Living Downstream

6 · Austin references Luke 4, where Jesus explicitly claims messianic identity from Isaiah, provoking shock and confusion among those who heard him

Jesus has claimed to be the divine son of God. In fact, in Luke, chapter four, he unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and he says, the messiah you've been waiting for. The savior of God's people, the one who will right all the wrongs, is here in your midst. And then he mic drops and walks out of there. And people freak out, like, what is he saying? Jesus has made shocking claims about his identity and who he is.

7 · Austin quotes Luke 7:34 to show how Jesus defies expectations—he is accused of being a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of sinners, precisely because he meets people in their low places

And the people who were waiting for him expected him to be a little bit more clean and pristine. Here's what's said about him in the immediate context before this. This is John, chapter. Sorry, Luke, chapter seven, verse 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.

8 · Austin draws out the theological implication: Jesus' friendship with sinners is not incidental—it is the essence of his grace, which flows to the lowest places

See, Jesus is meeting people in the back alleys and in the dark corners. And in the debris of their repeated failures. And he's offering them grace. He's a friend of sinners, and people cannot figure him out. So they're asking this question. What kind of person is he? What kind of person is Jesus?

9 · Austin articulates the hermeneutical key to the passage: how we see ourselves determines how we see Jesus

And in our passage today, Jesus is going to give us an answer to that question. And here's what we've got to know. As Jesus answers this question. What kind of person he is? What you and I need to know becomes very clear. Our answer to that question. What kind of person is Jesus? Will be deeply shaped by who we believe ourselves to be. Let me say that again. Our answer to the question of what kind of person is Jesus? Will be deeply shaped by what kind of person we believe ourselves to be.

10 · Austin restates the structural frame, signaling the shift into the first character portrait: the woman of the city

Three characters in our text. A woman of the city. And we should ask, what kind of person is she? A religious man named Simon. And we should ask, what kind of person is he? And then we'll ask, what kind of person is Jesus?

11 · Austin reads Luke 7:36-38, the account of the sinful woman's approach to Jesus at Simon's house, establishing the scene for exposition

Let me read verses 36 to 38 for us. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. And he went into the Pharisees house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner. When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisees house. Brought an alabaster flask of ointment. And standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. And wiped them with the hair of her head. And kissed his feet. And anointed them with ointments.

12 · Austin unpacks the woman's social identity: known publicly as a sinner, her reputation precedes her, yet she hears about Jesus and moves toward him rather than away from him

This woman of the city, what kind of person is she? Well, the answer is in the descriptor. She is a woman of the city. A sinner. Now, more than likely, what this means is she was a woman of the street. And I'll let the readers understand. She's not thought of well in society. Her sin washing very public. Her reputation, it precedes her. She's known before. She does anything in this passage. She walks into the house, and everyone knows who she is and what she has done. And here's the crazy part. Her identity in society is known as sinful. That's her identity. A sinner. No one is wondering about the character of this woman. There are no doubts about her position. She is known before she does anything. And that's important for us to catch. Because this means that her primary identity in society is her sin. And everyone in the room would have looked down on her because of that. Every single person, this woman of the city, she hears about Jesus. She hears where he is and she seeks him out. She is moved by knowledge of Jesus, but she's not moved away from him. She doesn't hear good news about God in the flesh and run in the opposite direction. Instead, she moves towards him.

13 · Austin applies the woman's movement toward Jesus to the congregation: the proper response to Jesus is not to hide our sin but to bring it to him, seeking him out rather than running away

I want us to think about that for a moment. This woman is a sinner. She doesn't run from Jesus. She runs towards Jesus. You see, the proper response with our sin in our lives with Jesus is not to hide it and take it and remove it from him as far as we can and never let him touch it. The proper response for. For our sin is to bring it to him. It's to bring it to him, to seek him out, to pursue him. And I think many of us, particularly those of us who have grown up in church, we kind of have this idea that the way of being in the world as a Christian and maybe even the way of being in the church is to put on our best and never let anyone in to see where we're really at. And that's the exact opposite response that we should have as a people shaped by the cross of Christ. We should be a people who bring our sin to Christ and to Christ shaped individuals around us. We should be open. This is what learning about Jesus does to this woman. She hears about him and she seeks him out.

