What Really Happened Against That Dark Sky on Golgotha?
(c) 2013 Elizabeth K. Best
Jesus is Brought Before Pilate: The Azazel of Centuries
Arrested and bound by the temple guard carrying burning torches, the Savior sent by God is brought before the sovereign powers which were in Israel at the time: the Sanhedrin, a council of the leading Jewish authorities, Herod, the licentious but amusingly interested king who lived a lavish lifestyle, and ultimately to Pilate, the Roman Curator and consul to the desert outpost of Jerusalem for judgment . The Pharisees, a regional King and Rome became judge and jury to ‘assess’ the righteousness of the King of all righteousness, exerting the arrogant opinion of the State and Religion over the reality and truth of God.. One has to wonder at the violent arrest and unjust court hearings, dealt with in so many studies over the years, of the ‘Way the Truth and the Life’ held under man’s scrutiny for the great crimes of healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, casting out demons and teaching the Kingdom of God as no one ever had: these ‘crimes’--- the healing of Israel and the world, were turned into charges of treason and sedition under the jaundiced eyes of wicked men. Still, standing before Pilate, no doubt weary of the previous three years of intense ministry and the travel and trial the night before, the Holy One of Israel stands accused for trial to appease the High Priest, a religionist who had purchased his role from Rome in defiance of the Levitical priesthood. Having seen the miracles, and even proof of Lazarus raised from the dead, the High Priest of Israel declared in wrath that it was ‘better that one man should die for the nation’ than that all should perish. That statement held in suspension and paradox for centuries, has stood as the pre-eminent example of times when the wrath of man praises God.
For the topic at hand, which is comparing the release of the 'Azazel' or scapegoat bearing the sins of Israel with the trial of Christ and judgment coming not from Pilate but from the people, we will not attend directly to the first two 'trials' or hearings. Both Herod's hearing of seeing the 'phenomenon' of Jesus, and the late night trial of the Messiah run counter to Temple Law conducted by the Sanhedrin, are both important and even critical in the understanding of the injustice of man vs. the justice of God, and the surrender of the Messiah to God's will even when it is unjust. Those two trials, as well as the final one establish Jesus' willful laying down of his life, rather than having it taken from him. These 'hearings' also establish the face of Christian persecution, as in the end, the believer often finds his greatest accusers to be Religionists, powerful men, and Rome: the 'dignities' which too often figure in the death of believers following in the footprints of their Redeemer. Focusing though on the foreshadowing of the choice of Barabbas over the King and true High Priest of Israel, is the question at hand. Did the two goats of Leviticus 16, foreshadow the choice? Was it merely an angry crowd, somewhat frightened of Jesus and willing to let an innocent die, in order to go along with Temple leadership at the time? Or was it possibly the God of Israel working out the prophetic fulfillment of the little understood practice of conferring the sins of Israel onto a sacrificial offering, with one dying for sin, and one bearing the sins of collective Israel out into the wilderness to whatever would become of him? These and more are the questions we confront in this study.
Leviticus 16: Two Goats& the Sins of Israel
In the midst of Leviticus, we find a most unusual chapter about two goats, the sins of Israel, a ceremonial practice and the wilderness. In the Torah, or first five books of the Bible, we read frequently about sacrifices such as the 'olah' or burnt offering, the 'minchah' or meat offering or the other offerings involving the sacrifice of an animal, usually a lamb, goat or bullock, or of prepared offerings of bread or meal: though there are many sacrifices mentioned in the early books, such as sin, peace and trepass offerings beside those above, one may still observe that those offerings were prescribed in very similar ways: the offering was brought to the door of the Tabernacle; if it was an animal, the priests would sacrifice the animal, and whether beast or bread, all but one or two of the offerings were burned on the altar.
Leviticus 16 though shows God, commanding the more unusual or unique sacrifice of choosing two young goats, conferring the sins of the nation upon them, and then a differential treatment of the two pointing to the significant 'offering' of the scapegoat or better, 'sin-bearer' of Israel still centuries away.
