Have you ever thrown somebody "under the bus" to save your own hide? Well, the idea of a scapegoat is not a modern concept. It comes from biblical times and is tied to the Hebrew Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur the High Priest Aaron was instructed to choose two goats and a bull for sacrifice. The bull was sacrificed as a sin offering for himself, one of the goats was also sacrificed as a sin offering for the Lord. Lots were cast concerning the fate of the two goats so a random selection was made in accordance with God's will and not of the Priest. The High Priest would then lay both hands upon the remaining goat and confess the sins of the nation. The goat would be handed over to a trusted man and led into the wilderness; the goat carrying the sins of the nation away with it. The goat was left in a barren and dangerous place to ensure it's death, so the sins of the nation would not return to the people.
Jesus Christ became for us the ultimate "scapegoat". A Holy and blameless God/Man taking on all of our sin and carrying them away never to return, and thus declaring us Righteous before a Holy God. Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, abandoned by his people and allowed to die. Oh God, we will never fully comprehend the depth of Your love for Your people; that Your one and only Son was sacrificed to atone for our sin once and for all, and declare us Righteous before You. Come Lord Jesus, Come !