book review gentle and lowly

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How Jesus Really Feels About You

Review: ‘gentle and lowly’ by dane ortlund, more by stephen witmer.

A year ago, while scanning through the endorsers of a popular decade-old book about the gospel, I was shocked to realize that, of those 17 prominent Christian leaders, six had stepped down or been removed from their ministry positions. That’s a fallout of more than one-third in just 10 years—and it seems as though more fall every day. Though leadership failures are nothing new, two things have been particularly striking in recent years. First, the reasons for removal have frequently been something other than sexual sin.

Consider these descriptions (all from Christianity Today ) of well-known leaders who have stepped down or been removed:

• “manipulation, domineering, lack of biblical community”
• “arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner”
• “spiritual abuse through bullying and intimidation, overbearing demands”
• “insulting, belittling, and verbally bullying others”
• “various expressions of pride”

These leaders, due to their harshness, anger, and pride, are unfit for ministry.

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Dane ortlund.

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

Secondly, and unfortunately, the leadership problems have been close to home. All of the above descriptions are of leaders who have been connected with The Gospel Coalition in one way or another. This isn’t merely a problem “out there.” In a day in which many secular leaders are increasingly unkind, uncouth, and unhinged, it’s important for Christians to heed Jesus’s instruction that it should “not be so among you” (Matt. 20:26). All too often, it is so.

There’s another serious problem, this one more quiet, less dramatic, but nonetheless as pernicious and pervasive, as common in the pew as in the pulpit.

Why Do We Feel Spiritually Dry?

Many Christians who know the gospel nonetheless struggle to experience and enjoy the Christ of the gospel. Perhaps that’s in part because they’re not at all sure he enjoys them . They live with the sense that Christ is often slightly fed up with them; that they’re just a few sins away from exhausting his patience; that he’s more grumpy than glad when he thinks of them; that even if he’s willing to forgive, he does so reluctantly and reproachfully. I remember sitting with a dear old saint who confessed to me that for years she had struggled with low-grade guilt. Although she was trusting in Jesus, she never felt as though she measured up. In her mind, she was always letting him down.

Both of these problems do untold harm. Leaders who flame out fail to show Christ’s heart to others; Christians who can’t bask in the gospel they believe fail to know Christ’s heart for themselves. At root, both problems stem from a failure to experience Jesus as he really is. And let’s be honest—Reformed, gospel-centered lovers of Jesus need to see and know Jesus as he really is just as much as anyone else does. For all our good theology, we’re also in desperate need of knowing what makes Christ’s heart beat, alongside our friends in other traditions.

Christ rejoices to love his people even more than they rejoice to receive his love.

These are some reasons why I’m so grateful for Dane Ortlund’s timely new book, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers . In 23 crisp chapters, Ortlund (re)introduces us to “the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers.” Ortlund wants us to know who Jesus really is, what is most natural to him, what flows from him most freely and instinctively (13). At his core, Jesus is gentle and lowly. Christ’s heart is most fundamentally a tender, open, welcoming, understanding heart—a heart that rejoices to love his people even more than they rejoice to receive his love. 

Relentless Argument

Because we know Jesus preeminently through the biblical text, Ortlund’s book is relentlessly Bible-focused. Because we’re helped in our understanding of the Bible through the wisdom of those who’ve gone before us, the book frequently mines the 400-year-old wisdom of the Puritans, particularly Thomas Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, and John Bunyan.

Because the Bible’s message about Jesus’s heart is truth to be savored, not just known, and because the Puritans were spiritual shepherds, not just intellectual titans, this book is more pastoral theology than textbook truth. It aims to comfort and console, to welcome its readers into an enlarged and enlivening experience of Christ. It does so with intellectual rigor—neatly summarizing the flow of Bible books for the sake of contextual interpretation, regularly engaging with writers from church history, and helpfully dealing with significant interpretive and theological questions (e.g., does Christ’s present intercession suggest there’s something lacking in the atonement?).

One of book’s most important contributions is its case for how love and judgment fit together in the heart of the triune God.

It’s nuanced, too. Ortlund recognizes that the gentle and merciful Christ also burns with holy wrath and always works with perfect justice (28–29, 108–12). In fact, one of the book’s most important contributions is its case for how love and judgment fit together in the heart of the triune God. Following Goodwin, and drawing on passages such as Isaiah 28:21, Jeremiah 32:41, and Lamentations 3:33, Ortlund argues that God’s judgment—although clearly part of his sovereign character and rule—is nonetheless his “strange work.” He brings judgment with a reluctance that’s different from the way he feels about his works of mercy and redemption. His deepest heart—his innermost desire—is to show mercy to his people. 

How to Experience Christ’s Love

In a book that seeks not just to persuade the mind but to heal the heart—to foster a new experience of Christ—language is crucially important. Beautiful truth must be beautifully expressed. Words and images must move through the mind and nestle in the heart. Just listen to these word pictures and simple, poignant ways of stating truth:

• “What helium does to a balloon, Jesus’s yoke does to his followers. We are buoyed along in life by his endless gentleness and supremely accessible lowliness.” (23)
• “Intercession is the constant hitting ‘refresh’ of our justification in the court of heaven.” (80)
• “His heart for his own is not like an arrow, shot quickly but soon falling to the ground; or a runner, quick out of the gate, soon slowing and faltering. His heart is an avalanche, gathering momentum with time; a wildfire, growing in intensity as it spreads.” (203)

He brings judgment with a reluctance that’s different from the way he feels about his works of mercy and redemption. His deepest heart, his innermost desire, is to show mercy to his people.

Explaining Christ’s intercession, Ortlund asks us to imagine hearing Jesus praying aloud for us in the next room. Unpacking Thomas Goodwin’s exposition of Hebrews 4:15, Ortlund asks us to imagine a friend taking our own two hands and laying them “on the chest of the risen Lord Jesus Christ” so that we may feel “the vigorous strength of Christ’s deepest affections and longings” (45).

Ortlund believes, “It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be overcelebrated, made too much of, exaggerated” (29). Agreed—particularly for those of us who must daily be persuaded of Christ’s eagerness to forgive and embrace us yet again.

Unexplored Facets of a Diamond

The book’s “facets-of-the-diamond” approach, studying Christ from many angles rather than developing an argument that builds from chapter to chapter, runs the risk of feeling a bit repetitive at times. But this particular diamond is so exquisite that it’s worth studying intently. In fact, I’d love to see a few more facets explored.

How does Jesus’s love for sinners relate to his passion for God’s glory? Asking and answering this question will ensure that we don’t have a self-centered or claustrophobic view of Jesus’s love for us. How is Jesus’s love for sinners related to the intra-Trinitarian love of God within himself? Jesus was loved by the Father from before the foundation of the world (John 17:24), and he makes the Father’s name known to his disciples in order that “the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). What does it mean that the love of God for God is now within us?

Early in the book, Ortlund asks his readers: “Do you live with an awareness not only of [Christ’s] atoning work for your sinfulness but also of his longing heart amid your sinfulness?” (16). It’s a crucially important question, one each of us will do well to ponder. I pray that many will read this book attentively, and that God will use it to fashion kinder, gentler Christian leaders, and to form more confident, joyful Christians. Christians who know deep down that they’re gladly welcomed into the longing, lavish heart of Jesus.

Stephen Witmer (PhD, University of Cambridge) is pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Massachusetts and adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition and the co-founder of Small Town Summits , an organization that serves rural churches and pastors. He has written Eternity Changes Everything , the volume on Revelation in Crossway’s Knowing the Bible series, A Big Gospel in Small Places , and The Preacher’s Greek Companion to Hebrews . You can follow him on Twitter .

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In 2020, Dane Ortlund’s  Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers  became a real hit. Released in the early days of the pandemic, Ortlund’s book portrayed a Jesus rarely discussed in contemporary popular theology — one that makes gentleness the central theme of Jesus’ life and character. “If Jesus hosted his own personal website, the most prominent line of the ‘About Me’ dropdown would read: GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART,” Ortlund writes. The book would be an enormous comfort in the best of times and, since 2020 was decidedly not the best of times, was all the more popular with readers in need of a reminder of Jesus’ compassion. It was named The Gospel Coalition’s “Popular Theology” book of the year.

And that would have been the story, but for a review from Grace to You has ignited a new contentious conversation around the book. Grace to You is the media ministry run by John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church. The review , by editorial manager Jeremiah Johnson, took serious issue with the book’s depiction of Jesus.

“One gets the distinct impression that Ortlund wants to tame the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” Johnson writes, arguing that Ortlund puts too much emphasis on Jesus’ gentle lowness as the expense of his table-flipping indignation. “Ortlund seems convinced that most evangelicals in the current generation have a perception of Christ’s character that isn’t mild enough,” Johnson writes. “As if too much fear of the Lord is what has made postmodern evangelicalism so dysfunctional.”

The review gets increasingly hostile, with Johnson accusing Ortlund at various points of using “empty, therapeutic jargon”; expressing “dangerous” ideas; “sloppiness” and and even being “blasphemous.” In one particularly head scratching moment, Johnson attributes the book’s success to social distancing, writing that “it should not surprise us that the book’s popularity has exploded in the same time that countless Christians have been separated from their churches, out from under the consistent teaching of God’s Word and its sharpening, discerning influence.”

The fact that Ortlund’s characterization of Jesus run afoul of a certain kind of Reformed Christian understanding of Jesus is probably no surprise, but it did set off a lot of conversation among many people who found the review uncharitable.

