John 15:13-15
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
If you type “friends” into the Google search bar the first thing you get is: Friends (TV Series…1994-2004). Friends received acclaim throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season. The show ranked no. 21 on TV Guide‘s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and no. 7 on Empire magazine’s The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. It was cute and funny and often provided a glimpse into good, healthy friendship…but it fell FAR SHORT of the friendship we read about in today’s passage.
Do you have a best friend? For many of us, myself included, my best friend is my spouse. She is my closest confidant and knows me better than any other person on the planet. Would she be willing to lay down her life for me? I believe she would. I would certainly lay down my life for hers, as I would for my children…but would I lay it down for the barista at Starbucks? Probably not. Jesus was setting a new standard for friendship, let alone re-defining his relationship with his disciples. In the Jewish culture, a Rabbi was not a friend of his students…he was their master. And while Jesus is certainly our Master and Teacher, he is also our dear friend. Consider the original Merriam-Webster definition from 1828:
- One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his company, and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity; opposed to foe or enemy.
A friend loveth at all times. Proverbs 17:17.
- One not hostile; opposed to an enemy in war.
- One reconciled after enmity. Let us be friends again.
- An attendant; a companion.
- A favorer; one who is propitious; as a friendto commerce; a friendto poetry; a friend to charitable institution.
- A favorite. Hushai was David’s friend
- A term of salutation; a familiar compellation.
FRIEND, how camest thou in hither? Matthew 22:12. So Christ calls Judas his friend though a traitor (Mat 26).
Pretty cool, huh? Imagine the Creator of the Universe being your friend. Walking. Talking. Sharing. Laughing. Crying. A friend that keeps no secrets, holds no grudges, and harbors no ill will. A friend that was willing to lay down his life for yours, even before you came to know him. A friend that knows everything there is to know about you—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and still loves you deeply and unconditionally. That is the kind of friend you have in Jesus, and the kind of friendship that an immensely popular TV show could never capture, no matter how many seasons it ran.
