The Scapegoat

References

 Leviticus 16:20-22
And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:  And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
 

Matthew 4:1-11
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
 

I Enoch 9:6-7 and 10:8
...Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn...And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.
 
 

In keeping with the ceremony on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest "completed [the ritual] by putting the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat. They (Israel) deserved to have been abandoned and sent into a land of forgetfulness, but that punishment was here transferred to the goat that bore their sins, with reference to which God is said to have laid upon our Lord Jesus (the substance of all these shadows) the iniquity of us all <Isa. 53:6>, and he is said to have borne our sins, even the punishment of them, in his own body upon the tree, <1 Pet. 2:24>."  (from Matthew Henry's Commentary).

Here we see a parallel (or mystery) unfolding in the priestly duties on the Day of Atonement and the account of the baptism by John of Yeshua and the subsequent wilderness experiences where Yeshua endured and emerged victorious over the temptations of the devil.

John the Baptist was from the priestly line of Aaron (Luke 1:5-25  PP2  "Now the father of John Baptist was a priest, a son of Aaron; his name Zacharias, who was descended from Eleazar, Aaron's eldest son.  The wife of this Zacharias was of the daughters of Aaron too, and her name was Elisabeth, the very same name with Elisheba the wife of Aaron, <Exo. 6:23>. The priests (Josephus saith) was very careful to marry within their own family, that they might maintain the dignity of the priesthood and keep it without mixture.  That they were a very religious couple (v. 6): They were both righteous before God; they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless."  from Matthew Henry's Commentary).

While the priests were offering their sacrifices, the High Priest performing his temple duties on the Day of Atonement, we see here another "priest" performing a different (but similar) duty in the Jordan River -- a washing or ceremonial cleansing.  Although John was not performing the duties of a priest, he had taken a Nazarite vow, an oath to remain separate and live a mortified life, humble and self-denying, and dead to the world.  Now entering into his thirtieth year of his age, according to the custom of the temple, he was now to be admitted into the temple-service where he should have attended as a candidate five years before.  But, instead, God called him to a more honorable ministry -- the forerunner of the Messiah.

Before Yeshua could actually begin His earthly ministry -- his duties as a priest (which included ultimately making atonement for the people's sins)  -- He needed to go through a "ceremonial cleansing", hence the baptism in the Jordan River.  Immediately afterward, however, we learn that Yeshua "was led" into the wilderness for a period of 40 days where he fasted.

Leviticus 16:29-34  PP12  "Some learned men have computed that our Lord Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan upon the tenth day of the seventh month, which was the very day of atonement. Then he entered upon his office as Mediator, and was immediately driven of the Spirit into the wilderness, a land not inhabited." (from Matthew Henry's Commentary).  The point at hand -- the very time the High Priest was performing his duties on the Day of Atonement, Yeshua was in preparation for what is considered as His first acts of His earthly ministry which paralleled the "ceremonial" ritual prescribed by the Law of Moses.

One of the final acts of the High Priest, by laying on of hands, was to assign all the sins of Israel, his household, and even himself to the head of a goat (represents demons/evil).  The scape-goat was led into the wilderness bearing the sins of all of Israel.  The Hebrew word for this scape-goat is "azazel" (Strong's 5799  `aza'zel (az-aw-zale'); from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat: KJV-- scapegoat).

An interesting fact was found in I Enoch 9:6-7:   "...Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn...", and Chapter 10:8 "...And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin."  According to I Enoch, Azazel is a fallen angel, quite possibly another "name" or "personality" of Lucifer, himself of whom is recorded in Isaiah 14:12-17:  "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"  It is interesting that all the corruption of mankind and the earth was attributed to the influence of Lucifer or Azazel, depending which reference is used.  The outcome is the same, however, that Azazel (another name for "scapegoat") is the one who is accused of being held responsible for all the sins of all mankind, thereby corrupting the whole earth and all its inhabitants.

Question:  What really happened in the wilderness and with whom does Yeshua really meet in the wilderness?

Answer:  The devil . . . the scapegoat . . . "Azazel"  (the one to whom is ascribed all righteousness).