Very hypercritical review that I think desires to find error so much it misses the glorious joy and comfort that is the very thesis of the book. It is okay and encouraged by Jesus Himself to rest in His gentle and lowly heart. That is a gift to the believer. — Joshua M. Wallnofer + (@pastorjoshmw) March 15, 2021 var AdButler = AdButler || {}; AdButler.ads = AdButler.ads || []; var abkw = window.abkw || ''; var plc608182 = window.plc608182 || 0; document.write(' '); AdButler.ads.push({handler: function(opt){ AdButler.register(181133, 608182, [300,250], 'placement_608182_'+opt.place, opt); }, opt: { place: plc608182++, keywords: abkw, domain: 'servedbyadbutler.com', click:'%%CLICK_URL_UNESC%%' }});

Honestly, the pushback against Dane Ortlund's "Gentle and Lowly" explains so much right now…. https://t.co/7aZFt7o7oX — The Confessing Millennial (@confessinmill) March 15, 2021

I have been meaning to read @daneortlund ’s Gentle and Lowly for a few months, but thanks to a review I read today, I finally bought it! Looking forward to reading it, brother! — Sharon Hodde Miller (@SHoddeMiller) March 15, 2021

No other work besides Scripture has affected my life in recent memory quite as much as Gentle and Lowly. May it profoundly mark a new generation of the faithful. https://t.co/ikvFxIL8R9 — Coleman Ford (@colemanford) March 15, 2021

I'm confused anyone would object to Dane Ortlund referring to the Father's "heart" in Gentle and Lowly. Gen 6:6 describes God’s “heart." God's "finger" wrote the 10 Commandments (Ex 31:18). Moses saw God’s "back" (Ex 33:22-23) googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1687764063785-0'); }); What's wrong with how God describes himself? — Jennifer Michelle Greenberg 🦌 (@JennMGreenberg) March 15, 2021

The controversy was clearly an overall net positive for the book, in any case. As publisher Justin Taylor noted ,  Gentle and Lowly  rocketed to #134 on Amazon’s bestseller chart.

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Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Dane c. ortlund.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2020

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If the attributes are perspectives on a single reality, that reality will be simple by comparison, though also complex, as I must keep insisting. And evidently, since there are many attributes that characterize God’s essence, they are not separate from one another. Indeed, all of his attributes have divine attributes! God’s mercy is eternal, and his creative power is wise. So the biblical teachings about God’s attributes suggest a profound unity in his nature and among the attributes that characterize his nature. (Doctrine of God, 229)

We’ve been speaking of God’s grace and the way it is drawn out always to match abundantly the need for it. But there is, purely speaking, no such “thing” as grace. That’s Roman Catholic theology, in which grace is a kind of stockpiled treasure that can be accessed through various carefully controlled means. But the grace of God comes to us no more and no less than Jesus Christ comes to us. In the biblical gospel we are not given a thing; we are given a person. [emphasis mine]

His anger requires provocation; his mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. he is the most understanding person in the universe.

The Jesus given to us in the Gospels is not simply the one who loves, but one who is love; merciful affections stream from his innermost heart as rays from the sun.

It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be over-celebrated, made too much of, exaggerated.

Jesus Christ is closer to you today than he was to the sinners and suffers he spoke with and touched his earthly ministry.

If God sent his own Son to walk through the valley of condemnation, rejection, and hell, you can trust him as you walk through your own valleys on the way to heaven.

Audio book source: Libby Story Rating: 3.25 stars Narrators: Dane Ortlund Narration Rating: 3 stars Genre: Non-fiction Length: 5h 17m

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Gentle and Lowly: A Review Of The Most Celebrated New Christian Book

It’s been some time since I have seen a Christian book receive the widespread accolades as Dane Ortlund’s new book, Gentle and Lowly . Pastors, Bible teachers, and laypeople that I respect and admire from all walks of my faith, ranging from personal friends to more famous believers, have given this book glowing reviews and noteworthy compliments .

So I naturally had to get a copy of Gentle and Lowly and read it myself. I have read it twice now, months apart, and slowly both times. I took in only a chapter or two (at most three) a day for both readings. As such, I processed the material carefully. If any book deserves this treatment, it is this one. Because Ortlund communicates poignant and undertaught truths from our Bible. Even as a man who has pastored for two decades, I can admit this book educated me. And clearly, that has been the case for countless others.

I’m going to divide this review into three sections, with parallels to a traffic light. There are truths that Gentle and Lowly expounds that I plan to teach strongly and frequently. I.e., “Green Light” truths. There is one thing I will teach from this book more cautiously, like a yellow light. And there is a final major point in this book I disagree with and will never teach. The one “red light”.

Green Light Truths

Seeing as how edifying and marvelously written Gentle and Lowly is, this will be the biggest section. I unashamedly confess that I often think and live in Galatians 3:3 as though I am saved by grace but sustained by good works. And when I fail, I am worthless and unworthy to come before God, even through Jesus Christ. This book shattered my unbiblical pretenses about these things.

First, I deeply appreciate the truth that compassion, mercy, and grace are not simply things that Christ showed while on earth, but things that flowed from his very heart. Literally from his bowels 1 . This is the thesis of Gentle and Lowly , using Matthew 11:28-29 as a primary text, and Ortlund nails it from the opening.

I especially like this, from chapter two: “This is deeper than saying Jesus is loving or merciful or gracious. The cumulative testimony of the four Gospels is that when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world around him, his deepest impulse, his most natural instinct, is to move toward that sin and suffering, not away from it.” And then he delves into Leviticus to explain why, with Jesus being God, this is more significant than our modern ears tend to comprehend. The biblical support Ortlund gives is thorough and beautiful.

Secondly, I very much needed the explanation in Chapter 5 about Jesus dealing gently with the “ignorant and wayward”. And what those sins mean in Hebrews. They are not mild terms for sin and Ortlund goes back to Numbers 15 to help the reader understand.

Even though Luke 15 clearly gives us a picture of this, my own “older brother” self-righteousness dominates my view of harsher sins and prodigal children coming back to God. I often do not live as though I want Hebrews 5:2 to be true. This chapter convicted me deeply. I had no idea how poorly I lived this until COVID happened and people abandoned the church.

A third startling truth that has changed how I think and how I pray is in Chapters 8-9. I always, every day, thank God for the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. But have I ever thanked God that Jesus is still interceding for me at present? The ministry of Jesus is not merely about finished work in the past, as crucial as Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are. No, Hebrews makes it clear Christ continues, both to the present and future, to connect us to God “to the uttermost”. I needed this for a fuller and more complete understanding of salvation.

And finally, the explanation in Chapter 15 of Lamentations 3:33 of God not afflicting us “from his heart” was mind-blowing. Any preacher who preaches the whole counsel of God knows that God afflicts. Isaiah 45:7 teaches this, as well as a whole host of other passages. But the nuance of how this is not something God does from his heart nearly caused me to break down and weep as I read.

There are many other things I could share that blew me away from Gentle and Lowly , but that is a good sampling of the kinds of teachings Ortlund gifted the church with. Granted, he credits many other teachers, primarily Thomas Goodwin. But kudos to Ortlund for bringing these truths to the modern reader. I know when I look back at my 25 years of following Christ, I am bent to think first of my sin failures (notably lust, apathy, and fear), ministry failures, and all manner of times and seasons where I felt weak, stupid, ignorant and like the scum of the earth.

Which is exactly what the heart of Christ is drawn to. That alone is worth reading this book.

A Yellow Light

Although I find Ortlund’s case for the “heart of Christ” being gentle and lowly convincing, there is a sense in which I feel like more could be said about when Christ and God are not like this.

Granted, he deals with this upfront on two different occasions. First to say that what this book teaches is not who Christ is indiscriminately and explains the difference as to how he is to those who ask for forgiveness and those who do not. And then later gives three qualifications about the times Jesus is not gentle and lowly to people. The last of which is how he did not feel the need to be artificially imbalanced if the Bible is not on this topic.

I think I see what he is saying, and he does deal with Flipping-Tables-Over Jesus in the chapter on Jesus’s emotional heart. But I also think about God coming at Job in a whirlwind (the opposite of gentle and lowly) and Jesus’s harsh first response to the Syrophoenician woman, among other examples where we need not be artificially imbalanced in discussing who our God is in how he responds to sinners and sufferers.

Perhaps Job is explained by the fact he needed to repent (though God claims Job spoke correctly about Him). I do not know. I just know this book makes a case about who Jesus “is” and not merely what he does or what he shows to people. I’m not quite where Ortlund is on that yet, but I do not disagree to any real level. This is just a part of the book, as I mentioned, I approach with more question marks and less certainty than the book itself does.

The Red Light

I am Free Will Baptist and Arminian, so this disagreement is expected. Yet I think I should, with no apology, make this clear: I am in complete disagreement with the book’s firm and passionate stance on the eternal secure position of those who follow Christ. This is not communicated in a passing comment or with many nuances. Ortlund is clear about it and frequently brings it up. Note these quotes:

“…my two-year-old’s grip is not very strong…If I have determined he will not fall out of my grasp, he is secure…”

“Yes, once a sinner is united with Christ, there is nothing that can dis-unite them.”

“In order for you to fall short of loving embrace into the heart of Christ both now and into eternity, Christ himself would have to be pulled down out of heaven and back in the grave.”

“For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental; it is your new permanent residence. You are not a tenant; you are a child.”

“Nothing now can un-child you. Those in Christ are eternally imprisoned within the tender heart of God.”

“If you are his, heaven and relief are coming, for you cannot be made un-his.”

At one point in Chapter 6, he claims what he is teaching is bigger than “eternal security” because he is trying to communicate the security we have in the love of Christ. The heart of Christ is the focus of Gentle and Lowly , so this makes sense. He teaches this security well and I absolutely agree with him there. But that is not the whole of what he teaches. He clearly states outright that security in the love of Christ is eternal security. But I think the Bible disagrees with him there. Because of the love of Christ we are eternally secure against everything. Except ourselves.

I will not rehash all of my former writings on the subject of apostasy, which you can find here . Yet I will say two things in response to the quotes above.

First, books like Hebrews and 2 Peter make it clear to my mind that a genuine person “in Christ” can fall away because of sin and unbelief and be outside of Christ. Both books were written to Christians and about Christians (Hebrews is addressed to “brothers and sisters” and Hebrews 6 gives a detailed description of Christians who fell away while 2 Peter is addressed to Christians and refers to those who “escaped the corruption of this world by knowing our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus”).