[Lev 16:2, 5, 7-10 KJV] 2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy [place] within the vail before the mercy seat, which [is] upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. . . 5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. ...
7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him [for] a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, [and] to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
The command for this sin offering comes following the death of two of Aaron's sons who offered strange fire, or committed an idolatrous practice contrary to the will of God, which bore the possibility of the death of many in the wilderness. Sometimes God's judgments in the Old Testament seem very severe to unbelievers and new believers with little experience in the Word. God's main aim for Israel though in the forty years of desert wandering to Canaan, was their survival and safety: turning to other gods and practices would have 'brought Israel's fence down' a divine reality, which could have caused untold harm to the whole congregation.
The sin offering was to include 2 goats and one ram; for now, our interest is primarily in the two goats: the ram is the more traditional part of the offering. (see Lev 5:15; Exodus 29:18 for sin and trespass offerings) The High Priest, Aaron, is in Leviticus 16:3-4 commanded to prepare himself via his garments and office in the appropriate way for a sacrifice. Then the sacrifice is as follows:
A. The High Priest presents the 2 goats at the door of the tabernacle
B. Aaron the high Priest cast lots upon the two goats:
C. One lot on one goat is for the LORD
D. One Lot is for the 'Scapegoat' or Azazel
E. The "Lord's Lot" Goat is offered for a sin offering.
F. The Azazel or 'Scapegoat' is presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement, and
G. The Scapegoat, carrying the sins of Israel is then let go outside the city walls.
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The presentation of Jesus before Israel, with the option of either the Messiah of Israel being set free or the criminal Barabbas, takes place on the Gabbatha, a platform or more possibly a plaza outside what archaeologists believe was the praetorium. The ‘praetorium’ was where Pilate lived and worked and conducted the business of the Roman State in Palestine. ‘Pilate’ was Praetor, or Prefect of Rome. Josephus, the early Jewish historian notes that when Roman authorities came to Israel for business or judicial purposes they stayed in Herod’s palace, conducting business outside the palace: this may not be contradictory, since it would appear that Herod’s palace, the Temple, and the Praetorium were within close proximity to one another: recent archaeological evidence proposes a 600 foot ‘colonnade’ in between the Praetorium and the Temple, a rather crass statement about the corruption and compromise between the Temple of the time, and Rome. 1,2
Within clear view, then of the temple, and Herod’s Palace, on the Gabbatha of Pilate’s Praetorium, whatever the exact location, Jesus was presented to Israel, by Pilate, following his declaration of himself as King, Lord, and Savior, with the words, “Behold the Man”. John 19:5. ‘Behold the Man’ also follows the Pilate’s decree that he finds ‘no fault in him’: Jesus is the perfect lamb, the Passover lamb without a flaw, there is no ‘fault’ in him, as he is about to be dedicated to those crying for a lamb for sacrifice. Consider, though the parallels of the events, some perfectly matched and some not, of the choice of Messiah vs. the criminal:
Old Testament: Lord’s Lot vs. Azazel New Testament: Jesus & Barabbas
The High Priest presents the two goats at the door of the Tabernacle
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The Prefect of Rome, In sight of the High Priest Caiaphas, presents Jesus and Barabbas near the door of the Temple, on the ‘pavement’
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Aaron the High Priest, Casts lots on the two goats
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Caiaphas the High Priest, calls for the crucifixion
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One lot is for the goat of the Lord
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The ‘Sin Offering’ for sacrifice
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One lot is for the Scapegoat
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Barabbas is chosen for release, in metaphor the sins of Israel are forgiven and released :note, though, that Messiah, doubly is also the scapegoat and sin-bearer of Israel
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The ‘Lord’s Lot ‘ goat is chosen for sacrifice
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Messiah is chosen for crucifixion
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The Azazel or 'Scapegoat' is presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement, and
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Barabbas, a murderer and insurrectionist, is pardoned, released, though there is no atonement, which can only be made by Messiah.
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The Scapegoat, carrying the sins of Israel is then let go outside the city walls.
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Barabbas is released* presumably according to custom outside the city, and Jesus is led to crucifixion outside the city walls.
