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There is a difference of stylistic level, of associations, and of nuances. But within any one individual passage these differences do not amount to a distinction of real theological reference: they do not specify a difference in the kind of love referred to. [ii] In the life of the Church, over the ages, “love of friendship” managed to get a foothold and secure its place, despite being often misunderstood. From a theological perspective, the mistrust of this “love of friendship” stems from its appearing to be a preferential, even exclusive, kind of affection and, thus, a contradiction of the biblical command to love all people. However, it need not be either exclusive or contradictory. The Christian understanding of “love of friendship” emerges from many biblical texts, throughout the Old Testament and the New, but in a particular way in the Fourth Gospel. Lesson 6) Mary chose the good part, the one thing needful—which is salvation through repentance of sin, faith in Christ—and a commitment to follow Him in obedience. Anyone who has ever been in church is familiar with the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” It was written by a son to comfort his mother whom he had left behind in Ireland when he came to the United States in the 1850s. In the entire Old Testament, only two men were ever referred to as a friend of God: Abraham and Moses. They enjoyed a close relationship with the Lord, and he revealed himself to them in unique and special ways. The children of Israel feared that kind of revelation. Remember how they trembled as Moses prepared to ascend Mt. Sinai and meet with the Lord (Exodus 19:16)? When Moses descended the mountain after forty days and nights, his face was shining so brightly that the people were terrified. They were afraid to see God face-to-face, or even to look upon his reflected glory (Exodus 34:30). While the Israelites were children of God, they were not called friends of God. The Lord did not reveal himself to them, but rather spoke through Moses, his mediator.
One writer says, “The Lord wants all of us to imitate Mary in our worship, and to imitate Martha in our work—blessed are those who achieve the balance!” National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976 . Retrieved January 15, 2022– via Imgur. Jesus is saying something like this: “Now Martha, stop and think about life; there are not really many necessary things. You are concerned about a lot of details, but you could live without them if you had to. On the other hand, there is one thing that you just can’t do without—and Mary has found it!” When Peter objects to Jesus washing his feet, Jesus says to him, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8). Jesus is saying, “Unless you allow me to teach you how to be a servant, you cannot share in my mission, you cannot be about what I am about.”In time, if we walk long enough with Jesus as our friend, He will reveal Himself in newer, deeper and sometimes even fearful ways. "Don't be afraid," He whispers. "I am." If we don't have to be afraid of God, we don't have to be afraid of anything. What a challenge that is to so many of us. Do we see being a good friend as central to Christian faithfulness? I think often our attempts at Christian faithfulness – good things like leadership and serving – can actually be the things that consume so much of our time and capacity that we don’t invest in friendship. Perhaps we’ve missed something important in what Jesus has to say to us. There’s a cost to laying down our lives for others. Real love costs something, and real love is what Jesus calls us to in friendship.
It sounds like a promotion, doesn’t it? Going from servant to friend. Being a servant, however, is not a bad thing. The Spanish group Mocedades did the song with the translated title Aire in their 1982 studio album Amor de Hombre. [38] The Spanish lyrics for this song were written by Fernando De Diego. [39] These have been only a few fragmented attempts to answer our original question. I leave the question to you now and encourage you to lean into the Scriptures. Listen to your life and find more and better answers on your own. How has Jesus defined you? When have you heard Him say, "Don't be afraid?" Has He met you in your weakness? Have you experienced His unqualified love? Perhaps the most simple and direct route is to go to the Gospels and simply talk to Jesus' closest friend. Lesson 3) Jesus saw Mary and the other mourners weeping, and He too wept. The words translated “weep” in John 11:33 and 11:35 are two different words.
