“He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head” (Leviticus 16:21)
Sacrificing an animal for sin involved many sacred acts before the animal could be offered in Israel. That was especially true on the day of Yom Kippur, the most holy day for the Hebrews, when the scapegoat was offered for the sins of the entire nation. Whether a sacrifice for an individual or the entire nation, there was one requirement that had to take place. There had to be physical contact by the priest or the individual who was offering the sacrifice with the sacrifice itself. In both cases, the palms of the hands had to be laid upon the head of the sacrifice. In the Old Testament on the day of Yom Kippur, God had given specific orders that Aaron, as the high priest, was to lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat (the scapegoat) and confess upon it all the iniquities of the children of Israel. This process of laying hands on the head of the sacrifice was called the Semikhah in Hebrew.
In Christ’s time the Semikhah was still in practice. Jesus Christ was God’s sacrifice for the sins of the world. Therefore, the Semikhah had to be performed before he could go to the cross. The question is – was that done? And if so, who did it? Who laid their hands on the head of the great sacrifice – Jesus Christ?
Obviously to comply with God’s command, the priests had to be the ones to lay their hands on Christ’s head. Following a travesty of a trial for Christ it is recorded that the priests began to strike Jesus repeatedly with their hands. In fact, both Matthew and Mark record that the priests hit him with their fists and slapped him. The ancient Greek records that the priests struck Christ in the head with the palms of their hands. Exactly the requirement for the Semikhah to take place.
So, in accordance with the ancient mystery of the Semikhah, it was only after the hands of the priests, the ones who were going to sacrifice Christ, were laid on his head that he was led away to be slain. Just as the scapegoat in the Old Testament. That is the mystery of the Semikhah that took place when Christ was crucified.
What happened in the earthly realm to Jesus Christ had to happen, because God commanded the Semikhah take place before the sacrifice could be offered. It was ultimately God who in his sovereignty made certain that the Semikhah was performed. He placed our sins upon His Son Jesus Christ, and the Messiah became the ultimate Scapegoat who took our sins away. This coming Holy Week, remember all that Christ endured not only on the cross, but even getting to the cross. Everything he allowed to happen to him was so that his death would be a complete and total sacrifice for our salvation.
Darlene