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As in the Temple the High Priest presents the two goats at the door of the Tabernacle, the prefect of Rome, in sight of the High Priest Caiaphas presents Jesus and Barabbas near the door of the Temple on the pavement:
[John 19:13 KJV] 13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. [Jhn 19:14 KJV] 14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
Pilate no doubt, meant a partial mocking of the Jews, as he presents Jesus, bound as the sacrificial lamb, degraded, and rejected, when he says, ‘Behold your King!”. Yet at the same time, what Rome declared, stood and one must wonder if Pilate, after the trying confrontation with Jesus in the discussion of whether or not Jesus was a King, must have said it only partially mocking, with the sense that he was indeed standing in the presence of a heavenly king. The presentation of a King and Lamb at Passover was a most remarkable event. One recalls the passage in exodus regarding the taking of the unleavened bread and the lamb on the night when the angel of death ‘passed over’
[Exo 12:21 KJV] 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
But the presentation of a king of Israel, at Passover was a first: while Josiah in his reign restored the practice of Passover to Israel, the coronation of a king occurred at other times: on the other hand, the release of a prisoner according to custom, was respected:
[Jhn 18:39 KJV] 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
Israel , a nation of priests, is given a choice between the one who whether reverently or irreverently is called, “King of the Jews”, or Barabbas:
[Mat 27:16-23 KJV] 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. 20
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? [They] all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
In the Old Testament, when the goats were set before the congregation and the high Priest at the door of the Tabernacle, the high priest cast lots on which goat was to be which:
[Lev 16:7-9 KJV] 7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him [for] a sin offering.
The Sin Offering goat is the goat which is chosen by lot to be sacrificed for the sins of Israel. At the same time, Aaron cast lots for the scapegoat, which in Hebrew is ‘Azazel’:
עֲזָאזֵל
The word for ‘Azazel’, pronounced atz-ah-tzel, is translated ‘scapegoat’ in which we still find the modern meaning of ‘one who takes or has conferred upon them all the blame’, for example, a family ‘scapegoat’ takes on the sins of a family, or an ‘office scapegoat’ becomes responsible for everything that fails in an office: this useage is entirely similar to the ancient concept. Gesenius’ Lexicon includes the meaning ‘dubious’ or ‘complete removal’, e.g. of sin, and notes that the scapegoat and the Lord’s lot goat pertain only in Leviticus to the day of atonement. An atonement, is sometimes cleverly referred to as an ‘at-one-ment’, meaning that two are made one, and the clear understanding in Old and New Testament is that via a removal of sin, God and man are united, or at least man becomes ‘at one’ with God by the removal of sin: in the Old Testament this was on a per sin basis, or on a yearly basis as with the day of atonement, when the sin offering would expiate the sins of Israel, of the congregation of Israel for a year:
[Exo 30:10 KJV] 10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it [is] most holy unto the LORD.
The altar was about to be set, for the blood of atonement to be applied, but for the moment, the decision reverts to the casting of lots between two ‘goats’ and that day on the Gabbatha, should things have been different, one would have assumed that the innocent lamb, Messiah, would have been set free, since Pilate, ‘found no fault’ in him. Yet that day, the High Priest, even after Rome declared Jesus innocent, calls ‘for the lamb’ (in the OT, a lamb could also be a young goat).
The choice between Barabbas and Jesus is both perfectly a fulfillment of the offering of the goats, and somewhat seemingly confusing because Jesus is both the goat sent out into the wilderness, as well as the goat offered for the sin offering: he is the Azazel and the Lord’s lot goat, the sin-bearer and the sin-offering. The fact that there is overlap in no way negates the fulfillment though, but is rather like a picture that fades in and out: one sees the offering both in Jesus vs. Barabbas, and at the same time as synthesized in the offering of Jesus.
A modern concept based upon some ancient pagan ideas was that the Azazel was a ‘demon’: this idea was portrayed in the movie Fallen (1998) with Denzel Washington in which a demon spirit named Azazel moved person to person: this is of course not a biblical or correct view of the Azazel, but it does bear a similarity to the idea that ‘sin’ and its consequences are borne on the ‘scapegoat’ and sent out into the wilderness removing the culpability and results from the congregation of Israel and the City of God. Presumably the goat also would eventually die, but in no case was it to wander back into the city.
