Expiation: Word of the Week

Expiation

The removal of sin. Draws its imagery from Leviticus 16 and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Of the two goats offered in sacrifice one of them is sent into the wilderness after having the sins of the people of Israel transferred to it. This is the goat of expiation. It is paired with propitiation as the two parts of Christ’s atonement. Christ not only propitiates the wrath of the Father – He expiates our sin, that is, He removes them from us.

Taken from: The Lutheran Lexicon