Jewels From JohnSample

A Faithful Friend

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and He exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” John 13:21 (NLT)

Let's, for a moment, put ourselves in the place of Jesus to try and understand the pain and heartache He must have gone through, knowing that one of His twelve chosen disciples, Judas Iscariot, was conspiring to betray Him for a measly thirty pieces of silver.

Judas' association and friendship with Jesus was for three and a half years. He stayed with Jesus, ate with Him, heard all His teachings—experienced first-hand, all the miracles and wonders He performed, was in-charge of the group’s finances, had his feet washed by Jesus and was the recipient of Jesus’ unconditional love. No wonder Jesus was deeply troubled and sorrowful at the thought that His friend, to whom He had entrusted so much, had turned his heel against Him.

Some of us may have been through a similar situation where someone close to us, whom we loved and trusted, turned against us. Most often, our initial response to such an experience is hurt and anger. If not dealt with, this often turns to bitterness, and distrust of people in general. This kind of response is not beneficial to us, and definitely not what God desires of us. Instead, we can choose to model after Jesus, deciding to forgive, and love those who have been unfaithful to us.

It is also a good reminder to us that we should strive to be those loyal and loving friends whom others can depend on.  

In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”(NKJV) and that’s what Jesus did for us when He willingly laid down His life for us on the cross of Calvary. He is not only our best friend, but the greatest example of the kind of friends we should be to others.

Let us imitate Jesus, our faithful friend who commanded us to "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 (NIV)