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Lesson 4) We notice how different the temperaments of true Christians may be. The two sisters in this lesson were faithful disciples. Before proceeding, it is important to make an etymological detour and speak briefly about the terminology used for “love” in the Fourth Gospel. The Johannine imagery of “love” and “friendship” spans two word groups: ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν. The verbal form, ἀγαπάω, is used thirty-seven times in John whereas φιλέω occurs twelve times. Most of this usage congregates around the Farewell Discourse (John 13:31–17:26), where “love” and “friendship” are major themes and where, according to the vast majority of Johannine scholars, the two verbs, together with their respective cognate groups, are used interchangeably with no distinction in meaning. In John 15:9, Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” Now Jesus applies abiding in His love to our relationships to one another. Abiding in His love is the key to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. These, of course, are the two great commandments that sum up the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:37-40), that we are to love God and love our neighbor. But the point here is that it is God’s great love for us, as seen in giving His own Son while we were yet His enemies, that motivates us to love others. There’s another way we can see that to be true. Jesus says that we are his friends if we do what he commands (John 15:14). We’ll have more to say on this later, but notice one thing for now. Not many verses earlier, in John 15:10, Jesus has promised ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.’ Keeping Jesus’ commandments means we abide in his love, and it means we’re his friends. Those two things overlap: friendship is a relationship of deep love. On the occasion described in Luke 10, Jesus was traveling through the country with His disciples, most likely coming up from Jericho. He had just related the story of the Good Samaritan (the man who was robbed and left for dead along the Jericho Road). Jesus no doubt sent a messenger on ahead to inform His friends at Bethany that they could expect Him for supper that night. His disciples may have gone on to Jerusalem, or perhaps they too were included among the visitors who would drop in at Bethany. That is not clearly stated.
Album: Amor de hombre de Mocedades en Los40.com". Archived from the original on August 27, 2014 . Retrieved August 24, 2014.
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Friendships are also relationships of openness. We cultivate true friendship when we are open and honest. As we share with one another, intimacy is fostered, hearts are united. Openness creates connection, and the gospel allows openness. We can be open, even about our weaknesses and our failings, because we know that we are always loved and accepted. We need not feel ashamed, because Jesus says that we are his friends. Of all people, we as friends of Jesus should have the freedom to be open in our friendships with others. The challenge of Jesus on friendship This later scholarship contradicts the consensus of many 19 th century British scholars, who tended to see the alternation of verbal forms in John 21:15-17 as not merely one of style but of substance. However, support for this archaic position has continued to dwindle in the face of the apparently irrefutable evidence that the Fourth Gospel regularly deploys synonyms for the sole purpose of stylistic variation.
We need to avoid two errors: One error is flippantly calling Jesus a “chum,” “buddy,” or “pal”— as though friendship is trivial. On the other hand, we could so emphasize Jesus’s kingship that we neglect his companionship. We could so emphasize his authority that we don’t enjoy his affection. But Jesus offers himself to us as both our cosmic ruler and our closest friend. Cultivating Friendship with Christ Jesus embodied the life of God’s Servant and taught his disciples to do the same. This is surely at the heart of what the feet washing is about in John 13. Just ponder that for a moment. The Son of God, the one through whom all things were created, the one who for all eternity past has existed in relationship with the Father and the Spirit, takes on flesh, comes to earth and on the night before he’ll be brutally executed on a Roman cross for them, looks at his closest followers and says, ‘You are my friends’. It’s astounding. And what’s even more astounding is that we can trust that by extension Jesus says those words to us too. Jesus says to all of his followers: ‘You are my friends’. Jesus wants to help the disciples to understand what the greatest love is really like, and he doesn’t turn to marriage or sex, he turns to friendship. For Jesus, friendship is a relationship of deep love. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a "gift" who will guide us, lead us, and empower us. Yet many believers don't experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This unique Christian Bible study provides a space in which we can explore what it truly means to "walk in the Spirit" on a daily basis. Have you considered the honor of being called God’s friend? What would the Lord want you to know about your friendship with him today? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.In verse 40, we read, “But Martha (who) was cumbered about much serving, came to (Jesus), and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.” However, it is in the Gospel of St John that the truly glorious paradigm is found, and there is a long tradition linking friendship with the Fourth Gospel. In the history of theology, the Fourth Gospel has a special role in “Love of Friendship”; as Origen claims in his Commentary on John, it is “the first fruits of the gospel.” [i] This ripe fruit, “friendship” and “love,” arise from the very depths of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. The image of the Beloved Disciple reclining next to Jesus at the Last Supper came to be viewed as the prototypical example of friendship among the medieval writers. Moreover, the Fourth Gospel explicitly gives “love of friendship” a central place: We can almost see Martha, when she received word that Jesus was planning to stop by; she was concerned about hospitality and generosity. She immediately went to work, beginning to prepare the meal. She sent one of her helpers to the market to get some extra food; she began to build a fire for cooking—and in the midst of the bustle of preparation, Jesus arrived. Some imply that to preach obedience is to be legalistic. Why is this fallacious? Can obedience become legalistic? How? National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976 . Retrieved January 11, 2022– via Imgur.
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