“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Looking back to my younger days, I remember always being a scapegoat for most of the time, probably due to the fact that I am the oldest child in the family. I usually get blamed for most of the things my younger ones do wrongly. I remember my parents would tell me the reason I get punished or blamed for the wrongdoing of my younger ones was because I was the eldest, and I am meant to set the right standard for my younger ones to follow. They made me understand that if I do the right thing they would do likewise and if they don’t, that means that I had not done the right thing or showed them the right thing to do.
My parents are of the opinion that as the eldest, they were looking up to me and modelling their life around mine. However, being the eldest child wasn’t easy as I had to live a modest life and also have the responsibility of setting the pace for my younger ones for them to follow. If they also get in trouble, it was because I had not shown them the right way to do things, so I ended up being the scapegoat. Being a scapegoat was very painful and not very palatable, but it does help put my younger ones up to their best behaviour because I do not want to get in trouble or be the scapegoat for every mistake they made.
What does it mean to be a scapegoat then? According to Google dictionary scapegoat is a person who is blamed for the wrong doings, mistakes or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
This reflection into my past made me realise that Jesus had also at one time been a scapegoat not only for me but for mankind. So I wasn’t the only scapegoat here, Jesus died for mankind on the cross of Calvary as a scapegoat, He suffered for the sins he did not commit, and yet He died in our place so we can die no more. Isaiah 53:5 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
2 Corinthians 5:21; “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So let us remember that Jesus was our scapegoat who paid a ransom with his life for us to be saved and have a new life in him.
Jesus the scapegoat has paid it all, so we don’t have to be the scapegoat ever again.