And both books explicitly teach some people have departed the faith (Hebrews uses phrases like “drift away,” “fall away” and “turn away” to the point of not being renewed again to repentance, and Peter says “they have become again entangled in the corruption of the world” and are worse off than before.). Verses like Hebrews 3:12 make no sense to me if a true believer cannot abandon Christ because of sin and unbelief.

Secondly, notice the phrases Ortlund uses. They are creative and powerful: “dis-unite,” “Christ…would have to be pulled down out of Heaven and go back into the grave,” un-child you,” “made un-his”. Using these phrases, he really stokes emotions, tickles the brain, and appeals to our affection for the beauty of a Father who unconditionally loves his child. The problem is that in the book they never flow from any interpretation of any passage. They are logical arguments, not biblical ones. John 6:37 clearly refers to those who “come to Christ”. Once a person stops doing that, he can eventually fall away.

The fundamental disagreement he and I have based on his words from Chapter 6 (page 66 specifically) is if those who do fall away were ever saved, to begin with. I think Hebrews and 2 Peter are clear on this. And make no mistake, I cannot teach what this book teaches on security, even if I agree about Christ’s heart if apostasy is possible for the true Christian. This is not merely a secondary doctrinal divide. It matters enterally. I have to warn Christians if I am correct about this. This book can be confusing to true believers if I am correct.

Final Comments

Yet I think despite the one disagreement, the book is absolutely worth reading, studying, and sharing with other Christians. We need to understand this topic beyond “God gives grace and He is merciful”. It’s much deeper than actions and adjectives. It is about Christ’s heart and nature.

As such, I endorse the book as well. Four stars out of five.

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Gowdy Cannon

I am currently the pastor of Bear Point FWB Church in Sesser, IL. I previously served for 17 years as the associate bilingual pastor at Northwest Community Church in Chicago. My wife, Kayla, and I have been married over 8 years and have a 4-year-old son, Liam Erasmus, and a baby, Bo Tyndale. I have been a student at Welch College in Nashville and at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. I love The USC (the real one in SC, not the other one in CA), Seinfeld, John 3:30, Chick-fil-A, Dumb and Dumber, the book of Job, preaching and teaching, and arguing about sports.

4 thoughts on “ Gentle and Lowly: A Review Of The Most Celebrated New Christian Book ”

Good and fair review Gowdy. Thanks.

Gowdy, can you elaborate on your fourth green light, even if privately? It’s a little unclear what the point is that you were affirming.

Yes. Lamentations 3:33 says that God doesn’t willingly (“from his heart”) bring affliction on anyone. I mis-cited Isaiah as 45:8-9 when it’s really 45:7 but it along with other passages say that God does afflict us. But when he does so it’s not “from his heart”. It’s not the same as his mercy. That comes from his heart. What that means exactly is still a mystery to me but at least in part I get it.

The notes I took on Lam 3:33 section were: Lamentations is full of the judgment of God but in the middle verse (3:33) is the verse that it is the heart of God- For He does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Jer 32:41 shows that he gives blessings with his whole heart.

He exercises justice for a higher end. He gives mercy with his whole heart and punishment reluctantly. Isaiah 28:21 calls God’s judgment his “strange” work. Hosea 11:8-9 shows the reluctance of God to punish.

Another similar note after reading the book: We are to provoke one another to love. God needs no provocation. Love is what is there and ready to gush out. Anger is not what is pent up in his heart. You must provoke Him to anger. His anger/justice is there in the same text (Ex 34:6) but it is after you have thwarted His compassion.

Gowdy, I agree with your assessment. It made me think deeply and put down page after page of notes as I processed it. But weak Calvainist logic irritated me.

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Review: Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

More By Cassie Watson

Recently, I asked a group of believers how they feel when they approach God for forgiveness after they’ve sinned. Some of the answers were positive, like blessed and forgiven . But most, including some of my responses, were harder emotions: ashamed, guilty, numb, frustrated. I shared how I often feel like God resents that I’ve come asking for forgiveness for the same sins as yesterday, and gives mercy only grudgingly.

The good news of Jesus’ boundless mercy seems too good to be true, and we struggle to believe it.

I suspect our little group isn’t alone in feeling this way. The good news of Jesus’ boundless mercy seems too good to be true, and we struggle to believe it. That’s why I so eagerly recommend Dane Ortlund’s new book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers . He explores what Jesus is like at his core, what his very heart is towards us. And it’s good news: “The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.” (19)

Gentle and Lowly

Dane ortlund, his heart of mercy.

Great books abound on the work of Jesus, but there aren’t so many on the person of Jesus. Why does this matter? Ortlund writes, “We do not come to a set of doctrines. We do not come to a church. We do not even come to the gospel. All those are vital. But most truly we come to a person, to Christ himself” (61). The way we perceive Christ’s heart towards us will affect how, and even whether, we come to him.

This topic hasn’t always been so rare. Ortlund draws heavily from Puritan works, particularly Thomas Goodwin’s The Heart of Christ . He brings the precious truths mined by believers past to modern readers who may never pick up a Puritan work—though I suspect that the richness of this book may draw many to a curiosity about them! I recently watched the documentary Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God , and it gave me a greater thirst to know the heart of Christ more and more. In this book I found glittering lakes and bubbling streams; cool refreshment for my heart.

Ortlund starts with Matthew 11:28–30, from where he draws his title, then explores all different parts of the Bible that reveal to us the heart of Christ. He comes to very different conclusions than we might naturally expect, especially considering the answers to that question I posed to the group of Christians. When I come to God for forgiveness, especially for a habitual sin, I automatically think that Jesus resents me for failing again, and perhaps only forgives me out of obligation.

But Ortlund paints a different picture of our Saviour:

He does not get flustered and frustrated when we come to him for fresh forgiveness, for renewed pardon, with distress and need and emptiness. That’s the whole point. It’s what he came to heal.  (36–37)

He is particularly careful to emphasise that Christ’s heart is merciful towards his people who are both sinners and sufferers. We may naturally agree with the latter, but still have a lingering sense that God is more reluctant to give us grace in our sin. But the Bible teaches that Jesus’ heart contains endless streams of mercy. His first and natural reaction to our sin is mercy and gentleness.

The Bible teaches that Jesus’ heart contains endless streams of mercy. His first and natural reaction to our sin is mercy and gentleness.

At the same time, Ortlund doesn’t see this as a reason to be permissive and flippant about sin. He is serious about repentance:

When you sin, do a thorough job of repenting. Re-hate sin all over again. Consecrate yourself afresh to the Holy Spirit and his pure ways. But reject the devil’s whisper that God’s tender heart for you has grown a little colder, a little stiffer. His is not flustered by your sinfulness. His deepest disappointment is with your tepid thoughts of his heart.  (194)

He also addresses the thorny questions that are likely to arise as you read: What about wrath? Does the Father have a colder heart towards us than Jesus? Ortlund carefully places his arguments about the heart of Jesus within the wider context of the Trinity.

What It Can Do For Your Heart

This is a book of theology. But it is also inexorably devotional. It’s hard to read of Christ’s heart towards us without being overwhelmed by the grace of it all. You will naturally pray as you read. Sometimes when I sat down to read a chapter I was battle-worn and weary, weighed down by suffering or discouragement. Other times I picked it up with hands freshly stained red by my sin. In both miseries I found ample medicines for my wounds. Since finishing the book, I’ve found myself dipping back in at random to read chapters again when I want my heart to be drawn back to Christ.

Gentle and Lowly is a meal to be savoured, not a fast-food snack. Go slow with it. Let these glorious truths about Christ take root in your mind and heart, and stir you up to greater affection for our Saviour. On the release day of the book, Ortlund wrote this on Twitter:

It took me seven years to write. It will take me a lifetime to believe. And it will require nothing less than an eternity to wade into, ever deeper, never plumbing, new discoveries at every turn.

I think he’s right. Don’t be discouraged when you fail to fully believe and live out these truths after one reading. Pray to God for help in trusting that he is merciful. Keep this book on hand to read and reread, so that your heart can wade further into the gracious, glorious heart of Jesus Christ.

Cassie Watson is copy editor and editorial project manager for The Gospel Coalition (US). She is part of Merrylands Anglican Church in Sydney. You can follow her blog or connect with her on Twitter .

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Book Review: Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

“This is a book about the heart of Christ.” So begins Dane Ortlund’s book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers . I am an avid reader of Christian books of all types, including, but not limited to, devotional, theological, historical, commentaries, apologetics, and more. Yet, only a few times in my life have I reacted to a book like I did to Gentle and Lowly .

My usual response to reading a good book is to underline or highlight key passages. If it’s really good then I will tell my family and friends about it and perhaps recommend it, though I try to limit my suggestions. In addition to those two responses, at times, I had to put Gentle and Lowly down on my lap, close my eyes, and praise God with a heart full of joy that what Ortlund writes about Jesus is true.

Though Ortlund’s book about the heart of Christ is firmly rooted in teachings found in the New Testament, his presentation of these truths is unique, fresh, and desperately needed. No Christian is above or beyond needing the insights found in its pages, no matter how long they have followed Christ.

In Ortlund’s words, Gentle and Lowly is “for those of us who know God loves us but suspect we have deeply disappointed him. Who have told others of the love of Christ yet wonder if — as for us — he harbors mild resentment. Who wonder if we have shipwrecked our lives beyond what can be repaired” (p. 13).

Also see Did Jesus Wash Judas’ Feet? to learn more.

The Bible, the Puritans, and the heart of Christ

I embraced the central truths that Ortlund writes about long before reading Gentle and Lowly , but over and over again, I would read a passage of the book and think to myself, “I can’t believe this is true!”

Though phrases like “soul-stirring,” “life-changing,” and “unforgettable,” are overused in reviews, they are nevertheless true descriptions of this book, yet fail to do justice to the teaching found inside it.

Ortlund’s book is biblical, theological, and devotional, and there is an aesthetic quality that touches the emotions as well.

