December 18, 2025
Let Us Reason
Together
Come now, let us reason together, says
the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though
they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be
eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.
I S A I A H 1 : 1 8 - 2 0
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord,” (v. 18).
Have a seat, my child, our Father seems to be saying to us. My,
oh, my. You have, like a lost sheep, wandered far away and gotten yourself into many troubles. Dirtied with the mud of a hundred different puddles of vice. Blooded by the fangs of demonic
wolves. You are far away from home.
You have, like the prodigal, gone off into a faraway country,
lost everything, and fouled yourself with the slop of pigs. From
the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, there is not a
single clean spot. You’re a sight to behold, and not a pretty one.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.” Let’s
think this through. There’s certainly nothing that you can do to
wipe off the filth. You would just smear it further. There is nothing for you in you.
But there is something I can and will do, says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like
wool” (v. 18).
“But how?” we ask. We are too deeply stained. We are too
far gone.
But the God of mercy does not acknowledge our “too’s.”
There is no “too much” for him.
He does not say, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as a dusty rose; though they are red like crimson, they
shall become gray as a dove.” He is the Lord of extremes: from
death to life, from darkness to light, from scarlet to snow, from
crimson to wool.
“Halfway” or “good enough” is not in his vocabulary. He is
the God of “It is finished.”
And by finished, he means precisely that: Done. Complete.
In the divine detergent of the blood of the Lamb, he has
washed and purified us. In Christ we are a sight to behold, and
a pretty one. Beautiful in his eyes. We are wool-white sheep who
follow the voice of our Good Shepherd, to eat the good of the
land. We are sons and daughters of the Father, once exiled and
far away, but now brought lovingly back into his household, a
host of saints arrayed in white.
COME NOW, OH LORD, AND WASH US, CLOTHE US, AND DO FOR US
IN MERCY WHAT WE COULD NEVER DO FOR
OURSELVES: KEEP US AS YOUR SONS AND
DAUGHTERS. AMEN.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be
translated in whole or in part into any other language.
You are permitted to use this 2025 Advent Guide and its additional resources in your
church or ministry for free, as long as you do not charge for the guide, or use it for any
commercial purpose.
Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah © 2025 1517
All rights reserved
Living Word Lutheran Church Kingman Arizona
Copyright © 2026 | Powered by 
churchtrac
churchtrac