Gentle and Lowly
How would you describe Jesus? How does Jesus describe himself? Do you know him? Do you know his heart? In Gentle and Lowly, Dane C. Ortlund shows us the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers.
About the Author
Ortlund is chief publishing officer and Bible publisher at Crossway. He is an author, editor, and church elder. I believe these roles place him in a unique position to write this book. Out of all of the attributes of God, he sees Christ as gentle and lowly. Indeed, this is how Christ describes himself in the only place where Christ speaks of his own heart: 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 (Matthew 11:29).
In just over 200 pages, Ortlund employs 23 chapters to take us straight to the heart of Jesus. He gives us the original Greek language to show exactly what the text means. You can see his love for the Puritans as he discusses the words of Goodwin, Sibbes, Bunyan, and Owen. He stands on the shoulders of Edwards, Spurgeon, and Warfield and further expounds their findings. This is a well-researched and thought-out book.
Serious Consideration
I was moved in nearly every chapter. While I know Jesus is characterized as gentle and lowly, I have never considered it over the course of time it takes me to read through a book. And this book looks at these traits seriously. Christ is able to sympathize, he deals gently with us, he never casts out those who come to him, and he is a tender friend.
Interestingly, many wrongly think that the God of the Old Testament was an angry and condemning type of God, and Jesus was the new model for the loving and forgiving God. Ortlund proves this theory wrong as he takes his readers to many passages in the Old Testament to prove his point. Skillfully, he helps us see that deep in the heart of God is a merciful and gracious God.
Motivated and Moved
In all honesty, this book is making me rethink my own disposition. I do not believe that I am gentle and lowly. And if I want to be like Jesus, I must consider his character. I am motivated to see more of Christ in this way - and I am moved to better be like him.
As I am writing this review, the state of California is on mandatory social distancing. I must admit that I have been easily prone to anger, sadness, and worry. I have talked about coming out of this crisis and wanting to be stronger than before. But I now have a new goal to be more like my Savior when this is all over. To be gentle and lowly is to have the heart of Christ.
I received a media copy of Gentle and Lowly and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.