14 · Austin describes the visceral, shameless nature of the woman's worship—pouring expensive oil, washing Jesus' feet with tears and hair

She moves towards him, bringing an offering of great expense. And she pours it over his feet and she weeps as she washes his feet with her hair, kissing them over and over and over again. And it's a striking sight if we let ourselves sit with it for a moment, one that many of us would be very uncomfortable with if it happened here on a Sunday morning at this church. Some of us would probably say to ourselves, hey, Pastor Ricky, should that woman be doing that? Kind of feel like maybe we should, like, help her stand up and maybe sit in the back or something like that. I don't know. You guys would never do that. You're a grace filled church, so I'm not saying that you would do that, but I might have those questions, if I'm honest. It's a striking sight. A shameless woman crying, her nose runny with weeping, her hair undone with a muddy mixture of tears and expensive oil and dirt. And she is pouring all of that out on the feet of Jesus. She is pouring all that she has out on the feet of Christ. She has been openly moved by the person of Christ.

15 · Austin breaks from the exposition to address the congregation directly with a pastoral question: has the gospel actually moved you, or are you still untouched by its beauty?

This isn't in the text. It's not even in my notes. But I'm feeling a little bit of a press right here to share. Something I want to ask. Has the beauty of the gospel openly moved you towards Jesus? Because if it hasn't, it might not have hit you yet.

16 · Austin explains the cultural background of foot-washing hospitality, revealing the shocking reversal: the woman performs the host's duties that Simon neglected, making her the true welcomer of Jesus

Let's keep reading. Here's what's shocking. In this text, we find out that she is actually playing the role of host. You see, it was customary in this day and age to wash the feet of your guest. Now, we kind of understand this because we live in a very dusty city called El Paso. But the streets, they're a little dirty sometimes, right? Yeah, we know that. And if you were to walk around in our city streets with open toed sandals all the time, you'd have some grime on those feet by the end of the day. Now imagine that in the ancient world, where most roads were not paved and most transportation was animals. And I'll let the readers understand. Again, your feet, by the end of the day, they are a mess. And so it's customary when you invite people into your home, that they would walk in and your shoes would be removed, and then you would wash their feet, and then you would anoint them with oil and you would kiss them, and it would be a sign that they're welcome in your home. And Simon does none of this upon the arrival of Jesus. He doesn't do any of it, but she does all of it in abundance. She is kissing him and she is anointing him and she is washing his feet.

17 · Austin draws the theological conclusion from the woman's act: the kind of people who truly welcome Jesus are those who know they live downstream—brokenhearted failures who bring Christ into their deepest shame

We're getting a picture here, and it's one we cannot miss. If we are to call ourselves christians. The type of people that welcome Jesus are those that live downstream. Broken hearted failures who shamelessly invite Christ into the deepest parts of their identity are the ones who experience grace in full measure.

18 · Austin shifts from the woman to the second character: Simon the Pharisee

So what kind of person is Simon?

19 · Austin explains the Pharisaic worldview: spiritual disciplines practiced not out of love for God but out of self-love, creating a checklist to prove superiority over others

We know what kind of person the woman is. What kind of person is Simon? Well, he was a Pharisee. Now, to be a Pharisee was to be a part of an extremely religious sect that upheld their perceived personal holiness as the way to be right with God. So here's what that functionally looked like. I read my bible, I pray, I go to church, I memorize scripture, and I don't do anything unbecoming. Now, those things aren't inherently bad, right? Jesus did all of those things. He loved the word of God. He was often found in prayer. He was at the synagogue, and he would be at our churches every time they opened the doors. But the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. Is the Pharisees did those things not out of a motivation of love for God. They weren't motivated by their love for God. They were motivated by their love of themselves. You see, they would look at this list of spirituality. And to them it was a checkbox. So that they could look down on others. Who couldn't get their act together. The way that they seemed to be able to. So it wasn't, I do these things because I want to grow closer to God. It was, I do these things because I want to know that I'm good and you're not.

