(1) Who did Jesus consider His friends?
a) all the "wrong" groups = Matthew 11:19
b) Judas Iscariot as he was betraying Him = Matthew 26:50
c) followers/disciples = Luke 12:4 & John 15:14-15
d) a disciple who died/slept = John 11:11
(2) Is there any difference between Friends
and Neighbors?
a) Both Friends & Neighbors Rejoice In Hearing
About Your Good-News
Luke 15:6,9,29
b) Neighbors are those who live near-by or are
within your scope of proximity/near
Luke 10:27, 29
(2) How did Jesus value His friends?
1 Corinthians 13:3
"If I give away all I have, and if I deliver
up my body to be burned, but have not love,
I gain nothing."
Jesus did, in fact, give away all He had by
leaving Heaven to become Emmanuel as the Son
of God yet fully Son of Man. Jesus did deliver
up His body to be crucified for our sins.
However, it was the love in His heart towards
us that provided the proof that we were His
friends.
John 15:13
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends."
John 10:11, 15
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. [15] As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father:
and I lay down my life for the sheep."
Don't be fooled about the concept of 'laying-down'
your life for your friends. It's not about the end of
life event. It's about investing yourself in loving your
friends, your neighbors and those most opposite to
you ... *that last point is from Andy!