What transpires:  The devil (azazel) brought three temptations before Yeshua to test His righteousness in every aspect of His humanness.  He knew that Yeshua was God incarnate, but He also knew the weakness of the flesh and attempted to ascribe unrighteousness to God in the flesh -- to once again attempt to "exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:13-14.  In other words, his plan was to elevate himself while debasing God bringing himself to a higher level than God, or at the very least to an equal plane with God.  He felt that by attacking the fleshly nature of Yeshua that he could win the throne of the universe if he could prove Yeshua unrighteous.

Through the confrontation in the wilderness, the "triunity" of man is revealed by the temptor's attacks on Yeshua.  Every sin mankind commits falls into one of these three temptations.  Yeshua HAD to deal with sin in each facet of His humanness in order to prove "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15).
 
 

Three Temptations of the Messiah

(1)  Physical Needs
Matthew 4:3-4  "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  This temptation is not a matter of just "food" but rather it encompasses all our physical needs.  Having fasted 40 days (or at least been in the midst of a 40-day fast),  Jesus was weakened in the flesh.  Flesh is always weak, always seeking gratification and satisfaction, always seeking to rule us.  Here we see Jesus having victory over His flesh, maintaining that mankind can only truly live by "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".  Our flesh has no rule over us, we are subject ONLY to the Word of God.  All our physical provisions are from God; we have only as He gives.  There is nothing we have that has not been given to us by Him.  He speaks and our physical needs are met!  But also, by winning the victory over the flesh, this challenge won for mankind the ability to bring our flesh into subjection to the Spirit.  As Paul so aptly put it, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection" (1 Corinthians 9:27).  The flesh had to be denied in every way to make provision for us in the physical realm and to give us the victory over our bodies.

(2)  Spiritual Needs
Matthew 4:5-7  "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."  A challenge to our faith, trust, and assurance that God will take care of us no matter what comes our way.  Jesus was challenged to "tempt" God by taking His life into His own hands and defying natural laws in attempt to prove God's Word.  But, not only is this a temptation of lacking faith in God's ability to keep us from physical harm, it is also a challenge to the Father's ability to keep us from falling away spiritually.  Jude 1:24  "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,".  Through victory over this temptation we have assurance of our salvation and God's keeping power in both the physical and spiritual realm!

(3)  Emotional Needs
Matt 4:8-10  "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."  Man's inherent nature includes a desperate need to be noticed, to be "somebody", to receive glory, to -- in essence -- be worshipped.  Here we see the enemy tempting the Lord with all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  By tempting Him with the kingdoms of this world, the enemy is attempting to appeal to his fleshly nature to be exalted, to be glorified, even to be made king over all.  In essence Satan was tempting Christ with that which He already had, but it was His emotional response to that which He already owned which was being challenged.  Would He ascribe worship and acknowledge one who was giving Him something "seen" as to what He already was ruler over -- the "unseen".  We face this challenge daily as we are tempted with things in the natural which would appeal to our fleshly natures while we, in essence, already "own" these things.  We have a promise from God that was directly challenged through this temptation in Deuteronomy 28:1 "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:"    Have we not already been named as inheritors of all things?  "He that overcometh shall inherit all things."  (Revelation 21:7).  We have already been made heirs to the kingdom as plainly stated in James 2:5:  "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"  Yet, because of our flesh, we desire the "feel- good" feeling of owning material things and the powerful feeling of having everyone's attention and/or approval and/or "worship".  This may indeed have been the most difficult temptation; not that ownership appealed to the human nature of Christ, but yet the need to be worshipped and exalted as King over an earthly kingdom.  He knew who He was -- King of kings and Lord of lords -- yet He lived an abased life, a humble life, a "no-frills" life even though He "deserved" all the materialistic kingdoms of this world and all it could buy.  How many times do we struggle with the same thing -- we feel we "deserve" respect, we "deserve" attention, we "deserve" honor, etc., for who we are and what we've done.  Yet, we deserve nothing aside from "Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (I Corinthians 2:2).