In the Westminster Theological Journal , William Van Doodewaard writes, “The strengths of this book are hard to overstate; it is gripping, beautiful, eye-opening and heart-expanding in drawing us to see and know Jesus.” (83 no 1 Spr 2021, p 210-211)

Ortlund seeks wisdom from the Puritans

With accessible and easy-to-understand explanations, descriptions, and illustrations, Ortlund expounds key texts of Scripture, with an assist from Puritan writers like Thomas Goodwin and Richard Sibbes, to communicate to readers the nature of Christ’s love for them.

He also utilizes insights from more recent scholars like B.B. Warfield, J.I. Packer, and D.A. Carson

Regarding the aim of Gentle and Lowly , Ortlund writes, “We are not focusing centrally on what Christ has done. We are considering who he is” (p. 15). Even though the atonement isn’t at the center of what Ortlund writes in the book, the meaning of the cross is clearly found in every chapter.

In response to Ortlund’s teaching, some readers will weep with joy, others will shout out praise, and all will grow in their affections for Christ.

The gentle and lowly heart of Christ

The idea for Gentle and Lowly originated from a conversation Dane had with his father, Roy. “My dad pointed out to me something that Charles Spurgeon pointed out to him,” writes Ortlund. “In the four Gospel accounts given to us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — eighty-nine chapters of biblical text — there’s only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart.” (p. 17)

The verse Ortlund is referring to is Matthew 11:29, “I am gentle and lowly in heart.”

Alan Strange, in the Mid-America Journal of Theology , writes, “Simply put, Ortlund’s book opens up, in a way that this writer has never seen collected together, the very heart of Jesus in a way that is unfailingly encouraging and heartening.”

He continues: “We know that when we draw near, he will draw near to us because he’s never gone away. It is we who have. This sensibility imbues Ortlund’s book and makes it the best book of its sort that I think I have ever read . This is the kind of book that I give to all my family at Christmas. It is that good.”

Gentle and Lowly: Chapter Overviews

Ortlund leans heavily on the Puritans in Gentle and Lowly . He explains, “The way the Puritans would write books is to take a single Bible verse, wring it dry for all the heart-affecting theology they can find, and two or three hundred pages later, send their findings to a publisher.” (p. 43)

While Ortlund doesn’t write 200 or 300 pages on a single verse, he does write a chapter on one (or part of one). Below is the course that Ortlund charts for readers.

“You might know that Christ died and rose again on your behalf to rinse you clean of all your sin; but do you know his deepest heart for you?” (p. 15-16)

Dustin Hart, in the journal, Presbyterion , writes: “When a member of my church has asked for a book recommendation in the last year, I have without hesitation and whole-heartedly recommended Gentle and Lowly time and time again.”

Hart continues: “Christians and pastors who are struggling to know if God even cares in the muck of your life, please head the words of Ortlund. Return time and time again to the Savior who has loved us from eternity past and will love us to the very end.”

Who is Dane Ortlund? Ortlund is the senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is an editor for the Knowing the Bible series and the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series and is the author of several books. His father is Ray Ortlund, a well-known pastor and author.

Get Gentle and Lowly today

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Daniel Isaiah Joseph

Daniel's seminary degree is in Exegetical Theology. He was a pastor for 10 years. As a professor, he has taught Bible and theology courses at two Christian universities. Please see his About page for details.

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Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers | Dane C. Ortlund

The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers Dane C. Ortlund

Crossway (2020). 224 pp.

After Gentle and Lowly was released earlier this year, I kept hearing respected pastors and theologians commend it as the book of the year, or even of a lifetime, so I knew I should probably read it. And because of my natural disposition to doubt that Christ’s love is really more definitive than my sin, I knew I needed to read it.

The book is simple both in its premise and format. Starting with Jesus’s own words, “I am gentle and lowly of heart” (Matt 11:29), Ortlund aims to convince sinners and sufferers that the posture of Jesus’s heart toward them is one of gentle embrace. Simple, but profound.

In twenty-three short chapters, Ortlund attempts to undo “our natural expectations about who God is” and instead “let the Bible surprise us into what God says about himself” (p. 155). Each chapter focuses on a central Scripture as the subject of meditation. Ortlund combines his skill as a biblical scholar and theologian with his love for the Puritans and their writings to “[look] at the single diamond of Christ’s heart from many different angles” (p. 15).

After reading the first couple of chapters, I wondered what I was missing. It was fine. Good, even. But I had a hard time letting go of my doubting tendencies so that the truths he was writing about could penetrate my heart. I think I was experiencing a little of what Ortlund describes in the book:

The Christian life, from one angle, is the long journey of letting our natural assumption about who God is, over many decades, fall away, being slowly replaced with God’s own insistence on who he is. . . The fall in Genesis 3 not only sent us into condemnation and exile. The fall also entrenched in our minds dark thoughts of God, thoughts that are only dug out over multiple exposures to the gospel over many years (p. 151).

I kept reading. I read slowly, a little at a time, spread out over many weeks. And as I continued to read, the book kept getting better and better. Or maybe my heart was softening to its message. The effect seemed to be cumulative for me.

That is the value of this book. From the pages of Scripture, combined with a wealth of Puritan reflections, Ortlund confronts our fearful hearts with “God’s own insistence on who he is.” The chapters provide “exposures to the gospel” that helped me dare to believe that, in the words of Puritan John Flavel, God is “much more tender of you than you are, or can be, of yourself” (p. 133).

Ortlund is theologically astute, evidenced in the way he holds together the “emotional life of God” with divine impassibility (p. 73), or seen in his discussion of God’s simplicity alongside a reflection on God’s heart in relation to judgment and mercy (p. 140). I appreciated the carefulness he displays, but also his desire to let Scripture challenge the assumptions we can fall into as a result of our theology, assumptions that sometimes detract from the largeness of God’s heart revealed in Scripture.

Gentle and Lowly would be helpful for any Christian wanting to better understand the heart of Christ for us in our sin and suffering. I think, however, it is especially suited for pastor-theologians. We have the privilege of directing others into the heart of Christ week in and week out, and this book is full of moving reflections on Christ’s great heart. I’ve found the truths Ortlund writes about working their way into my sermons. But more than that, I’ve found them working their way into my heart. Ortlund says,

It is one thing, as a child, to be told your father loves you. You believe him. You take him at his word. But it is another thing, unutterably more real, to be swept up in his embrace, to feel the warmth, to hear his beating heart within his chest, to instantly know the protective grip of his arms. It’s one thing to know he loves you; it’s another thing to feel his love. This is the glorious work of the Spirit (p. 122).

I think this book is a means the Spirit can use to sweep us up into God’s gentle embrace. If, like me, you struggle to believe that God could be gracious and compassionate toward you in your sin and weakness, read this book. If you want to better communicate the compassionate and tender heart of Jesus to your people, read this book. In one of my favorite lines (and there are many), Ortlund exhorts: “Repent of your small thoughts of God’s heart. Repent and let him love you” (p. 170). This book will help you do that. I would encourage you, read this book.

Donnie Berry is an International Trainer with Training Leaders International. He holds a PhD in New Testament from the Amridge University and is a member of the St. Basil Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.

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Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Overview of “gentle and lowly”.

In his 2020 book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, Dane Ortlund offers a profound exploration of Jesus Christ’s compassionate character.

This book, honored as the Accessible Theology Book of the Year by WORLD Magazine , delves into the biblical affirmation that Jesus is not only the savior but also deeply empathetic, always accessible, and perpetually loving towards those who struggle and suffer.

The Essence of the Book

Ortlund’s work is based on Jesus’s comforting words in Matthew 11:29 , where He describes Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart.”

This description forms the backbone of the book, providing readers with a reassuring image of a God who is approachable and full of unconditional love .

The book is structured into 23 concise chapters, each shedding light on different aspects of Jesus’s character, drawn from various Bible passages and the insights of Puritan theologians.

• Hardcover Book
• Ortlund, Dane (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 320 Pages – 08/17/2021 (Publication Date) – Crossway (Publisher)

Popular Highlights

Several passages from “Gentle and Lowly” have resonated deeply with readers, including:

“When Jesus, the Clean One, touched an unclean sinner, Christ did not become unclean. The sinner became clean.” Highlighted by 9,429 Kindle readers

“The point in saying that Jesus is lowly is that he is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ.” Highlighted by 8,502 Kindle readers

These popular highlights emphasize the transformative and accessible nature of Jesus’s love , offering hope and cleansing to those who feel unworthy.

Reader Reviews: A Testament to Impact

The impact of “Gentle and Lowly” is vividly reflected in its Amazon ratings and the personal testimonials of its readers. The book has garnered extensive praise, earning an impressive average rating on Amazon.

“Yes, Jesus loves me! This book destroys such a disapproving, aloof image of our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ.” — Joel E. Mitchell

“I love this book and the author. I was reminded that my relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is the most important, beautiful, and wonderful thing.” — Tamara M. Brown

“A wonderful book dedicated to the heart of Jesus. This book dives deep into the heart of Christ and how he views us.” — BookLoverAmanda

Special Editions and Resources for Deeper Engagement

Recognizing the book’s impact, a special gift edition and a 10-week video series have been developed to facilitate individual and group study. These resources are designed to enhance the reader’s understanding and application of the book’s themes.

Conclusion: Why This Book Matters

“Gentle and Lowly” challenges readers to rethink their understanding of God , encouraging a deeper, more personal connection with Him. Whether you are deeply devout or simply curious about the nature of Jesus’s love, this book promises to enrich your spiritual journey.

Ortlund’s approachable writing style and deep theological insight make “Gentle and Lowly” a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of Christ’s heart for His people.

It’s a bestseller for a reason—its message is timeless, its reassurances are profound, and its impact is life-changing.

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Book Review: Gentle and Lowly

Every year, thousands of books are published in the non-fiction Christian genre. Some are novel, others are republications of older works; most are not worth reading (remember C.S. Lewis’ maxim: read one old book for every new book that you read). Yet, every once in awhile, a modern author publishes an absolute gem that will serve the church for years to come. This year, Dane Ortlund, son of Ray Ortlund, has published one of the most helpful, encouraging, and needed books surrounding the person of Jesus for the every-day Christian. Ortlund’s Gentle and Lowly seeks to answer the ultimate question that many of us wrestle with: How does Jesus really feel about us?

