Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Suffers. Wheaton: Crossway, 2020.

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

In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund takes the reader to the very heart of Christ and helps them bask in its riches and swim in its glory. By focusing on Matthew 11:28-30, Ortlund has accomplished something extraordinary; spiritual salve for the weary soul. This book is an instant classic that should be in every believer’s, and non-believer’s, hands. Whether you read it in one sitting, or devotionally by dwelling on it chapter by chapter, this book will bring a unique type of comfort for the sinner and sufferer.

By using Scripture, and the Puritans, Ortlund is able to get to the heart of who Christ is, not just what Christ has done. Each chapter is packed with a mine of riches for the believer. Instead of condemnation, Ortlund provides a word to the weary believer that Christ has come, not because they are good, but because they aren’t, and they are invited into His presence despite their sin and shame. Ortlund says,

“[Jesus] 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” (36-37).

Ortlund is able to show the reader Christ’s sympathy and desire for the weary. He shows the reader that

“It is not only that Jesus can relieve us from our troubles, like a doctor prescribing medicine; it is also that, before any relief comes, he is with us in our troubles, like a doctor who has endured the same disease” (47).

Ortlund explains to the reader how Jesus has endured every temptation, trial, and perplexity that plagues believer. He’s been there. He understands.

“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).

No one deserves the grace of Christ and everyone deserves the judgment of God and Ortlund shows the reader that, despite their deserving of God’s judgment, God desires their heart. There is no amount of sin and no level of sin that can separate the love of Christ from those who will come to him.

“This is heaven’s delight. Come to me, says Christ. I will embrace you into my deepest being and never let you go” (66).

Ortlund takes the reader to the very heart of Christ by showing them the Cross of Christ. It’s there where the heart of Christ is on display for the world to see. The Cross shows where Christ died for those whom he loves to the end (John 13:1). And if Christ is willing to go to the Cross, to die for the sins of his people, then his heart never grows tired of loving those he calls his own, those who come to him.

Ortlund has written a spectacular book that will warm the heart and provide salve for the soul. For the weary sinner and sufferer, this book is for you. Eat it. Chew on it. Meditate on it. And find rest for your weary souls at the gentle and lowly heart of Jesus.

“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…. Go to him” (216).

Purchase here: https://www.crossway.org/books/gentle-and-lowly-hcj/