Jesus and the Scapegoat

I found the idea that the scapegoat is a necessary component of society to be pretty interesting. "Scapegoat" is often a term that is viewed negatively. Its definition demands that it be viewed negatively. However, as was pointed out in the presentations today, it may also be necessary. Scapegoats alleviate responsibility and allow society to function without burden.

In The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis, Jesus recalls the goats that the town would project their sins on to every year and send out of the city. He realizes that the goats are being sent off to their deaths. In the book, this is a key image which reminds us why Jesus must be crucified. In a sense, Jesus is the ultimate scapegoat. Rather than a goat figuratively alleviating a town of its sins through its exile and death, Jesus must alleviate all of humanity of its sins through his crucifixion.

In this instance, Jesus as the scapegoat is a good thing, because it gives all humans the chance to be forgiven. It's bittersweet, but without his sacrifice, the progression of humanity would be burdened by our sins (that is, if you are a Christian and subscribe to Christian ideals.)

Anyway, if you are interested in seeing this perspective, I would recommend reading the book, it is pretty interesting It's goal is to make Jesus seem more human and less divine by describing his struggle to accept divinity and death. Just to be warned, it's not for everyone (it was very controversial, I believe Nikos Kazantzakis was excommunicated by his church for it,) but it is full of good ideas and helps paint Jesus as a more sympathetic person rather than infallible divinity. There was also an equally controversial Martin Scorsese movie that came out in the mid 1980's for those who don't want to read. They are very different in certain respects, but both attempt to do the same sort of thing (though if you watch the movie you won't get the scapegoat insight.)