For many Christians growing up in the West, we are completely unaware of how our familial and cultural upbringing has shaped the way we view God and live in our Christian life. As a culture that values productivity, success, and hard-work, many times these mentalities bleed into our view of God. While we would not outright proclaim this, many of us functionally live our lives as if God is a boss rather than a father, a master rather than a friend, someone to appease rather than someone to enjoy. But, for those of who are in Christ , have our cultural glasses blinded us to the true character of Jesus towards us? Ortlund wishes to exchange your Western glasses with biblical ones, helping you to see that Jesus’s primary disposition is gentle and lowly.

Perhaps Ortlund’s book was so impactful for me because I felt like he was writing directly toward me: someone who is often “discouraged, frustrated, weary, disenchanted, cynical, and empty” (pg. 13). In the pit of despair, how does Jesus feel about us? While this sort of questioning may seem foreign to how we talk about God, Ortlund is unafraid to ask such bold and inviting questions. Through the use of biblical passages and puritan writers such as Thomas Goodwin, Ortlund beckons the weary Christian to the promise land of better rest in the biblical Jesus.

Put simply: Gentle and Lowly was by far the best book I read in 2020. My hope and prayer is that I may savor the words of Ortlund so that I may love Christ more deeply and also experience his love more often. For those Christians who are tired, discouraged, cynical, and frustrated, allow this book to be a balm to your wounded soul. To give you a simply taste of the healing you may encounter, please reflect deeply upon these words from the first chapter:

“His yoke is kind and his burden is light. This is, his yoke is a nonyoke, and his burden is a nonburden. What helium does to a balloon, Jesus’s yoke does to his followers. We are buoyed along in life by his endless gentleness and supremely accessible lowliness. He doesn’t simply meet us at our place of need; he lives into our place of need. He never tires of sweeping us into his tender embrace. It is his very heart. It what gets him out of bed in the morning.” Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly (pg. 23).

Dustin Hunt

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Book Review: Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

By Dane Ortlund

I read Gentle and Lowly along with a group in an online Bible study. Over the course of the study, we read two chapters per week and pondered a couple of questions related to the reading. I won’t comment for others, only myself.

An imbalance of heart

I was quite disappointed to read in the early part of the book the definition of lowly in the original Greek, but the word gentle was not addressed. This set the book up for the imbalance that ensued. The book focused on the sin of man the compassion of Christ. That all sounds fine, but doesn’t accurately reflect the book title, which included gentle. This theme carried through the book – the focus was on compassion and sin.

The book was an exposition of various verses on the ‘heart’ of Christ. These verses were about the empathy, the sadness, the suffering with us in our sins. There was little about the actions of Christ in response to our sin and that we have been liberated from the sin through the righteousness of Christ. As such, this book fell short of explaining the full heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers.

The book was secondly a commentary on other commentaries. Bunyan, Goodwin, and Edwards are some of those theologians who were quoted and then expounded upon. These did little to provide insight and only compounded the sin in which the author chose to dwell, rather than the salvation and entrance into his kingdom on earth. The chapters tended toward nuanced explanations rather than new understanding of the idea of Christ’s heart.

Left in the sin swamp.

I feel the lack of examples and verses about how Christ overcame our sin leaves the believer in a pond of muck, namely our sin, with Christ sitting there with us. When, in fact what Christ’s heart led him to do was to pull us from the pond and establish us as his own. The actions, the ‘gentle’, of Christ is the capstone of his heart and its work. Yet this book barely hints at the actions that came forth from the heart. The heart drives us to act – that is what we all must recall of Christ and what we all must do in response to Christ.

2/5 stars for incompleteness

This book fell far short of the whole truth of the heart of Christ and is therefore not recommended. The amount of the text that dwells in our sin rather than in leaving it behind is such that most will find it lacking. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the theology, it just isn’t what we need.

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Book review: Gentle and Lowly, by Dane Ortlund

Richard Blackaby Aug. 27, 2021

Ortlund begins by claiming, "This book is written for the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes" (13). He continues, "So with Christ. It is one thing to know the doctrines of the incarnation and the atonement and a hundred other vital doctrines. It is another, more searching matter to know his heart for you" (16).

He notes that there are many studies on what God does, but Ortlund's focus is on who God is. He zeros in on God's heart. He notes that out of 89 chapters in the Gospels, Jesus spoke only once about his own heart (17). There, in Matthew 11:28-30, he says that his heart is "gentle and lowly." The book's title comes from that statement. It is important to know who God is, because "What he is, he does" (25). Further, "His actions on earth in a body reflected his heart; the same heart now acts in the same way toward us, for we are now his body" (33).

Ortlund makes several important points. He notes that the nature of Jesus' heart means he finds great joy in having sinners come to him. The fact that Jesus was sinless does not make him unsympathetic toward our sin. Rather, "Jesus's sinlessness means he knows temptations better than we ourselves do" (49). He argues that because Jesus never yielded to sin, he experienced the fullest measure of temptation. He writes, "If you are in Christ, you have a Friend who, in your sorrow, will never lob down a pep talk from heaven. He cannot bear to hold himself at a distance. Nothing can hold him back. His heart is too bound up with yours" (50).

In this book he claims, "In the biblical gospel we are not given a thing; we are given a person" (69). He continues, "He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But he loves you" (71).

Ortlund includes an interesting discussion of Christ's intercession on behalf of the saints. He points out that ". . . intercession applies what the atonement accomplished . . . Intercession is the constant hitting 'refresh' of our justification in the court of heaven" (79-80). He adds, "and his saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning" (85). He also quotes Jonathan Edwards, who said, "Everything that is lovely in God is in Christ" (97). He writes, "We are drawn to God by the beauty of the heart of Jesus" (98).

One statement he made that I was unsure of was when he said to "romance the heart of Christ" (99). Certainly, he challenges readers throughout the book to enjoy and draw near to the heart of Christ, but "romance" might not be the best word choice.

Ortlund delves into Christ's emotions, particularly anger. He suggests that ". . . a morally perfect human such as Christ would be a contradiction if he didn't get angry" (108). He adds, ". . . he is angrier than you could ever be about the wrong done to you" (112). He also claims that "In Jesus Christ, we are given a friend who will always enjoy rather than refuse our presence" (115). He notes, "Jesus is not the idea of friendship, abstractly, he is an actual friend" (120). He later states, "It is one thing to hear he loves you; it's another thing to feel his love" (122). He concludes, ". . . but the Spirit is the answer to how Jesus can leave them bodily while leaving his heart behind" (123).

He disagrees with the idea that the Father of the Old Testament is a wrathful God, while Jesus is a loving savior (128). He acknowledges that the Father's righteous wrath had to be satisfied but points out that the Father and the Son were in full agreement on how to do it, and both were eager to see it accomplished.

Ortlund also includes an interesting study of Lamentations 3:33, which marks the exact center of the book (136). In that verse, Scripture makes clear that God does not afflict people from his heart (137). Ortlund notes that showing mercy comes naturally to God, whereas his wrath must be provoked (149). Ortlund also looks at Exodus 34 (150). When God reveals his true nature to Moses, he mentions his lovingkindness and mercy to a thousand generations. In other words, his mercy is his glory. He punishes three to four generations but shows mercy to a thousand.

Likewise, Isaiah 55:8-9 declares that God's ways are not our ways. In other words, God's heart and his love are not what people would naturally expect (155). Ortlund concludes, "We think small thoughts of God's heart" (159). He also highlights the pinnacle of Jeremiah's prophecy in 31:3 when God declares that he has loved his people with an everlasting love (163).

The only thing the Bible says God is rich in is mercy (172). The Puritan writers spent much time unpacking Ephesians 2:4. Ortlund notes, "Christ was sent not to mend wounded people or wake sleepy people or advise confused people or inspire bored people or spur lazy people or educate ignorant people, but to raise dead people (175). He adds, "We can be immoral dead people, or we can be moral dead people. Either way, we're dead" (177).

Some people look at their difficult lives and claim God is not good or merciful. In response, Ortlund claims, "To you I say, the evidence of Christ's mercy toward you is not your life. The evidence of his mercy toward you is his—mistreated, betrayed, abandoned. Eternally. In your place" (179). He continues, "The battle of the Christian life is to bring your own heart into alignment with Christ's, that is, getting up each morning and replacing your natural orphan mindset with a mindset of full and free adoption into the family of God through the work of Christ your older brother, who loved you and gave himself for you out of the overflowing fullness of his gracious heart" (181).

He also notes, ". . . the end time judgment that awaits all humans has, for those in Christ, already taken place. We who are in Christ no longer look to the future for judgment, but to the past; at the cross, we see our punishment happening, all our sins being punished in Jesus" (187). Ortlund argues, "Conversion isn't a fresh start. Conversion, authentic regeneration, is the invincible-izing of our future" (193). He adds, "We love to a limit. Jesus loves to the end" (198).

This book is well written and digs into key Scriptures, some of which are not often studied by the average Christian. Ortlund shares a number of profound thoughts that require pondering. If you have not read much from the Puritans, this could be a great introduction to how they tackle a crucial topic. Time is never wasted when we draw near to Christ and study his heart.

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Book Review: Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

Groups like ACBC (The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors) are highly recommending Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund. You might be wondering, what is all the hype? Should I read it? Others are weighing in, saying this book is “dangerous”. Which is it—a gift or a stumbling block? I want to tell you who this book is for and how it could be helpful to you. I also want to address a few possible concerns.

Who is this book for?