20 · Austin identifies the fundamental conflict: Pharisees trust their own righteousness to be right with God, so when Jesus claims to be the only way, they must either abandon their entire system or reject Jesus

You see, pharisees look to themselves and their knowledge and their activity. As the way to be right with God. But this causes a problem. Because Jesus shows up claiming that he's the only way to be right with Goddesse. So, naturally, this pharisee named Simon. He's pretty suspicious of Jesus. Because to fully welcome Jesus. Is to abandon the way he's lived his entire life.

21 · Austin shares a personal story of his own pharisaism—trusting his works for assurance, looking down on others—and his initial suspicion of a gospel-centered church, mirroring Simon's posture toward Jesus

Man, I remember I grew up. And I grew up in a great christian home. But I had, somewhere along the line, got confused between Christ's work and my work. So I got really into looking to myself for evidence that I was saved. I got really into looking to my works for evidence that I was good with God. And here's what that would play out like. That would functionally look like me feeling better than those around me. We're going to talk more about that later. It's a really easy move to make. And I remember when I went to a church for the first time. City press in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that preached the gospel faithfully to me. I was really suspicious of it. I was like, I don't know, man. I don't know about that. Seems a little too. I don't know, Christ centered, gospel focused. I'm not sure I can get on board with that. And that's where Simon's at. He's at this place of suspicion towards Jesus.

22 · Austin exposes Simon's posture: intellectually interested in Jesus but personally detached, seeing no need for a Savior because he believes he lives upstream, needing only a bit of grace and more discipline

Now, maybe we think, well, at least he's invited him over for dinner. He seems somewhat open to Christ. But it would seem, based on the way that he operates. That he invited Jesus over to criticize him silently. He wasn't inviting Jesus so that he could know him and receive him. He was inviting Jesus over to sniff out all that he thought was wrong with him. You see, there's a way of being interested in the person of Christ. But being impersonal to our need for him. There is a way of being interested in the person of Christ, but being impersonal to our need for him. And this is Simon. He is interested in who Jesus is, but he has no recognition that he actually needs Jesus. His attitude towards Christ, it's standing back, it's detached, there's no hospitality. It's a superficial interest. There's interest in the person of Christ, but there is no love for Christ. He's a man who looks down on others because he doesn't see his own need for Jesus. And he's a man who doesn't love Jesus because he thinks that he lives upstream. Sure, he needs a little bit of grace. That's what the sacrifices are for, but not that much. He doesn't need a savior. He probably just needs more discipline.

23 · Austin reads Luke 7:39, exposing Simon's silent judgment: if Jesus were really a prophet, he'd reject this sinful woman

And this shows up in the way he responds to Jesus. He shows him no hospitality, and it shows up in the way he responds to the sinful woman. He silently judges her. And in his judgment of her, he pronounces a judgment on Jesus. Let's read verse 39 together. Now, when the pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is, who is touching him, for she is a sinner. Basically, what he's saying is, if Jesus was who he says he is, then he wouldn't let this sinful woman anywhere near him. Notice the fundamental flaw in his theology. He thinks that God only welcomes the clean and the pristine, but he misses that God only welcomes the repentant sinner. He thinks that God only welcomes the clean and the pristine, but he misses that God only welcomes the repentant sinner.

24 · Austin applies the contrast between the woman and Simon to the congregation, pressing the question: What kind of person are you? He calls for confession of desperate need and warns against building a dam upstream that blocks grace from reaching our deepest brokenness

