Chapter Two: His Heart in Action

Rev. 1:12-18

Ortlund begins chapter two of his book by discussion Christ’s heart in action. We hear people say, “I love you,” but then fail to demonstrate it. A husband who says he loves his wife yet never talks to her, fails to provide for her, and does not show any affection at all does not truly love his wife. It is the husband’s actions that demonstrate the truth of his claim, “I love you.”

Our words are demonstrated through action. John tells us the same thing in 1 John 2:3-4

1 John 2:3–4 ESV

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

In other words, you will know the tree by its fruit (cf. Matt. 7:15-20).

We learned last week about the heart of Jesus. He is gentle and lowly. His call is to come to Him, and the only qualification is to be heavy laden and weary. The result of our coming to Him is that He gives rest, pure and spiritual rest. The ironic truth is that, although we have a new yoke and burden, it is light and easy. Such is the gracious, gentle, and lowly Savior.

But do the actions of Jesus differ from that picture in your mind?

Now, the Scriptures do present a Jesus who is not afraid to confront error. In fact, I recommend you read John MacArthur’s book, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore. Referring to Jesus’s interactions with the religious leaders, MacArthur writes,

“It is a blistering denunciation—a candid diatribe about the seriousness of their error. There is no conversation, no collegiality, no dialogue, and no cooperation. Only confrontation, condemnation, and (as Matthew records) curses against them.”—John MacArthur, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, 20

One needs only peruse the Gospels to see this demonstrated. But this is not Christ’s heart toward sinners, though hurting under the weight and soul-crushing pressure of sin in this life. So, do the actions of Jesus back up this claim? That is our focus this evening, we are going to see Christ’s heart in action.

Let’s look at some Scripture that shows us Christ’s actions:

Matthew 8:2-3 “And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Matthew 9:2 “And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.””

Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

Matthew 14:14 “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Matthew 15:32 “Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.””

Mark 6:34 “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”

Luke 7:13 “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.””

Luke 19:41 “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,”

John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

Luke 7:34 “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

Now, I mentioned at the beginning that Jesus does stand for justice. He wields His God-given and righteous authority in severe manner, but to a particular type of people. They are the people who do not know they are burdened and heavy-laden, they are ignorant of their blindness (cf. John chapter 9).

As Ortlund summarizes this collection of verses, “The dominant note left ringing in our ears after reading the Gospels, the most vivd and arresting element of the portrait, is the way the Holy Son of God moves toward, touches, heals, embraces, and forgives those who least deserve it yet truly desire it.” (27)

There is a beautiful balance in Christ between truth and grace (cf. John 1:14), but this balance means both righteousness and love. Ortlund writes, “It is the very fallenness which he came to undo that is most irresistibly attractive to him.” (30) In other words, it is your sinfulness that draws Him to you. It is your helplessness that draws Christ to you. It is your “I am at the end of the line, the bell has rung, I am out breath and sinking below the water to doom-ness” that draws Christ to you.

Christ demonstrates His heart in action. Ortlund states, “What was his first impulse when he came across prostitutes and lepers? He moved toward them. He spent time with them. He touched them.” (31)

This is to be balanced with wisdom and discretion, of course. It also does not imply nor should we infer that Jesus was okay with their sinfulness. On the contrary, Jesus wants them to be holy. For example, Jesus tells the sick man who could not walk to not sin anymore, lest more judgment would come. Or John 8:11, after the woman was caught in adultery, Jesus tells her to sin no more. Further balance must be maintained with John 9:3.

You may be thinking, this all applied back then when He was on earth. But He is far away in heaven now. But is this what Scripture teaches? No, my brothers and sisters, it is not. Scripture teaches us that Jesus is with us. Matthew 28:20 “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Ortlund says this, “The same Christ who wept at the tomb of Lazarus weeps with us in our lonely despair. The same one who reached out and touched lepers puts his arm around us today when we feel misunderstood and sidelined.” (32)

The problem is not that we cannot feel Him. The problem is one of unbelief. Job knew God was omnipresent, but his senses could not perceive Him (Job 23:8-11, cf. Psalm 139:7-12).

Perhaps you are feeling alone. Perhaps you feel as if your sin is keeping Christ from you. But it is your sin that drives Christ toward you. He does not delight in sin, He delights in helping sinners. His heart is full of compassion, love, and grace. He is eager to forgive those that come to Him. Do you know this? Do you truly know this?

We will close our time with one more quote from Ortlund.

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