Because of your ongoing battle with sin, do you struggle with really believing that Christ loves you? Do you feel like you need to convince God to be willing to help you to overcome your sin? Do you think you need to work hard to deal with your sin on your own so that you can come to Christ? Do forgiveness and mercy through Christ seem too good to be true? “This book is written for the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes. Those whose Christian lives feel like constantly running up a descending escalator” (Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly , 13). “We are factories of fresh resistance to Christ’s love” (63). Whether you are a mature believer in Christ or you are new to following Jesus, this book will help you to delight in the kind and merciful heart of Christ!

The author labors to show us through Scripture and commentary from several Puritans and others that sinners and sufferers really can go to Christ. Ortlund’s premise is that we often do not go to Christ when we are suffering or sinning because we do not see Christ’s heart. We think that He must be tired of messed up people coming to Him for help. The author uses Matthew 11:28–30 as his starting point, and then labors for twenty-three chapters to show us that Jesus really will give us rest for our souls.

How could this book be helpful for you?

If you are looking to this book to rebuke a rebellious, stubborn, and unrepentant person, you will be disappointed. If you are hoping to get a thorough theological confession about Christ’s work, you will not find it here. The author is clear that his sole intention is to help us to see Christ’s heart. You will find strong encouragement to go to Christ to receive mercy and grace! If you are discouraged and downtrodden, you will see how much Christ wants you to go to him. This book could help you to go to Christ and then to walk with Christ as you are strengthened to see his merciful and gracious heart in his Word.

Listen to a few quotes from Ortlund:

“The point in saying that Jesus is lowly is that he is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ” (20).

“Jesus can no more bring himself to stiff-arm you than the loving father of a crying newborn can bring himself to stiff-arm his dear child. Jesus’ heart is drawn out to you” (55).

“The battle of the Christian life is to bring your own heart into alignment with Christ’s, that is, getting up each morning and re-placing your natural orphan mind-set with a mind-set of full and free adoption into the family of God through the work of Christ your older brother, who loved you and gave himself for you out of the overflowing fullness of his gracious heart” (181).

This kind of meditation on Christ’s heart fills Gentle and Lowly . The author beautifully explains a multitude of Biblical passages which all work together to show us the heart of God. He brings in commentary from theologians from previous centuries who enrich us with their insights from lifetimes of study and meditation in the Biblical text. Ortlund seeks to honor the contexts of the Bible passages he quotes, whether it be his exposition on God’s “natural work” and his “strange work” based on Lamentations 3:33, Jeremiah 32:41 and Isaiah 28:21, or his explanation of God’s ways not being our ways in Isaiah 55.

Potential for Confusion

But has Ortlund overstated his case? Has he gone too far? I would point to three issues in Gentle and Lowly that could be confusing to some.

“Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms” (19).

What is Christ’s “deepest heart”?

First, he speaks often of Christ’s “deepest heart” as if there were a distinction between Christ’s heart and his deepest heart. We know that Christ’s heart is not divided. His heart is his deepest heart. There are not superficial layers to Christ’s heart that have to be peeled back to reveal his deepest heart. However, when the author talks about Christ’s deepest heart, we understand that he is seeking to emphasize what is truly Christ’s heart according to the Bible’s revelation. What Ortlund says about the heart (or deepest heart) of God that we see in Scripture is wonderful and beautiful and thoroughly biblical.

“And just as we can hardly fathom the divine ferocity awaiting those out of Christ, it is equally true that we can hardly fathom the divine tenderness already resting now on those in Christ” (68).

Does God have two opposing wills?

Second, he talks about God’s mercy and compassion as what God actually wants to do and his wrath and judgment as what he is obligated by his character to do. This point is emphasized in Chapter 15, “His Natural Work and His Strange Work”. He describes God’s heart as spring-loaded to show mercy and reluctant to pour out wrath, but clarifies that God is never divided against Himself (Matt 12:22–28). While this sounds controversial, it doesn’t seem that Ortlund is going over into anything unbiblical. God does long for people to repent and He is slow to anger.

Does Christ love us for our sin?

Finally, Ortlund claims that our sin attracts Christ to us. He says, “it is the very fallenness which he came to undo that is most irresistibly attractive to him” (30). These kinds of statements may seem extreme, but Ortlund also makes it clear that Christ disciplines us, forgives us, restores us and changes us. Christ never intends to leave us in our sin. As a doctor with wonderful medicine is drawn to those most ridden with disease, Christ is drawn to those with the worst of sins because he is able to save them to the uttermost. Although we can understand what he means with these phrases, they could be confusing, perhaps, if taken out of context.

“Do not minimize your sin or excuse it away. Raise no defense. Simply take it to the one who is already at the right hand of the Father, advocating for you on the basis of his own wounds. Let your own unrighteousness, in all your darkness and despair, drive you to Jesus Christ, the righteous, in all his brightness and sufficiency” (94).

Ultimately, my only concern regarding Gentle and Lowly is that it could be misused by someone whose aim is to use grace as a license to sin. However, someone using it this way would be sorely misunderstanding the book and its wonderful exposition of Scripture. If you take Gentle and Lowly in the greater context of all that Scripture says (in places like Hebrews and 1 John), it is very helpful. Ortlund has given us a wonderful gift in these twenty-three chapters shining glorious light on the heart of Christ!

If you haven’t read Gentle and Lowly yet, I would encourage you to take time to read it and to consider the Biblical teaching that Ortlund presents. As your own view of Christ is challenged by what he writes, honestly evaluate what the Bible teaches and allow God’s Word to convince you more deeply that Christ is gentle and lowly! You and I can go to Him and find rest for our souls!

Nathan Thiry is the Growth Groups & Outreach Pastor at Faith Bible Church. He enjoys biking and outdoor activities, and has a passion to see the gospel spread throughout our community and the whole world!

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Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

By Dane Ortlund

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Pastor Dane Ortlund Explores Jesus’s Heart to Reveal His Tender Love for Sinners and Sufferers 

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? 

This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. 

These chapters take us into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

• Draws on Writings from the Puritans:  Including Thomas Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, John Bunyan, John Owen, and others 
• Provides a Unique Perspective:  Confronts readers’ typical thoughts on God’s heart
• Scripture-Based:  Explores passages throughout the whole Bible to get a full picture of God’s heart for sinners

Read Chapter 1

Dane C. Ortlund  (PhD, Wheaton College) serves as senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of  Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers  and  Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners . Dane and his wife, Stacey, have five children.

Product Details

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. His Very Heart 2. His Heart in Action 3. The Happiness of Christ 4. Able to Sympathize 5. He Can Deal Gently 6. I Will Never Cast Out 7. What Our Sins Evoke 8. To the Uttermost 9. An Advocate 10. The Beauty of the Heart of Christ 11. The Emotional Life of Christ 12. A Tender Friend 13. Why the Spirit? 14. Father of Mercies 15. His “Natural” Work and His “Strange” Work 16. The Lord, the Lord 17. His Ways Are Not Our Ways 18. Yearning Bowels 19. Rich in Mercy    20. Our Law-ish Hearts, His Lavish Heart 21. He Loved Us Then; He’ll Love Us Now 22. To the End 23. Buried in His Heart Forevermore

Epilogue Acknowledgments General Index Scripture Index

Endorsements

“ Gentle and Lowly comes from the pen of someone who has not just profited from reading the Puritans—but who, more importantly, has read the Bible under their tutelage. One short book can never be enough to convey all the glory of the character of Christ, but this book deftly unpacks something we often overlook: Christ is meek and lowly in heart and gives rest to those who labor and are burdened. Written with pastoral gentleness and quiet beauty, it teases out what twenty biblical texts contribute to this portrait of the heart of Christ, all of it brought together to bring comfort, strength, and rest to believers.” D. A. Carson ,  Theologian-at-Large, The Gospel Coalition

“In this timely work, Dane Ortlund directs our attention back to the person of Jesus. Centered on the Scriptures and drawing upon the best of the Puritan tradition, Ortlund helps us see the heart of God as it is revealed to us in Christ. He reminds us not only of Jesus’s promises of rest and comfort, but of the Bible’s vision of Jesus: a kind and gracious King.” Russell Moore ,  Editor in Chief, Christianity Today

“The title of this book immediately evoked within me a sense of longing, hope, and gratitude. The message it contains is a balm for every heart that feels pierced by sin or sorrow—whether from within or without. It is an invitation to experience the sweet consolations of a Savior who moves toward us with tenderness and grace, when we know we deserve just the opposite from him.” Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth ,  author; Founder, Revive Our Hearts   and True Woman

“On the rough, rocky, and often dark path between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet,’ there is nothing your weary heart needs more than to know the beauty of the heart of Jesus. It is that beauty that alone has the power to overwhelm all the ugly you will encounter along the way. I have read no book that more carefully, thoroughly, and tenderly displays Christ’s heart than what Dane Ortlund has written. As if I was listening to a great symphony, I was moved in different ways in different passages but left each feeling hugely blessed to know that what was being described was the heart of my Savior, my Lord, my Friend, and my Redeemer. I can’t think of anyone in the family of God who wouldn’t be greatly helped by spending time seeing the heart of Jesus through the eyes of such a gifted guide as Ortlund.” Paul David Tripp , author, New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional

“The Puritans breathed Christ-centered practices: they embraced the Bible as a lifeline, exercised it like a muscle, and relied upon it like a bulletproof vest. They knew how to hate their sin without hating themselves because they understood that Christ’s grace is an ever-present Person, a Person who understands our situation and our needs better than we do. They understood that we suffer because of sin. Dane Ortlund masterfully handles a treasure trove of Puritan wisdom and deftly presents it to the Christian reader. Read this book and pray that the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to you as the Puritans understood him, and you will be refreshed to understand God’s grace in a whole new way.” Rosaria Butterfield ,  former Professor of English and Women’s Studies, Syracuse University; author, The Gospel Comes with a House Key and Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age

“‘He is so strong that he can afford to be gentle.’ That old movie line is more than a throwaway sentiment when we consider the theological precision and pastoral heart of Dane Ortlund describing God’s heart toward those who are weak, weary, sin-sick, and despairing. The insights of Gentle and Lowly are truly a river of mercy flowing from the throne of God, through great pastors of the past, and into precious and powerful ministry for today.” Bryan Chapell ,  Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church in America

“My life has been transformed by the beautiful, staggering truths in this book. Dane Ortlund lifts our eyes to see Christ’s compassion-filled heart for sinners and sufferers, proving that Jesus is no reluctant savior but one who delights in showing his mercy. For any feeling bruised, weary, or empty, this is the balm for you.” Michael Reeves , President and Professor of Theology, Union School of Theology, United Kingdom

“Only a few pages in I started to realize how unusual and essential this book is—it is an exposition of the very heart of Christ. The result is a book that astonishes us with the sheer abundance and capacity of his love for us. Breathtaking and healing in equal measure, it is already one of the best books I’ve read.” Sam Allberry ,  Associate Pastor, Immanuel Nashville; author; speaker

“Dane Ortlund writes about what seems too good to be true—the Lord delights to show mercy to you and to me—so he works very carefully through key texts and enlists the help of saints past. I was persuaded, and I look forward to being persuaded again and again.” Edward T. Welch , Counselor and Faculty Member, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation; author, I Have a Psychiatric Diagnosis: What Does the Bible Say?