A natural question arises as we've focused on these two individuals in the text. The woman who lives downstream and Simon who believes he lives upstream. And that question that comes out of this is, what kind of person are you? What kind of person are you? Two ways to respond to Jesus. One, that sees him as nice but not necessary. And so we remain suspicious of his person. And then there's the way of the woman. We see our deep need. We see his welcoming invitation, and we throw ourselves with everything we have at him. Grace flows downstream. It flows to the deepest places of our need, and it welcomes us to find life. Just a question. Have you hedged your bets on your upstanding personality and believed that your need for Jesus is less than others? This is the confession of the christian life. Please hear this. The confession of the christian life is that I am desperately in need, woefully ruined, desperate and drowning. And here's the crazy thing. Apart from the work of God, I can't even see how deep my need really is. And then we turn. My sins, they are many, desperate and in need. But his grace outweighs them all. You see, the further downstream you recognize you are, the more postured you are to receive the torrential downpour of God's grace. Let's pull on this analogy a bit more. If the depth of who I am is downstream and I build a dam upstream, then I am never letting grace invade the deepest, most broken pieces of who I am because I've refused to acknowledge the depth of my need. Lord help me.

25 · Austin shares a deeply personal story of friends confronting him about his condescension—treating them like 'JV Christians' while he's 'varsity

I was with some friends recently, really, really great friends. The kind of friends who speak life and words of wisdom and pray for you even when you're not present, and the kind of friends who you laugh with and you joke with late into the evening, and the kind of friends that are brutally honest with you in all the right ways. So I asked a question while we were together. I asked them. I said, what's something you're afraid to tell me? And they said this. They said, sometimes it feels like you think we are JV Christians and you're varsity. This is what my closest friends in the world think about me. Sometimes it feels like you think we're JV Christians and your varsity. And those words were painful to hear because they're true. I needed to hear those words. Sometimes I find myself thinking that I live upstream and I catch myself offering less grace to others because I don't recognize the grace that I have received. And I don't know many of you in this room, but if that's ever the way that I've come off to you, I am so sorry. Painful to hear those words. Can I tell you what that is in me? That's spiritual immaturity.

26 · Austin defines spiritual maturity: not needing less grace over time, but becoming increasingly aware of how much grace we actually need

You see, grace flows downstream. And maturity in the christian life does not mean that we need less grace. It's becoming increasingly aware of how much grace we actually need.

27 · Austin shares his father's wisdom—that the longer you walk with Christ, the more you realize your need for the cross—and quotes a song his father wrote capturing this reality: grace is greater than all our deepest woes

My dad, he used to tell me that the longer he was a Christian, the more desperately he realized he needed the cross of Christ. And that kind of depressed me a little bit, you know, because I was like, man, I'm kind of hoping that one day I'd get better at this. Like, I need Jesus less. Like, that was kind of my hope. Like, over time, I would just be less in need of Jesus. And my dad was like, no, like, you just the. The older you get, the more you realize how deep this really goes. How deep your sin really goes. And around that time, he wrote this song. And I just want to share the lyrics with you. As I was reflecting on these notes and my father this morning, these are the words of the song my dad wrote. It says, his grace is greater still than all my deepest woes. It triumphs over my will and calms my weary soul over the sting of death. Grace brings relief o, how I love thy grace greater than my belief his grace it's deeper than the sea his grace is pouring over me his grace is greater still I have all that I need my deepest longing filled all by his divine decree more than one's greatest hope removing deepest fears oh, how I love thy grace faithful beyond all my years his grace is greater still no tongue can ever tell bore sin upon the hill to save my soul from hell my life will testify of how grace entered in. O, how I love thy grace. It sustains me from within

28 · Austin restates and expands the claim: spiritual maturity is increasing awareness of need, coupled with wholehearted turning to Christ who gives grace generously

maturity in the christian life. It does not mean that we need less grace. It's becoming increasingly aware of how much grace we really need. And turning with wholehearted abandon to Christ, who gives generously to all who come to him.

29 · Austin signals the shift to the final character portrait: Jesus

I've got really good news for us, friends. We have one more question to answer, and it's what kind of person is Jesus?

30 · Austin reads Luke 7:41-48, Jesus' parable of the two debtors and his direct address to Simon contrasting the woman's extravagant love with Simon's cold neglect

Let me read verses 41 to 48 for us. A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. It's just a sum of money, and you can tell 500 is larger than 50. So we're good there. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more? And Simon answered, the one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt. And he said to him, you have judged rightly. Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet. But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiveness.

