A friend is someone you love and have things in common with. They are the ones you chose to spend time with. The ones that are there when you need a little compassion, or to hear I love you. When times are rough, and you don’t feel good they are still there. When your disposition needs changing, they are there and their words remind you of how you are to view life. I have many friends that I love and that love me, but only one that knows everything about me and continues to love me more than anyone can imagine. That friend is Jesus.
In John 15:13, Jesus states how much He loved us, and that we are His friends. He says that the greatest love one can have for a friend is to give their life freely by dying for them. That is what Jesus did for us. Jesus was willing to die for those that were already His friends, those who were following Him and loved Him. He gave His life to pay for their sins and left so they could have the Holy Spirit with them always. While there may be some who have died for their friends, He also died for His enemies, those who hated Him, who rejected Him as Messiah. He died for those who persecuted Him, reviled Him, and crucified Him. That is a friend we all need.
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
A friend also wants to please their friends. Jesus teaches us in John 15:14 that if we are His friends, we will do His commands. One proof of our love for Him is that we obey Him. Obedience is required to prove our friendship.
John 15:14 “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
In John 15:15, Jesus distinguishes us from servants. While we are to serve and He is our Master, He calls us His friend. A servant only knows the task they are to do. There is no intimate relationship between a servant and a Master. The Master has His own business, and the servant knows nothing about it. Yet Jesus treats us as a dear friend and allows us to know everything the Father has made known to Him.
John 15:15 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
A friend shows compassion and will meet our needs to the best of their ability. In John 11:11, Jesus calls Lazarus a friend. Lazarus’s sisters had called for Jesus to come and heal their brother. Jesus delays His going to bring glory to God, and Jesus understood the purpose of delaying His visit. He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. However, Lazarus’s sisters and other friends and family didn’t. When they go to the grave, He could see the grief that surrounded the situation and because of their pain, Jesus had compassion on them. In John 11:35, John describes the compassion Jesus had for His friends. He wept with them and for them. To the Jews, it was a witness of His love for His friends.
John 11:11 “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
Joh 11:33-36 “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!”
A friend is also one who listens. Jesus is always there when we want to talk to Him. If we have received Him as our personal Lord and Savior, He promises to hear us when we pray. Not one word is forgotten or dismissed. He always hears and He always answers. Note that this promise is not to those who are not following Him in obedience. If you do not have a relationship with Him, He has no obligation to you.
I John 5:15 “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
Because of our relationship with Jesus, we are also a friend of God the Father. When we believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, the Father is pleased. In Romans 4:3, Abraham believed all God had promised. That included the coming Messiah as payment for his sins. In James 2:23 Abraham’s belief gave him the privilege of being called a friend of God.
Romans 4:3 “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
There is no friend so true, so loving, so compassionate, so understanding, or so honest with us as Jesus. He is everything you could ever want in a friend, and this friendship should also teach us how to be a friend. We are to be a reflection of our friend so that others will want to obtain this friendship. I love Matthew Henry’s explanation of the kind of friend Jesus is to us. “There is a friend who is not akin to us the bonds of whose esteem and love prove stronger than those of nature, and, when it comes to the trial, will do more for us than a brother will. Christ is a friend to all believers that sticks closer than a brother; to him, therefore, let them show themselves friendly.
Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
That’s my friend, Jesus! Is He your friend also?
