The Scapegoat Symbol—The Laying on of Hands

Believers “shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover,” said Christ.

In the Aaronic priesthood, the priests laid hands on the head of the goat. This symbolized the transferring of the sins of the people onto the sacrificial goat. One goat was sent out into a forgotten wilderness where God would no longer remember their sins. The other was sacrificed and placed on the altar to be burned as a sacrifice to Yahweh.

That passage is found in Leviticus 16:7–10, 22. It describes the Day of Atonement ritual where two goats were chosen: one sacrificed to the Lord, and the other (the “scapegoat”) symbolically carried the sins of the people into the wilderness. That was under the Old covenant.

Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection bring us the New Covenant where our sins have been forgiven. By believing in His Sacrifice for us, our sins are completely forgotten, removed far away, as though they had never happened. He has transmitted our old sinful self unto Christ by the laying on of hands of the pastor, His death symbolized when we are baptized. Christ is our scapegoat, and with his shed blood, our sins are departed. They are sent far away, never to return. This is the forgiveness that God has given us.

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6-7).

The Parallel Between Sins Departing and Healing

There is a meaningful correlation between the Old Testament ritual of Aaron laying hands on the scapegoat and the Christian practice of laying hands on the sick. In both instances, the act of laying on of hands represents the departure or removal of something harmful—sins in the case of the scapegoat, and sickness in the case of healing. This parallel invites reflection on Christ’s words: “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are departed, sent away from you,’ or ‘Your disease is departed, sent away from you’?” Both declarations emphasize the power of faith and the transformative act of laying on of hands, symbolizing the removal of burdens, whether spiritual or physical.  kwh