Our culture has adapted the Hebrew ideology concerning the heart. Like the ancient Israelites, when we refer to our hearts, we refer to the core of our being, where everything flows from.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” -Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Christ only mentioned His own heart once in all the Gospels. It’s found in a very common passage, but the phrase itself is often overlooked, as our attention is immediately grabbed by Jesus’ gracious invitation into His presence. Which is understandable, and it is the primary purpose for this passage, but, like the rest of God’s Word, there is so much found beyond the surface.
Meditate on the words below, but instead of looking at what Jesus does for you, look at Who He is saying He is.
“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
Reread that.
For I am gentle and lowly in heart.
Now, meditate on this passage that shows just how glorious Christ is.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” -Colossians 1:15-20 ESV
What?
This Son of God, whom through Him all things were created, and by Him all things hold together, describes His heart, the core of His being, as gentle and lowly.
Even the greatest of kings, the highest of authorities, the strongest of governments, tremble in the light of Him. He is the One whom every knee will bow before. Who every tongue will confess of. Yet, Jesus doesn’t say,”for I am glorious (Heb. 1:3) and holy”, though He is both of those things. Instead Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, describes His very heart, a place where we can find rest, as gentle and lowly. A heart of love, a heart that isn’t distant from those who suffer, but a heart who loves in the midst of it. Jesus is gentle and lowly. He is not distant.
He is able to sympathize with us.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” -Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV
He is able to intercede for us.
“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.” -Hebrews 7:25 ESV
Louis Berkhof wrote the following:
“It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.”
While ancient Jews believed one touch could make you unclean, one brush with death and you are death, therefore you are unable to come before God, Jesus presents the radical idea that one touch can make you clean. One brush with life and you are alive. All because Christ’s heart is not distant from His people, but instead it is lowly, it is humble, it is with us.
He is praying for us when we are not praying ourselves. He is loving us when we are not loving Him. He is seeking us when we are not even seeking Him.
Dane Ortlund, whose incredibly powerful book Gentle and Lowly, which inspired this entire post, wrote,
”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.......the posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.”
We cannot outrun a God whose heart is with us. We are unable to wander too far from Him, no matter how lost, sinful, and broken we feel. We cannot escape the love of a Christ whose natural position, whose very heart is a gentle and lowly one for His people. Jesus doesn’t shrink away from our brokenness, His posture is one of an outstretched hand, willing, wanting, to touch us and make us new.
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