Isaiah 1:18-20
The great British pastor G. Campbell Morgan was fond of relating a story that happened to him when he had just begun in the ministry. He was witnessing to a man whose argument against Christianity was that Jesus was unreasonable. “Confucius said, ‘Be just to your enemies’”, the man said. “But Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies’. That is an unreasonable command”, the man concluded. Morgan replied, “What if you could learn to love them?” to which the man responded, “Then I suppose they wouldn’t be your enemies anymore”. Morgan said, “Exactly”.
God can never truly be accused of being unreasonable. It was God that gave only one law to Adam and Eve in the Garden, and provided them with everything else free of charge. It was God that sent His Son into the world to meet the many demands of the Mosaic Law, to free man from its obligation. It was God that killed His own Son, so that no man would ever have to be held guilty for his own breaking of God’s Law. It was God that made grace available to the entire world, and did not charge them with labor or works, but asks only for faith. Again, no one who knows of these things could ever call God unreasonable.
It is the words of God that Isaiah pens in this passage, when God invites man to the bargaining table, “Come now”. This same spirit of openness and willingness is displayed by Jesus, when speaking to Jews who were burdened down with the many demands of the Law, He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God’s invitation to man includes, “let us reason together”. As any good deal-maker would do, God shows the benefits before listing demands.
He offers to cleanse the sins of man, though they are as scarlet. He furthers the promise by offering to make our sins, which are “red like crimson”, turn “as wool”. He is offering absolution; a chance to start fresh, with no marks against us. This is our chance to get rid of Adam’s mistake!
His conditions are listed in verses 19 and 20, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”. Man is ordered to be willing and obedient; otherwise God promises poverty, famine and death. These are God’s terms.
When Jesus speaks His words of invitation in Matthew 11, there are no such demands. In fact, He calls His yoke, “easy” and His burden “light”. Where are the demands that are attached to the blessing of no sins counted against us? The answer is the key to the New Covenant.
The sword that will devour the disobedient has already been turned on Jesus (Zechariah 13:7), not because He was disobedient, but because he “bore our sins in His own body upon the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). He took the brunt of God’s fiery judgment, and now you and I get the blessings of having our sins washed away. Look at what the Psalmist says, as quoted by the Apostle Paul:
“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:8).
Just how reasonable is God? Even when He appears unfair in His justice, He is equally “unfair” in His redemption. All men are declared sinners because one man sinned, thus the sinner cries, “Unfair!” Due to Christ’s finished work, all men are declared righteous because one Man is righteous. Perhaps the saint should cry “Unfair!” as well. It is simply not fair that He sees me as righteous simply because I have placed my faith in Jesus. Now that is a reasonable God!
The great British pastor G. Campbell Morgan was fond of relating a story that happened to him when he had just begun in the ministry. He was witnessing to a man whose argument against Christianity was that Jesus was unreasonable. “Confucius said, ‘Be just to your enemies’”, the man said. “But Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies’. That is an unreasonable command”, the man concluded. Morgan replied, “What if you could learn to love them?” to which the man responded, “Then I suppose they wouldn’t be your enemies anymore”. Morgan said, “Exactly”.
God can never truly be accused of being unreasonable. It was God that gave only one law to Adam and Eve in the Garden, and provided them with everything else free of charge. It was God that sent His Son into the world to meet the many demands of the Mosaic Law, to free man from its obligation. It was God that killed His own Son, so that no man would ever have to be held guilty for his own breaking of God’s Law. It was God that made grace available to the entire world, and did not charge them with labor or works, but asks only for faith. Again, no one who knows of these things could ever call God unreasonable.
It is the words of God that Isaiah pens in this passage, when God invites man to the bargaining table, “Come now”. This same spirit of openness and willingness is displayed by Jesus, when speaking to Jews who were burdened down with the many demands of the Law, He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God’s invitation to man includes, “let us reason together”. As any good deal-maker would do, God shows the benefits before listing demands.
He offers to cleanse the sins of man, though they are as scarlet. He furthers the promise by offering to make our sins, which are “red like crimson”, turn “as wool”. He is offering absolution; a chance to start fresh, with no marks against us. This is our chance to get rid of Adam’s mistake!
His conditions are listed in verses 19 and 20, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”. Man is ordered to be willing and obedient; otherwise God promises poverty, famine and death. These are God’s terms.
When Jesus speaks His words of invitation in Matthew 11, there are no such demands. In fact, He calls His yoke, “easy” and His burden “light”. Where are the demands that are attached to the blessing of no sins counted against us? The answer is the key to the New Covenant.
The sword that will devour the disobedient has already been turned on Jesus (Zechariah 13:7), not because He was disobedient, but because he “bore our sins in His own body upon the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). He took the brunt of God’s fiery judgment, and now you and I get the blessings of having our sins washed away. Look at what the Psalmist says, as quoted by the Apostle Paul:
“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:8).
Just how reasonable is God? Even when He appears unfair in His justice, He is equally “unfair” in His redemption. All men are declared sinners because one man sinned, thus the sinner cries, “Unfair!” Due to Christ’s finished work, all men are declared righteous because one Man is righteous. Perhaps the saint should cry “Unfair!” as well. It is simply not fair that He sees me as righteous simply because I have placed my faith in Jesus. Now that is a reasonable God!
