. . . if one looks to the Levitical cult for
the idea of an animal “bearing sins,” the nearest parallel is the so-called
scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. . . the goat was not ultimately
offered to God. Rather, after sins were placed upon it, it was led away into
the wilderness by someone other than the high priest (Lev. 16:10, 21-22). The
point seems to be that precisely because sins were placed on the goat, it must
move away from God’s house and presence. This goat bears sins away from
God. By contrast, the goat that does not have sins placed on it is explicitly
offered to God (16:9). This is the goat whose blood is taken into the holy of
holies by the high priest (16:15-16). Hebrews’ reflection of Jesus offering
himself to the Father consistently tracks with his latter direction. Like the
high priest and the blood of the goat on the Day of Atonement, Jesus moves into
the heavenly holy of holies to offer himself to the Father. Conceptually, then,
there seems to be a distinction in the Levitical system between a sacrifice
that is offered to God and the goat that “bears sins.” This goat is not offered
to God but moves away from his presence. (David M. Moffitt, Rethinking the
Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Ascension [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2022], 63)
