A connection in Scripture
The Scapegoat
Why they are connected
Scripture holds the scapegoat and Christ together as sin-bearers who carry guilt away. On the Day of Atonement two goats were needed: one was killed, and the other, the scapegoat, was sent alive into the wilderness bearing Israel's confessed sins where they would be seen no more. Isaiah says the Lord laid on his Servant the iniquity of us all, and Hebrews says Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. The scapegoat pictures the removal of guilt, not just its covering. In Christ both goats meet, for he is slain and also carries our sin away, so that it is gone.
The Scripture behind it
“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.”Leviticus 16:22
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”Isaiah 53:6
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”Hebrews 9:28
Who has recognized it
This stands at level B, a strong canonical echo rather than an explicit naming. The New Testament never calls Christ the scapegoat by that word, yet Isaiah's language of iniquity laid on the Servant and Hebrews' language of bearing sins draw plainly on the atonement imagery. Early Christian writers and the Reformers saw the two goats together as one picture of Christ's death. The connection is honored across the tradition as interpretation grounded in Scripture, distinct from the wider Feast of Atonement, which is treated at /feasts-of-the-lord/day-of-atonement.
Where readers differ
Faithful readers differ on how tightly to map the two goats onto Christ. Some assign one goat to his death and the scapegoat to his removal of guilt, while others read both goats as a single portrait and caution against pressing the details. Because the New Testament does not name the scapegoat directly, this remains a strong interpretive reading rather than an explicit identification. The core truth, that Christ bears sin away, is not in doubt.
Why it matters for seeing Christ
It matters because there is a difference between sin covered and sin gone. Many carry guilt they believe God merely tolerates, hidden but still there. The scapegoat pictures something better: guilt confessed, laid on another, and carried away to a place it will never be recovered. Christ is that better reality. When the Lord laid our iniquity on him and he carried it outside the city, our sin was not filed away but removed. If you have trusted him, your guilt is not lurking somewhere near; it has been borne off into the wilderness of his mercy, and it is not coming back.
Questions people ask
Is Jesus the scapegoat?
In a typological sense, yes. The scapegoat carried Israel's sins away into the wilderness, and Isaiah says the Lord laid our iniquity on his Servant, who bore the sin of many. The New Testament does not use the word scapegoat, so this is a strong canonical echo rather than a direct title. Christ fulfills what the goat pictured: sin borne away for good.
Why were there two goats on the Day of Atonement?
One goat was killed and its blood brought into the holy place to make atonement, showing the cost of sin. The other, the scapegoat, was sent alive into the wilderness bearing the people's confessed sins, showing their removal. Together they picture one work with two sides: sin paid for and sin carried away. Christ fulfills both in his single death.