[Lev 16:21-22 KJV] 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22 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.
The laying on of hands by the high priest does not find a parallel on the Gabbatha that day, but there is an interesting possible parallel in the release of Barabbas: when criminals were released via a pardon, they were not warmly received into the populace, but were essentially banished beyond the city walls: the thinking was not much different that with the Azazel: they could leave the city walls, free, but they could still not remain with the unexipiated sin or crime to their account. Cast beyond the city walls, they were at least free to try to go elsewhere and start over, though the fate of many was death in the wilderness.
The wilderness bears a point of mention as well: the words for wilderness in both Old and New Testaments indicate ‘desolate places’ not only describing the terrain. The wilderness is a place of no water, and a place of demonic dwellings. Cast outside the walls, it is where sin belongs. The wilderness was where Jesus spent his youth, though in the sense of being kept apart and sanctified ‘until the day of his shewing to Israel’. Later, the wilderness was the place where he would be tested, meeting with the various temptations of worldly power, riches and reign vs. the choice of the ways of the Lord and his Word. Ultimately, it is a sort of battlefield of both the unholiest and holiest of God’s people: Jesus battles Satan in the wilderness; Moses is cast to the wilderness by Pharaoh and later leads the congregation of God through it: David is chased across the wilderness by the madness of Saul, before becoming King. The wilderness, desolate and the end-reach of sin and devils, is also the place of the trials of God.
Jesus is crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, in a place near a garden called Golgotha, but it is the ‘outside’ of the city walls that is critical: both the sin offering goat, the Lord’s lot goat, and the azazel goat end up eventually ‘outside the gate’, as we are admonished to meet Jesus there, bearing his reproach:
[Heb 13:13 KJV] 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
The Azazel is released into the wilderness as mentioned in Leviticus 16:22. But the sin offering goat, is taken into the Temple for sacrifice, but the blood of the sacrifice, applied to the altar, and the sacrificed sin offering is taken outside the city:
[Lev 16:27 KJV] 27 And the bullock [for] the sin offering, and the goat [for] the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy [place], shall [one] carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
The bullock that is mentioned above is the sacrifice made for the High Priest’s offering for himself: the sin offering goat, the Lord’s Lot is sacrificed for the people and the Tabernacle, and after being ‘brought in to make atonement in the holy place’ is carried ‘without the camp’.
The burnt offering carried without the camp would seem to lack one parallel to the offering of Jesus on the wooden altar on Golgotha: a fire born offering. When I was younger in the Lord this was a little difficult to reconcile, since the sin offering was a burnt offering. The answer quite simply lies in the purpose of and ‘kind’ of offering that is meant by a burnt offering: the word is ‘olah’ and refers to the rising smoke of an offering by fire. The ‘olah’ offering though clearly refers to the ‘ascent’ of the offering to God, the ascent in this case is the offering of Jesus’ spirit on the cross, a point we will attend to in a later study. We see though again the issue of the wavering focus of the foreshadowing of the offering of Christ as the atonement for Israel in the atonement of the two goats in Leviticus: the goats are simply both pointing to Jesus vs. Barabbas, and Jesus as the sin offering and sin-bearer of Israel.
The complexity of God’s way and plan portrayed in the offering of Messiah on the pavement of the Praetorium is a beautiful one, carried forward fifteen hundred years from the time of the congregation of God wandering in the wilderness of Zin, to the designation and fulfillment of the foreshadow as braced and bound, with Pilate crying ‘Behold the man’ : the first time in the Scriptures that the words “Behold the man” are spoken are by God in Genesis, when he is saying literally ‘Behold Adam’: here on the pavement, we see the second Adam presented to Israel.
More next time.
ekbest
archaelogists in 2001 have conjectured the site of the Gabbatha not as the Antonia of tradition but near the Western Hill, northwest of the commonly held site: see bible-places.com ekbest
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