31 · Austin highlights the rhetorical reversal: Jesus uses the despised woman to judge the self-righteous Simon, extending grace even in the confrontation, then turns to the woman and pronounces forgiveness

I just want us to notice some of the unique features of this passage. Here is Simon, who is uplifting his own righteousness, silently judging this woman. And Jesus uses this woman to silently or to vocally judge Simon. He tells a parable, and Simon gets it. He understands that the one who has been forgiven of much loves much. And in this moment, he is extending an invitation to Simon to see himself. He is extending grace to Simon to see himself. Then Jesus, he turns to this woman who has been rejected and looked down upon. And he looks at her, tells her, your sins are forgiven.

32 · Austin answers the question 'What kind of person is Jesus?' and exposes the means of salvation: not the woman's act of love but her faith

What kind of person is Jesus? He's the kind of person that offers forgiveness to those who live downstream, to those who turn and see their need for him and welcome him with wholehearted abandon. We've got to hear this, friends. We've got to hear this. The last words of this chapter. Why is the woman forgiven? Why is the woman saved? Verse 15. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace by faith alone in the person of Christ alone who forgives sins. You and I ruined. Sinners like this woman can be right with God. We can be welcomed into God's presence. This woman is not saved by her act of love. This woman is saved by her faith. The act of love is the evidence of her faith. Pour it out on the feet of Jesus. In this moment.

33 · Austin articulates the double recognition required: not just the greatness of our sin but the greatness of his forgiveness

You see, it's not enough to recognize the greatness of our sin. It's pretty easy to realize you're not that great of a person. It's pretty easy to figure that out. Live in community with any sort of people and you'll have your moments. It's not enough to recognize how great of a sinner you are. But we also need to recognize the greatness of his forgiveness. It's been extended to us. What joyous news. You don't have to swim your way upstream to be welcomed. You have to receive the grace that has made its way to you in your deepest, darkest, most shame filled spaces and believe that because Jesus was condemned, you will not be Jesus. He meets us in the low places. No matter how great the sin, God is able to forgive. And where sin abounds, grace abounds so much more.

34 · Austin applies Jesus' downstream movement to the congregation's present reality: Jesus meets us in our worst moments—past, present, and future—offering forgiveness and ministry in our deepest shame

Jesus is not waiting for you to swim upstream. He's not waiting for you to clean up your act so that you can be welcomed in and that you can be accepted. He's meeting you in the low places. And the invitation for us is to turn to him with wholehearted abandon, trusting that in the deepest, darkest places of our lives, he is actually capable of doing something. He is capable of offering forgiveness. In your very worst moment. I have this humbling recognition every once in a while that I'm somewhat young, I'm getting older, I sneezed and I pulled my back this morning. I don't know what that's about. Anyway, I have this humbling recognition of realizing how much of my life, Lord willing, is still left in front of me. Which means that it's entirely possible my worst moment has not happened in the life. And Jesus will meet me there, and Jesus will meet me there. And you may be this morning looking back at some of your worst moments with shame filled regret. And Jesus meets you there. He is not waiting for you to clean up that part of your life. He is ministering to you in those spaces.

35 · Austin's first application: living downstream means confession and honesty in community

Grace runs downstream, and you and I are invited to live where grace flows. So what does that look like for us to live where grace flows? Well, three things, and the first is confession and honesty. I think it starts with a community of people that are just real honest about where we're at. This is how we live down the stream. We don't present the pretty version that we think people will like. We present the real version that we know Jesus has forgiven. I mean, this is the beauty of the gospel, that you were outed on the cross of Christ. If you want to know who you are, you're a sinner. Welcome to church. I'm so glad you are here. But the cross of Christ tells you that your sins have been paid for. You do not need to hide who you really are. You can be open about it because you will surprise no one. Maybe you'll surprise some of us. But we all knew you were a sinner already. And you certainly won't surprise God, who knew what he was doing when he redeemed you on the cross. He outed you on the cross so you can out yourself to his people. I frequently just kind of, you know, I talk to a lot of people. I try to try to do that. I enjoy people. So every once in a while, I'll be having a conversation with somebody, typically on a Sunday morning, I'll be like, hey, how are you doing? And they're like, I'm okay. And then they stop talking as if there's not more to that story, as if there's not more going on in their lives that they would probably be. It would probably be beneficial if they shared that man. The community of faith that we call the church, the body of believers, should be a place where we live downstream and where we are welcomed to be honest and real about where we're really at so that we can actually find grace in those moments. The confession of where we are really at, of the sin that's inside of us, it is actually an act of faith that says, I believe the gospel. I believe it because I can be honest about where I'm really at. We don't present the pretty version that we think people will like. It's subjective anyway. We present the real version that we know Jesus has forgiven, and there's objective truth in that for all who believe in him.

