##DailyDevotion Jesus Is The Scapegoat Offered To YHWH
1 Peter 2: 24He carried our sins in His body to the cross so that we’ll die to sin and live for righteousness. His wounds have healed you.
While Jesus is most certainly our example to follow in humility, he is much more than that. Through his humility he won for us the salvation of our souls and our bodies. He in this statement we see what Jesus’ crucifixion has done for us. He carried our sin in His body to the cross. Just as the high priest under the Mosaic covenant would put the sins of Israel upon the scapegoat (Lev. 16) so the sin of the world was placed upon Jesus. (John 1:29)
His being insulted, spit upon, the scourging with a whip, the slaps and punches, these things have healed our soul and bring about the healing of our bodies when he returns at the resurrection. With these words, Peter is invoking Isaiah chapter 53 who which I will now quote the pertinent parts.
4Surely He has taken on Himself our suffering and carried our sorrows, but we observed that God had stricken, smitten, and afflicted Him. 5And certainly He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins; By His punishment, we were saved and by His wounds we were healed. 6We have all gone astray like sheep. Every one of us has turned to go his own way, and the LORD has punished Him for the sins of us all. He was oppressed and mistreated without opening His mouth…8After He was tried as a prisoner, He was then taken away. Who in His time even considered that He was cut off from the land of the living and struck down for His people’s sins?…10Yet the LORD planned to crush Him and slay Him. After He has sacrificed Himself for guilt, He will see those born to Him and will enjoy a long life. And so by Him the LORD will succeed in what He wants to do. 11 Because of the toil of His soul, He will see the light and be satisfied. By His experience My righteous Servant justifies many by taking on Himself the heavy load of their guilt. 12Because of this I will give Him many people as His share; and He will divide the spoil with the mighty because He pours out His life in death, lets Himself be counted with sinners, while He takes on Himself the sins of many people and intercedes for the wrongdoers.
The people he was writing to would have known this passage but I include it so you too may know Jesus was fulfilling this by his suffering and death according to the will and plan of God.
Now Jesus did undergo this not only for the forgiveness of our sins and the resurrection of our bodies but also so we may begin to live new lives. As Jesus died carrying our sins, he calls us in this salvation to die to sin and live for righteousness. We are no longer slaves to sin to obey all of its desires and lusts. We have been freed from sin as a taskmaster. We belong to another now, another master, our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Our will and aim is to please him.
As we read what Jesus had undergone in Isaiah 53 for our salvation and our healing, may those words so curb the sin that lies within and move us to lives lives of righteousness and holiness.
Heavenly Father, by the stripes of your Son Jesus Christ we are healed from our sin. Grant us your Spirit so we may now lives our lives for him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.