“Dane Ortlund leads us into the very heart of God incarnate—not only what Jesus did for us, but how he feels toward us. That’s right: feels toward us. Anchored in Scripture and drawing on the Puritan Thomas Goodwin, this book is medicine for broken hearts.” Michael Horton ,  J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“Dane Ortlund helps us rediscover the heart of Jesus that is the very heart of the gospel. This delightful book opens up the sheer immensity of Jesus’s tender love for us. As you immerse yourself in Christ’s very heart, you’ll find your own heart warmed at the fire of the love of God. Ortlund opens up a neglected theme among the Puritans (in bite-sized chunks that won’t overwhelm you), where you’ll discover their grasp of the beauty of Jesus’s love. Your soul needs this book. I highly recommend it.” Paul E. Miller ,  author, A Praying Life ; J-Curve ; and A Praying Church

“ Gentle and Lowly is drawing me to the heart of Christ. It is helping me to draw the hearts of my counselees to Christ. Gentle and Lowly is the best book of the twenty-first century.” Bob Kellemen ,  Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Counseling, Faith Bible Seminary; author, Grief: Walking with Jesus

“Having done some work on Thomas Goodwin’s Christology, I may be a little biased in saying that his work on Christ’s heart is probably the finest work on practical Christology that exists in the English language. To see a present-day book do so well, which relies so heavily on Goodwin, makes my own heart leap for joy. I am sure Ortlund and I share the same desire for readers to also go to Goodwin’s work and read his masterful treatment. Ortlund’s book is a good entry to Goodwin.” Mark Jones , Senior Minister, Faith Presbyterian Church, Vancouver, Canada

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

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Gentle and Lowly

If we wanted to read a book about what Jesus did, we would have many options available to us. But if we wanted to read a book about who Jesus is, well, the options would be far fewer. Obviously the two studies are closely connected, for what Jesus did is inexorably tied to who he is. Yet the two studies are not identical, for his heart can’t be conflated with his actions.

So who is Jesus? If we carefully separate his person from his actions, what will we find? This is the question at the heart of Dane Ortlund’s Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers . “This is a book about the heart of Christ. Who is he? Who is he really ? What is most natural to him? What ignites within him most immediately as he moves toward sinners and sufferers? What flows out most freely, most instinctively? Who is he?” A study like this could easily be framed around abstract qualities of character, perhaps like some of those studies on the attributes of God that somehow seem to reduce the living God to a dry, bulleted list of characteristics. But Ortlund’s treatment is far better than that. He hasn’t written his book for theologians as much as for

the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes. Those whose Christian lives feel like constantly running up a descending escalator. Those of us who find ourselves thinking: ‘How could I mess up that bad—again?’ It is for that increasing suspicion that God’s patience with us is wearing thin. For those of us who know God loves us but suspect we have deeply disappointed him. We have told others of the love of Christ yet wonder if—as for us—he harbors mild resentment. Who wonder if we have shipwrecked our lives beyond what can be repaired. Who are convinced we’ve permanently diminished our usefulness to the Lord. Who have been swept off our feet by perplexing pain and are wondering how we can keep living under such numbing darkness. Who look at our lives and know how to interpret the data only by concluding that God is fundamentally parsimonious.

That’s all to say, of course, that it’s written for ordinary Christians like you and me, for people who sin and who suffer. In the aftermath of our sin and in the grief of our suffering, who is Jesus right then and right there? How does he act toward us? What does he think about us? Though books asking and answering questions like these are quite rare today, they were once widespread, especially during the era of the Puritans. For this reason, Ortlund leans on the work of Puritan authors like Thomas Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, and John Bunyan, though he also relies on some slightly more contemporary authors like Charles Spurgeon and B.B. Warfield. And, of course, he relies most heavily on the Bible.

Through 23 short chapters—chapters that can easily be read in a sitting, and chapters that are as suited to out-loud reading as silent reading—he shows us the heart of Christ. He begins with Jesus’s own self-description: “I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:28-30). The heart of Jesus is meek and humble and therefore he is kind and accessible and both willing and able to help those who need him. Those who qualify for his attention are not those who are cleaned up and put together, but those who are weary and heavily burdened. To these he makes the sweet promise of rest. “If we are asked to say only one thing about who Jesus is, we would be honoring Jesus’s own teaching if our answer is, gentle and lowly.”

But Jesus is far more than that. Jesus is happy and sympathetic. He treats us with gentleness and promises never to give up on us. He is an advocate for us and a committed friend. He is rich in mercy and tender in his affections and eternal in his love. He is all this and so much more. All the great things he has done for sinners like us flow out of the very heart of who he is. To know him is to love him.

Gentle and Lowly is a sweet and comforting book that will grow your knowledge, provoke your worship, and inspire your devotion. Best of all, it will help you to know, love, and trust our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Book review of gentle and lowly: the heart of christ for sinners and sufferers by dane ortlund.

•   August 4, 2020
• Book Review , Christ , Heart of Christ , Love , Sin , Suffering , Theology

“Who is Jesus?”

There are many ways to approach this question. You may begin to think about the various indicative statements scattered throughout Scripture concerning Jesus Christ. He is the Word, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, the Alpha and the Omega. Some may instinctively begin to explore His nature as fully God and fully man and His relations within the Trinity. Others may answer this question by considering what we learn about Him through His works—His incarnation, active obedience, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, ascension, and continual intercession for His people.

Dane C. Ortlund, chief publishing officer and Bible publisher at Crossway and elder at Naperville Presbyterian Church, seeks to reach the “heart” (quite literally) of this question in his latest work, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.

Dane is indebted to his father, Ray Ortlund, and Charles Spurgeon for an important observation in the Gospels: “In the four Gospel accounts given to us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—eighty-nine chapters of biblical text—there’s only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart” (p.17).

Scholars will note the importance Scripture places upon the human heart. The heart is the core of our being. It defines and directs our lives. From our hearts flows the “springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).

So what does Scripture say about Jesus’ heart? We find this truth in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

“When Jesus tells us what animates him most deeply, what is most true of him—when he exposes the innermost recesses of his being—what we find there is: gentle and lowly” (p. 19).

In this work, Dane Ortlund strains to show his readers Scripture’s overwhelming witness to the affectionate heart of Christ—“what pours out of him most naturally” (p. 29). Reflecting further upon Matthew 11:28-30, Ortlund repeatedly labors to show readers that Jesus’ heart moves toward sinners and sufferers.

This idea is counterintuitive to many Christians today. We see in Scripture the tension which exists between God’s holiness and human sinfulness, which is most magnified in Israel’s sacrificial system. We naturally assume that if God cannot dwell with sinners and if our sin requires atonement, then God’s heart must move away from us because of our sin. Also, our sin and suffering, along with regular feelings of shame, guilt, and sorrow instinctively draw us away from God and others into isolation. Yet, Ortlund demonstrates from Scripture that Christ’s heart naturally moves toward sinners and sufferers.

Ortlund states that Christ “does not get flustered and frustrated when we come to him for fresh forgiveness, for renewed pardon, with distress and need and emptiness. That’s the whole point. It’s what he came to heal. He went down into the horror of death and plunged out through the other side in order to provide a limitless supply of mercy and grace to his people” (p. 36-37).

This book originated from Dane Ortlund’s interactions with the works of leading thinkers in the English Reformation. Having studied the Puritans, Ortlund was struck by Thomas Goodwin and his vision for the heart of Christ toward sinners. Readers will quickly note that each chapter orbits around various quotations and ideas drawn from Puritans such as Goodwin, Richard Sibbes, and John Bunyan, as well as other voices from church history like Jonathan Edwards.

Within each short chapter, Ortlund strives to expose readers to the warmth of Christ’s heart. Here are a few quotes which demonstrate Ortlund’s pastoral tone toward this topic:

“When you come to Christ for mercy and love and help in your anguish and perplexity and sinfulness, you are going with the flow of his own deepest wishes, not against them” (p. 38).

“Contrary to what we expect to be the case, therefore, the deeper into weakness and suffering and testing we go, the deeper Christ’s solidarity with us. As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending even deeper into Christ’s very heart, not away from it” (p. 57).

“For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental; it is your new permanent residence. You are not a tenant; you are a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb; his heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort, whatever our present spiritual accomplishments. It is who he is” (p. 66).

This book has many immediate applications for biblical counseling. Biblical counselors have sought to restore the use of biblical truths to contemporary problems because the author of Scripture is also the creator of the world (Gen. 1-2) and every human heart (Ps. 33:15). Many counselees reach a greater trust in God through exploring the theological categories of God’s transcendence—such as His simplicity, aseity, immutability, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. At the same time, counselors must balance these lofty doctrines with God’s revelation of Himself to us in Christ—the exalted triune God is gentle and lowly in heart. The God of indescribable glory condescends to us in love. Since biblical counselors seek to care for sinners and sufferers, counselors will benefit from exploring Ortlund’s expositions of the heart of Christ toward their counselees.

