Not Servants but Friends

Not Servants but Friends

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

Jesus’ relationship with His disciples had developed from one of a Master and His disciples to one of friendship. For three years they had spent almost every moment together and Jesus had exposed His heart to them. It is a great honor for Him to refer to them (and us) as His friends. He trusted them and wanted their companionship. When it came to the last supper, He said: “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15). His desire to eat the meal with them had various motivations, but the strongest was just to spend time relaxing with His friends and being close to them, even though they were quarrelling amongst themselves about seniority. Later when He went to the Garden, He took three of them with Him, once again that they may just be there with Him in His darkest hour, and once again, they failed Him and fell asleep.

By no stretch of the imagination could we call these men good or reliable friends. They were fickle, left Him in the lurch, fled from Him and even denied that they knew Him. Yet, Jesus calls them His friends and values their company. Even after the resurrection, he spends time with them at the picnic by the sea. If our Lord wanted the friendship of others, then it is good that we also have those whom we can call friends. The problem is that good friends seem to be very hard to find these days.

Many people like to befriend the rich and famous simply so they can get something out of the other person, even if that is simply to bask in the glow of someone important. Proverbs says: “Wealth makes many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend. Many entreat the favor of the nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! (Proverbs 19:4-7). But “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17). The true measure of a friend is whether he remains faithful in hardship and adversity. At one time I thought I had good friends of many years standing but when I became unpopular because of the Word, they all fled and forsook me. They were not true friends but simply what we call “fair weather friends”.

Jesus, on the other hand, had true friends in Nicodemus and Joseph. While He was popular they were not part of the inner circle but once He had been crucified, it was these two who laid their careers and reputations on the line by asking for the body of Jesus. True friends are proven when things go wrong and we become unpopular. Much can be said about the bad advice that Job’s three friends gave him when he found himself on the trash heap. But in spite of their bad advice, they rallied and remained faithful even though Job had nothing more to give them. Here is probably one of the greatest stories about real friends: “Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place... For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. (Job 2:11-13). Even though they gave him bad council and could not help him, they were true friends and were simply there for him in his hour of need.

If we want to be a true friend, we need to be friends to those who are in need and who have nothing to give us but their friendship. This is what Jesus did. The learned and important people did not like Him because instead of associating with them, He was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). Paul puts it this way: “Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.” (Romans 12:16). We all want friends to gravitate to us but we should rather be like Jesus who sought out those who were despised and rejected by others. Off course such friendships are hard to maintain because such people may not be our equals and they may not bring much to the relationship but it is more blessed to give than to receive. Allow me to challenge you to find someone who is unloved and begin to show genuine love, care and concern for that person. Yes, it may be difficult but do you think it was easy for Jesus to love us and to befriend us when we were in our sin? Do you really think that you were, or are, at His level? No, never, but He still befriended us and even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful. Even after Peter had publicly denied that he knew Jesus and had run back to his fishing, Jesus went after him and sought him out. Indeed “what a friend we have in Jesus”.

But that does not mean that friends should not speak the truth to one another, even if the truth hurts. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6). True friends will say those things that will help their friends but unfortunately, many people will break the friendship when someone dares speak the truth to them. I suppose those who always want to just hear flattery are not worth having as friends but a true friend should not stand by and watch his friend make a fatal mistake and not try to correct him.

If Jesus had to come into our churches today, would he be able to say to us that we are His friends or is our relationship with Him on a more formal basis? I believe the highest honor that could be bestowed on a man is that such a man be called the “friend of God”. Abraham was such a man. Even though the Lord had to deal harshly with him at times, Abraham remained faithful and was called “the friend of God”. (2Chronicles 20:7, James 2:23) Note that he was not a friend, but the friend of God. What an honor! Even more amazing is that he was called the friend of God. It is one thing to call God our friend, it is entirely different for God to call Abraham His friend. It is one thing to not be ashamed to be identified with God; it is a different thing for Him not to be ashamed of us. (Hebrews 11:16).

Anton Bosch

anton@ifcb.net

3310 W Magnolia Blvd

Burbank, CA, 91505

Tel 818 846 5520