FRIENDSHIP OF CHRIST

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 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 15:13-15 NKJV).

In Bible days, the disciples of a rabbi were considered his servants. Jesus changed that relationship; the disciples were not his servants but his friends. Jesus considered them his friends because He had told them everything He had heard from the Father.

Friendship demonstrated – “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (v. 13). The Lord is not speaking here of His death as an atoning sacrifice in which He laid down His life for the sins of mankind. He is speaking of His death as a voluntary surrender for the good and well-being of those He loves. The greatest love anyone can show for a friend is to die for him.

Friendship declared - “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (v. 13). The does not tell us what He wants done because we are His servants. A servant does what he is told to do, but there is no bond of love, no intimacy. The servant is merely the instrument of his master’s will, to do his will, promptly and without question. However, the Lord tells us His will because we are His friends. He takes us into His confidence, shares with us what is in His mind and on His heart. Anyone can be the friend of the Lord Jesus. All that is necessary is to love Him and do what He says.

Friendship designated – “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends” (v. 15). Jesus called us to be His friends. That is a tremendous offer. It means that no longer do we need to gaze longingly at God from afar; we are not like slaves who have no right whatsoever to enter into the presence of the master; we are not like a crowd whose only glimpse of the king is in the passing on some state occasion. Jesus gave us this intimacy with God, so that He is no longer a distant stranger but our close friend. Our friendship to each other and to the Lord is not perfect, but His friendship to us is perfect.

(Adapted from John Phillips Commentary)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Friend

In John 15:13 we read, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (NKJV).

Friend is the Greek word philos (φίλος = fee'-los). The word philos means friend or loved one. In Classical Greek philos refers to a friendly relationship, a helping and caring attitude between persons whether related by blood or not. The word can also refer to followers of a politician or clients of a wealthy man. Greeks believed that a man could have only a few real friends and that a pair of friends was the true ideal.

In the Septuagint philos conveys the idea of a close friend, a friend of the house, and even a political supporter of someone in authority. In the New Testament the supreme example of a friend is the Lord Jesus. His example of love crosses all cultural boundaries. To the Jews He represented one who loved His disciples as He loved himself; to the Greeks and Romans He was the one who laid down His life for His friends.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Gentiles would flock to the Messiah (Isa. 55:5; 60:3)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 8:10

Bible Facts

Origin of music explained (Psalm 40:3). Evolution cannot explain the origin of music. The Bible says that every good gif t comes from God (Jam. 1:17). This includes joyful melodies. God has given both man and angels the gift of music-making (Gen. 4:21; Ezek. 28:13). Singing is intended to express rejoicing in and worship of the Lord (Job 38:7; Psalm 95:1-2).

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Acts, who invited his family and friends to hear what God had to say to him?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Solomon judged a dispute between two mothers about whose baby boy had died. What did one mother say had caused the death of the child? His mother had lain on him (1 Kings 3:16-27).

That’s in the Bible

"Hewers of wood and drawers of water”

“And the princes said unto them, let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation” (Joshua 9:21 NKJV).

“Hewers of wood and drawers of water” - The expression “hewers of wood and drawers of water” refers to the lowest level workers. Upon finding out who the Gibeonites were and how they had deceived Israel, Joshua informed them in very strong terms of their condemnation - they were cursed to perpetual slavery. The Gibeonites were spared but were made servants of the Israelites. The menial nature of the work gave them permanent lower class status. The Gibeonites gained peace with Israel but at a price they had not anticipated.

Did You Know - Christian History

Henry Barclay Swete was born March 14, 1835 in Bristol, England. He was an English Biblical scholar and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is best known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation, and other works of exegesis.

Being weak in body, Swete channeled his energies into the work of a pastor and teacher, becoming one of the greatest scholars of his day. Swete was also a professor at King’s College and Cambridge, a staunch defender of the truth of the Bible and of the Apostles’ Creed against modern critics.

Swete’s works on Biblical texts are of high importance. In 1887 he published the first volume of his edition of the Greek text of the Old Testament, completing the series in 1894. In 1898 he completed the Greek text of the Gospel of St. Mark with notes and introduction. Then in 1906 the Apocalypse of St. John was completed.

Swete was the editor of the Cambridge Theological Essays, the Cambridge Biblical Essays, and a contributor to Smith and Wace’s Dictionary of Christian Biography as well as Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible. He also produced many historical and critical works, including The Apostles’ Creed in Relation to Primitive Christianity; Church Services and Service Books before the Reformation; Patristic Study; The Appearances of Our Lord after the Passion, and The Last Discourse and Prayer of Our Lord.

Right up to the end, Henry Swete was thinking of others. In the year before his death, he ministered to several elderly and chronically ill individuals. When death neared, he asked to have the sinner’s prayer read to him: “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” Swete died on May 10, 1917, declaring himself unworthy of heaven but embracing it on the ground that Christ freely offered it to him. He was described as a ‘pillar of Christian learning and a pattern of Christian life.’

A Little Humor

A mother was struggling to get the ketchup out of the bottle when the phone rang. She asked her four year old daughter to answer it. She heard her daughter say, “Mommy can’t come to the phone. She’s hitting the bottle.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“There is a way to stay out of hell, but no way to get out of hell!”