Easter in Autumn

Not only does our Lord fulfill what is foreshadowed in the Levitical priesthood, but he fulfills what is foreshadowed in the sacrifice. Leviticus 16 tells us there were two goats on the Day of Atonement. The high priest was commanded to cast lots to see which one would be offered for the sins of the people and which one would be the “scapegoat,” driven out into the desert alive, cut off from Israel, to represent the sins of the people being taken away. On Calvary, Jesus is the fulfillment of both animals: he atones for sin and, outside the walls of the city, he carries away our sins.