Note that it wasn't until the third temptation that Yeshua addressed the devil directly.  He knew that only by addressing Satan directly would these temptations cease.  But, He also knew that each temptation represented a part of humanness that needed to be won back so He did not exercise His authority in this manner until the work was complete.  Yeshua could have said, "Get thee hence, Satan" at the first temptation, but spiritual and emotional sins of mankind would have been left untouched.
 
 

Study Notes continued

Whether or not Yeshua actually met up with the physical scapegoat which was let loose in the wilderness on this particular Day of Atonement is not known.  It is very probably, however, that when the high priest laid his hands on the goat imparting the sins of all of Israel into it, at that point the goat literally became sin or possibly "demonized" wherein he carried or bore all the sins of the world (or at least all of Israel) -- that's why Yeshua can be called our scapegoat -- he bore all the sins of the world for us.

When the scapegoat was led into the wilderness, there was a "fit man" specifically assigned to take him out into the wilderness. (Lev 16:21 "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:").

According to Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 16:20-28 PP4, "He that took the scapegoat into the wilderness, and those that burned the sin-offering, were to be looked upon as ceremonially unclean, and must not come into the camp till they had washed their clothes and bathed their flesh in water, which signified the defiling nature of sin . . . even the sacrifice . . . left some stain upon those that touched them." In and of themselves, goats were NOT unclean, but because this specific goat became the habitation of all nature of evil in Israel, it was defiled and anyone who touched it was declared unclean.

The scapegoat never lived through the ordeal . . . after all it was led into the wilderness to die. Some accounts even say that he was led into the wilderness and pushed off a cliff and killed, although I doubt that it was necessary to go to that extent. Remember the legions of demons Yeshua cast out of the demoniac and commanded them to inhabit the swine nearby. The swine immediately went crazy and threw themselves off a cliff. The scapegoat probably went wild -- probably quite a handful for the guy who had to lead him into the wilderness -- and threw himself off a cliff. That's probably why it is said he was to be led away "by the hand of a fit man" -- this guy had to be ready, willing and ABLE and strong enough to control this thing after it "possessed" all the sin known to Israel. Strongs #3027 describes "by the hand of" as indicating power or strength. "Fit" means a timely or ready, one assigned for the duty. Most probably the scapegoat became a wild, uncontrollable, untamable beast. However, upon his death, that "legion" of demons residing within him (again, representing all manner of sin known to Israel) were loosed and their leader (or spokesperson as in the case of the demoniac) was that fallen angel Azazel who then led the temptation discourse with the Messiah.
 

Conclusion

Why wouldn't it have been that fallen angel "Azazel" who would try to teach unrighteousness to Yeshua in an attempt to conquer the Unconquerable Himself with every manner of evil that he represented! After all, the devil was able to influentially corrupt the "first" Adam . . . why wouldn't he attempt to corrupt the "Last Adam"?  It's even amazing to me that Yeshua took the time to even be bothered by these evil temptations. He had nothing to personally prove to the enemy other than possibly to confirm His sinless nature in the flesh to the one who is ultimately the defiler of all flesh. There had to be more to it than just His ability to avoid the temptor's snare -- he had to face every manner of sin that had been represented in Israel -- in mankind -- to say that "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) That's got to be why the three temptations representing the three "parts" of man -- flesh, mind, and spirit.

Either way, it all seems to fit. Realizing that the Book of Enoch has not been accepted as totally reliable or as some put it non-canonical, but in reality, the early Church included it in its scriptures, taught from it, read from it in the services and that can be proved by the quote in Jude 14-15 written late in the first century AD. The Jews used it and included it in their readings in the synagogues and held it in equal esteem as the other books of the law and the prophets. It wasn't until around the 3rd century AD that the Book of Enoch was set apart from the other scripture.  Use of this book is not a basis for faith standing alone from the Word of God, but is usable to obtain a clearer, more precise, picture of many events recorded in the Bible.

Final note, it is not a coincidence that whenever we see Satan or demonic activity symbolized, it is normally associated with the picture of a goat or a goat's head to be more exact.
 

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