Biblical counselors will benefit personally from exploring the themes presented in this work. As a sinner and a suffer, I was consistently left in awe of Christ’s love toward me, and I was exposed to how often I instinctively feel distanced from God’s love in my sin and suffering. Also, counselors must understand that we not only instruct our counselees in these truths, but we must model Christ’s heart in our interactions with them. In reflecting upon the essence of Christ’s heart as love and Christ’s patience toward us in our sin and suffering, I was struck by my need to grow into conformity with Christ’s heart. As Christ is patient, kind, gentle, and loving toward me, I often fail to model this demeanor toward others, whether with my wife, children, fellow church members, friends, or counselees. These reflections will influence the counselor’s posture toward counselees as the counselor seeks to embody Christ’s heart toward them.

This work is set to become an instant classic in discipleship and spiritual growth. If you are a biblical counselor, pastor, or Christian concerned with caring for others within your church, purchase a copy of this work and immerse yourself within the heart of your Savior. Reading this book will cause your heart to stir with a desire to come to Christ and commune with Him, despite your sin and suffering.

Ortlund concludes the work with this call—come to Christ.

“Whatever is crumbling all around you in your life, wherever you feel stuck, this remains, un-deflectable: his heart for you, the real you, is gentle and lowly. So go to him. That place in your life where you feel most defeated, he is there; he lives there, right there, and his heart for you, not on the other side of it but in that darkness, is gentle and lowly. Your anguish is his home. Go to him. ‘If you knew his heart, you would.’ [1] ” (p. 216).

Editor’s Note: Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund can be purchased from Amazon .

[1] Thomas Goodwin, Encouragements to Faith , in The Works of Thomas Goodwin, 12 vols. (repr., Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Heritage, 2006), 4:223.

About the Author

Jared Poulton

Jared Poulton is a biblical counselor with Anchored Hope Biblical Counseling ( biblicalcounseling.online ). He is a doctoral candidate at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Biblical Counseling and an ACBC certified counselor.

Recent Posts by Jared Poulton:

• Presuppositional Counseling: An Introduction to Van Til’s Influence Upon Jay Adams — August 2, 2024
• Clarifying Common Grace for Counselors, Part Two — January 26, 2024
• Clarifying Common Grace for Counselors, Part One — January 24, 2024

*As an Amazon Associate the BCC earns from qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links on our site. We appreciate your support!

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Gentle And Lowly: A Book Review

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Series: Book Reviews 

by David McLemore    May 4, 2020

Before planting a church nearly four years ago now, I sat under the preaching of Ray Ortlund at Immanuel Church in Nashville, TN. I’ve never experienced a worship service that could capture your heart the way the Lord used Ray to seize ours in those days. I remember people telling me they would get up early in the morning to drive home from vacation just to make it in time to hear the welcome.

To all who are weary and need rest

To all who mourn and long for comfort

To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares

To all who fail and desire strength

To all who sin and need a Savior

This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus, the mighty friend of sinners.

Every week, without fail, I found a welcome from Jesus in those words. Every week, without fail, that reality surprised me. I didn’t grow up knowing this Jesus—this gentle and lowly one, drawing me near to himself not in judgment but in grace and mercy. His words in Matthew 11:28 came alive to me in new ways. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” As I was to discover during my time at Immanuel, this was the real Jesus.

What Ray’s words did for an entire church full of people every week, his son Dane’s book does for any who crack its spine and read the first sentence. “This is a book about the heart of Christ.”

Have you ever read a book about the heart of Christ for you? Is your head full of knowledge about his sovereignty but lacking the reassurance of his love? Are your bookshelves stocked with practical steps to take in your Christianity but void of the call to come to him and rest? Do you know who Jesus is—who he really is, his very heart for you ? Do you know how Jesus feels about you?

Dane Ortlund wants you to know. Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers is his wonderful attempt—one that, in my opinion, succeeds far beyond my already very high expectations.

The Gospel’s Heart

John Piper wrote a book whose title has always stuck with me: God is the Gospel . If that’s true (and it is) it means that the very person of God is the very message of the gospel. In other words, all the comfort we find in that wonderfully freeing message of the gospel comes not from some angry Old Testament God now placated in the death of Jesus but from the everlasting and eternal God whose heart longs for his people and always has. God is the gospel. The gospel is the message of God’s love, God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s salvation of sinners.

God, then, is the one who loves, truly and perfectly, sinners and sufferers. He loves those who can’t get their act together. He loves those who can’t get their sin under control. He loves those who can’t heal what’s most broken about themselves. He loves those who have no more answers and come to him with only a bucket-full of need. He loves those who’ve reached the end of their rope and have no strength left to reach for another. He loves the weak, the wounded, the impotent, the broken, the ones at the bottom of this world’s barrel. Can you find yourself in that mix? If you can, you have an opportunity to see the massive heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers of every stripe.

Jesus is not Trigger-Happy

Maybe you grew up with a vision of Jesus like me. He was there to save me from my sins but not to love me in them. Yes, the cross was effective, and it covered my past sins. But look at me now. What a failure of a Christian. How could he not be disappointed? So imagine my surprise when studying the book of Hebrews, I found this amazing passage. “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:10-11).

The Bible presents to us not a Jesus who can’t wait to come in judgment but a Jesus who is patient and long-suffering, not wishing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). In Ortlund’s words, “Jesus is not trigger-happy…He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms” (p. 19).

The open arms of Jesus are not a one-time invitation. They are a life-long standing appointment. All we have to do is show up. He does the rest. He gets us the best seat in the place. He provides the most satisfying meal. He pays the bill. And when we show up late, he’s not giving us the cold shoulder. He’s not asking why we wasted his valuable time. He’s not looking for someone else to lavish his gifts on. We arrive disheveled and frantic, mopey and depressed, anxious and worried, hard and cold. He shows up gentle and lowly.

That is not to say, as Ortlund puts it, “mushy and frothy.” This is the kind of careful explanation you can expect from the book. Jesus is the strongest, greatest warrior in the universe (Exodus 15:3) but his disposition toward all who come to him—however imperfectly—is full of forgiveness and mercy. Abounding in sympathy (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Bible-Soaked and Puritan-Hearted

Where does Ortlund get this vision of Jesus? From the Bible. And not just from the New Testament. Throughout 23 chapters, Ortlund shows us verse after verse from the whole Bible what the heart of Christ looks like for us.

But we all need a little help from our friends. Ortlund certainly has his. Their names are John Bunyan and Thomas Goodwin. John Owen and Richard Sibbes. Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards and B.B. Warfield. Like Christian’s companions on his Pilgrim’s Progress, these dear ones help point out the dangers and the beauties along the way. The message is, frankly, so shocking that it would be unbelievable without a historical witness. That Jesus could be this open to helping those most undeserving could be found to be a sham if not for the witness of those who experienced it in the past.

Ortlund says this book was seven years in the making. I remember those early days as he began to think through the heart of Christ. We emailed a few times about our mutual reading in John Bunyan’s work Christ a Complete Savior based on Hebrews 7:25, “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” I could see this wasn’t merely an intellectual exercise for Ortlund. This was a matter of how to live as a Christian. Dane, and for the matter, the entire Ortlund family, isn’t interested in Christianity as a stepping-stone to one more place in life; they’re interested in Christianity because they love Jesus.

Gentle and Lowly is a book written by someone who loves Jesus. More importantly, it’s a book written by someone loved by Jesus.

Loved by Jesus

We can never feel too loved. We can feel smothered. We can feel caged in. But we can never feel too loved. Love doesn’t smother nor cage; it frees and gives. In my experience, the problems we have in our Christian journeys are not because we feel too loved by Jesus but because we don’t receive his love as we ought. In other words, for most of us to make significant progress in our Christianity, we need to open our hearts more to the massive love of God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need a love we cannot contain. We need a love as big as God. We need a love that dies for us and lives for us.

Jesus died for us, but he also now lives for us. This intercessory work of Jesus in heaven now, seen in passages such as Hebrews 7:25 and 1 John 2:1, is the key to Ortlund’s book. Without neglecting the work of Christ in his earthly life, on the cross, and in the resurrection, Ortlund shows the value of the heavenly intercession of Jesus for us right now. We have an advocate. We have one who loves to the uttermost. His heart did not stop beating for his people when he ascended to heaven; it flows down in power right now today. The love you need right now is freely available in Christ right now. All you have to do is open the eyes of your heart by faith to see him.

The everlasting, all-sufficient love of Jesus is where the power of this book lies. If you need a love you don’t warrant but can’t stop longing for. If you need a love bigger than your sin. If you need a love that sits with you in the ashes of your burned-out life. If you need a love too great to be limited to what you deserve, this book is for you. It’s for all who will come. It’s for all who sin and suffer and reach for a savior that understands their need. It’s for all who are weary and need rest. It’s for all who mourn and long for comfort. It’s for all who feel worthless—of which I never seem to stop feeling—and wonder if God cares. This book will help you see he does. Oh, he does!

Editor’s Note:  Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers is available for purchase.

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Chemical Society Reviews

Interfacial chemistry in multivalent aqueous batteries: fundamentals, challenges, and advances.

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a Materials Science and Engineering Program and Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA E-mail: [email protected]

As one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems, aqueous batteries are attracting great interest due to their advantages of high safety, high sustainability, and low costs when compared with commercial lithium-ion batteries, showing great promise for grid-scale energy storage. This invited tutorial review aims to provide universal design principles to address the critical challenges at the electrode–electrolyte interfaces faced by various multivalent aqueous battery systems. Specifically, deposition regulation, ion flux homogenization, and solvation chemistry modulation are proposed as the key principles to tune the inter-component interactions in aqueous batteries, with corresponding interfacial design strategies and their underlying working mechanisms illustrated. In the end, we present a critical analysis on the remaining obstacles necessitated to overcome for the use of aqueous batteries under different practical conditions and provide future prospects towards further advancement of sustainable aqueous energy storage systems with high energy and long durability.

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