How was Jesus like the scapegoat?

• A. He bore the sins of the high priest
• B. He bore the sins of the people
• C. He bore the sins of the nation
• D. He bore the sins of the offenders

Answer: (B)

The key idea is the scapegoat’s role as a substitute who takes the community’s guilt away. In the Day of Atonement pattern, a goat is designated to carry the people’s sins, and the sins of the community are placed on it so they can be removed from the camp. Christians see Jesus as fulfilling that act by bearing the sins of the people himself, dying for them so forgiveness and reconciliation with God become possible. That makes the option describing bearing the sins of the people the best fit, because it precisely captures who is being relieved of guilt through this symbol.

The other possibilities miss the specific target. It’s not the high priest’s sins that are carried, since the ritual’s purpose is to remove the people’s collective guilt, not to deal with the priest’s own sin. And while bearing the sins of the nation might seem close, the standard biblical language emphasizes the people—the community as a whole—rather than a broader, abstract label. It isn’t about the sins of individual offenders in isolation, but about the community’s guilt being transferred and removed.