Our Lord being made "sin for us" is illustrated here by the important act of transferring sin to the bullock by the elders. Laying the hand wasn’t just a touch. In Scripture, the word can mean leaning heavily, like in "your wrath lies hard upon me" (Psalm 88:7). This is true faith: not just connecting with our Substitute but leaning on Him with all our guilt. God placed the sins of His people on the Substitute. Each believer confirms this act when, by grace, they're moved to lay their hand on the "Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." Do you remember the joy when you first found pardon through Jesus?

Can you confess with the writer, "My soul remembers the day of deliverance with delight. Burdened with guilt and fear, I saw my Savior as my Substitute, and I placed my hand on Him; timidly at first, but I grew confident until I leaned entirely on Him. Now it’s my joy to know my sins are not mine but laid on Him. Like the wounded traveler's debts, Jesus, like the Good Samaritan, says of my sinfulness, 'Set that to my account.'" What a blessed discovery! Eternal comfort for a grateful heart! "My numerous sins transferred to Him, shall never more be found, lost in His blood’s atoning stream, where every crime is drowned!"