36 · Austin's second application: recognizing how far downstream we are translates into deep love for Jesus

The second thing I think is love for Jesus. Man, when you start to see how deep the sin in your life really goes, how far downstream you really are, that translates into deep love for Jesus. And this is what this whole passage is trying to get us to see. If you think you are upstream, you won't love Jesus the way you're supposed to. But the more and more you grow honest about where you're really at, the more and more you start to recognize your true identity as someone who was a sinner. I hope you catch the intentional use of that language in this passage. The more and more you start to see that, the more that's going to like. The more you start to see where you're really at the depth of your sin, the more that is going to turn your attention towards Christ as your only hope in life and in death, the more and more that's going to turn your affection towards Christ as the only way out of the pit that you have dug for yourself. And the more and more you will rejoice at the good news of the gospel.

37 · Austin shares a funeral conversation to illustrate his own need for the weekly reminder of the gospel, urging listeners to find a church that faithfully proclaims Christ week after week

I was at a funeral on Friday this week, and afterwards, somebody came up and they started to talk to me, and they were like, yeah, I'm not really one of the church going type. And I said, yeah, neither am I. I'm not. He's like, yeah, I don't really want to go to church. I'm like, neither do I. He's like, so you just hang out here all the time? I'm like, well, I need it. I need it. Week after week after week, I need the constant reminder of the beauty of Jesus that's found in the gospel. Week after week after week, I need to be reminded of what has been done for me in Christ Jesus. Man. If you are looking for a church home, I want to encourage you to find a church home, like this one here at cross of grace, that will faithfully and unapologetically, week after week after week, proclaim the good news of Christ and what he has done for you on the cross.

38 · Austin pronounces the gospel over the congregation: you are not defined by your worst moment

Man. Brothers and sisters, you are not your worst moment. You were a sinner, just like this woman was a sinner, but now you are in Christ. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Go in peace. Peace.

39 · Austin's third application: shameless worship

And I think this is how we respond to these two things. We are an honest community. We grow in our love for Jesus because of what he has done for us. And we respond in worship, bringing our best, pouring it out on the feet of Jesus shamelessly. We could use a little more shameless worship in our churches.

40 · Austin returns to the opening metaphor, restating the sermon's central claim: grace flows downstream to the low places—our secrets, regrets, failures, and losses

Grace, it's like water. It always flows downward and gathers at the bottom of things. And that means that God meets us in the low places. He meets us in the back alleys of our secrets, the dark corners of our regrets, the cracks of our fears. He comes to us in the wreckage of our consequences, in the debris of our repeated failures. We find God in our losses, not outside of them.

41 · Austin closes in prayer, asking God to do the work of belief, to help the congregation see the beauty of Jesus and the grace available to them

Let's pray. Lord, help us to believe. Help us to see the beauty of Jesus. Help us to see the grace that's been made available to us. Lord, we want to be a people that are shaped by this good news. And so, God, I ask this morning that you would do a work in our hearts. Do a work in my heart. Lord, I'm finding that every time I get to these words, your sins are forgiven. That I'm just feeling choked up. And, God, I just believe we just need to hear that again, like your sins are forgiven. Go in peace. Lord, remind us of the beauty of the cross more and more and more and more. Thank you for the kind of person that you are extending grace to ruin sinners such as us help us to believe. It's in the beautiful name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.