ritual each year because its full meaning had not yet been revealed. It remained a reminder until the true atoning Goat, Lamb, Rams, and Bullock came in Jesus. Once His true atoning blood and life were provided, God caused Israel’s symbolic ritual to cease (Hebrews 9:7–14).
These ideas also clarify the ram, used in the priesthood’s consecration and ordination (Leviticus 8:14–35). If Jesus ransomed Adam—and through Adam, our sins—then our lives belong to Him. We should therefore use the truth we have received to seek deeper understanding of God’s Word and accept His call to “come up higher,” as pictured in Luke 14:10–11: “Friend, move up to a higher place… For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Our Sin Offering Sacrifice
With these thoughts in mind, let us examine what may be described as the Church’s sacrifice for sin and note some corresponding New Testament references. Leviticus 4:27 says, “If one of the common people [compare 1 Corinthians 1:26: ‘Not many of you were wise…’] sins unintentionally [like Eve, 1 Timothy 2:14, and like the Church], and does what is prohibited by any of the LORD’s commandments, he incurs guilt. 28When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed [recognizing that he is a sinner as part of the Adamic race], he must bring an unblemished female goat [his own flesh or body, Romans 12:1] as his offering for that sin. 29He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it [see Galatians 5:24–25: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”] at the place of the burnt offering. 30Then the priest [Jesus, who converts and instructs us] is to take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering [a portion of the power of life, symbolized by the horns, is acceptable to God as sacrifice] and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31Then he is to remove all the fat, just as it is removed from the peace offering, and the priest is to burn it on the altar [the fat, which burns intensely, represents love; compare Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”] as a pleasing aroma to Jehovah [bringing “joy in heaven over one sinner who repents”]. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. NOTE: Our priest, Jesus, consumes these sacrifices. 1Tim5:17-18, 1Cor9:7-13, Lev 10:16-18, Lev 8:29 & 31.
Summary: What does it take to be a Sin-Offering?
How did Jesus respond before those with authority over Him? “As a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” Yet when He spoke, He said, “You could have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above.” Others flatter the powerful for advantage (Jude 1:16), as when the Pharisees and Sadducees said, “We have no king but Caesar.” Will we defend truth when it costs us position? Will we help the poor, weak, weary, and oppressed? Will we shift blame, or bear it to make peace? Judah was blessed in part because he pledged to bear Benjamin’s blame if he failed to return him (Genesis 43:8). Cornelius’ prayers and gifts to the poor rose before God as a memorial offering, or sweet savor (Acts 10). David refused to strike Saul even when pursued by him. Paul shows the same spirit in 1 Corinthians 4:12–13: “When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently.”
So what should we avoid, and what should we cultivate? Anger seldom persuades, hostility does not build up, and contention rarely brings lasting peace. Instead, we should lay aside differences, listen with understanding, and love one another as brothers and sisters. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and commanded us to “Love your enemies… pray for those who mistreat and persecute you.” During the Gospel Age, we are like wilderness goats—scapegoats being transformed into sheep. This sheds light on Matthew 5:11–12: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me… for in the same way they persecuted the prophets—and Jesus Himself—before you.” Therefore, like sheep before their shearers, we should remain quiet and avoid needless contention over this subject.
Your servant in Christ Jesus
James Schucker
Call: Jim Schucker 808-754-8978 for help in understanding.