Understanding Leviticus 16:20-28 in Depth: Sins Carried Away

The Scapegoat and the Complete Removal of Sin

This final act of the Day of Atonement - sending the scapegoat into the wilderness - was the dramatic conclusion of a sacred ritual designed to cleanse both the people and God’s dwelling place from the weight of sin.

The entire Day of Atonement process began with Aaron entering the Most Holy Place with blood to purify the tabernacle from the defilement caused by Israel’s sins, as described in Leviticus 16:1-19. After offering sacrifices and sprinkling blood for atonement, he transferred the people’s confessed sins onto the live goat by laying his hands on its head and speaking them aloud. This goat, often called the scapegoat (from ‘Azazel’), was not sacrificed but sent away into the wilderness, symbolizing the complete removal of sin from the community - carried off never to return. The man who led the goat had to wash his clothes and bathe afterward, showing that even contact with the burden of sin required cleansing, and the sacrificed animals were burned outside the camp, reinforcing the idea that sin must be entirely expelled.

Centuries later, after the exile, the people gathered again under Ezra and Nehemiah, and though the scapegoat ritual wasn’t described in detail, Nehemiah 8:1-18 shows how they recommitted to God’s law with deep repentance and worship, reflecting the same heart posture the Day of Atonement was meant to cultivate. This ancient ritual pointed far beyond itself - to a future hope where sin would be removed permanently and fully dealt with.

The Meaning Behind the Two Goats: Sin Borne and Sin Removed

This ritual’s powerful symbolism is rooted in specific Hebrew words and a unique two-goat system that reveals how seriously God takes both the reality of sin and the need for its complete removal.

The term 'aza'zel (עֲזָאזֵל) has puzzled scholars for centuries - it may refer to a desolate place or, as some ancient translations suggest, a wilderness being to whom the goat is sent. Though the Bible never calls Azazel a deity, the focus stays on the goat carrying away 'avon (עָוֹן), a Hebrew word meaning more than sins - it includes the guilt and consequences that stick to people like a stain. The laying on of hands was a physical act showing transfer - Aaron placed Israel’s confessed sins onto the goat, making it bear what they deserved. Unlike other ancient Near Eastern rituals where people tried to bribe gods or shift blame, Israel’s system was different: God provided the way, demanded honesty, and required sacrifice, yet one goat lived to show sin banished forever. This dual system - one goat sacrificed to the Lord, one sent away - shows that atonement requires both payment and removal: sin must be dealt with and then taken far away.

The sacrificed bull and goat were burned outside the camp, a detail the book of Hebrews later highlights when it says Jesus 'suffered outside the gate' to sanctify the people (Hebrews 13:12), showing how this ancient law pointed to Christ. The man who led the goat or burned the animals had to wash afterward, not because he was morally guilty, but because handling sin - even symbolically - left a kind of spiritual 'dirt,' reminding everyone that sin is contagious and serious. This wasn’t only theater. It taught the people that forgiveness isn’t casual, and holiness requires separation from wrongdoing.

While other nations had purification rites, none had a system where the high priest also had to atone for his own sins first (Leviticus 16:6), showing that no one stands above the need for cleansing. This law reveals God’s heart: He makes a way for sin to be forgiven, but only through humility, honesty, and sacrifice - preparing us to see Jesus as the final high priest and the true scapegoat who carries our guilt away.

Jesus: The Final Scapegoat and the End of the Ritual

This ritual was about more than removing sin from sight; it showed that someone or something had to bear the weight of sin so the people could be clean.

Jesus fulfilled this picture completely: He is both the goat that died for our sins and the one who carried them far away. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:11-12, 'For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.' Like the animals burned outside the camp, Jesus was rejected and crucified outside the city, bearing our guilt so we could be made holy. He didn’t cover sin - He removed it forever, as Psalm 103:12 says, 'as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.'

Because Jesus has done what the law pointed to, Christians don’t repeat these rituals - they trust in the real sacrifice that ended the need for them.

Jesus Fulfilled the Scapegoat: What That Means for Us

The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is not like the scapegoat - He fulfills it, being the One whom God appointed to take away sin once and for all.

John the Baptist points directly to this when he sees Jesus and declares, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29), identifying Him not only as a sacrificial lamb but as the One who removes sin completely, just as the scapegoat carried it into the wilderness. The book of Hebrews deepens this, explaining that Christ 'entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption' (Hebrews 9:12), showing that His sacrifice was final and His removal of sin permanent. Unlike the high priest who had to repeat the ritual yearly, Jesus offered Himself once, making continual sacrifices unnecessary.

Hebrews 13:11-13 ties it all together: 'For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.' This calls believers to a new identity - not defined by ritual purity but by union with Christ, who bore our shame and sin so we could be clean.

The heart of the scapegoat ritual was not just removal, but transfer: our guilt placed on another. Today, we don’t send goats into the desert - we turn to Jesus, who took our sin and left it far behind. And because He did, we’re free to live not in hiding, but in honesty and holiness, carrying His name, not our shame.

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