Friendship Series

After making his historic stand before the Diet Of Worms where

he defied the church and refused to recant, Martin Luther started

for home. He had stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition, and plots

were made against his life. As Luther's carriage entered a narrow

pass, ideal for an ambush, it was suddenly surrounded by 5

horsemen, who were masked and armed. They forced Luther to get

down, and they threw a cloak over him. They put him on an extra

horse and disappeared into the forest. Silently they took Luther to

the Castle of Wortburg, which was hidden high in the mountains.

There he discovered that he was in the hands of friends.

Frederic the Elector had Luther kidnapped in order to protect him

from his enemies who would certainly have killed him. This single

act of friendship changed the course of history and played a major

role in the success of the reformation. It was while hiding in that

castle that Luther translated the Bible into the German language.

He did much other writing also that influenced the thinking of the

masses.

Time and time again friendship has been the force determining

the course of history. We see it in the great friendship of David and

Jonathan in the Old Testament. Jonathan loved David even more

than his own father Saul. He defended and protected David when

Saul was out to kill him. When Jonathan died in battle David

wrote in great sorrow in II Sam. 1:26, "I am distressed for you my

brother Jonathan, very pleasant have you been to me, your love to

me was wonderful passing the love of women." David is saying that

friendship love can be a greater pleasure than erotic love, and we

will see the importance of this later even in marriage.

This also has tremendous implications for singles, for it is

saying that the sexual relationship is not the highest relationship of

two people. Jesus never had a mate, but He did have friends, and

this is potentially a higher level of love. Friendship can be a higher

level than any other relationship. Abraham is called the friend of

God, and there is no way to top that. The Bible puts friendship on a

very high level, and sometimes even above family ties. Even pagan

authors recognize this as true to life. Euripides wrote, "A friend

welded into our life is more to us than twice 5000 kinsman, one in

blood." Engel the German said, "Blood relationship is sweet, but

how much sweeter are alliances of the soul?"

Similar statements can be found from every land and people

from ancient times to the present. Emerson said, "A friend may

well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature." We are designed by

God to be social beings, and so there is a hunger in all people for

friends. And ancient Jewish proverb said, "Friends, though they be

as Job's friends, or else death." The Russian poet Dimitriev wrote,

"I've been seeking a friend! There's none below. The world must

soon to ruin go." I do not exaggerate when I say I could go on for

hours just quoting the praises of friendship from philosophers and

poets from around the world. We would expect that Jesus would

have something to say about such an important subject, and we find

this to be the case. In fact, Jesus is unsurpassed in His exaltation of

friendship. He raised it to the highest possible level by making it a

relationship that can be had between God and man. In Christ God

becomes our friend. We have the testimony of Christ's enemies to

support this, for they called Him a friend of sinners. They meant it

as slam, but it is, in fact, a compliment, for had He not been a friend

of sinners He would have been a friend of no one, for all have

sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Jesus was a friend to the friendless, and you see Him

befriending those sinners and victims of sin that the Pharisees

shunned. They would toss coins to them and give them advice, and

even pray for this scum of the earth around them, but to befriend

them was a definite no no. And to eat with them was unheard of.

That is how they thought they knew Jesus was not divine, for had

He really been deity He would have known to have better taste than

to eat with an befriends with such sinners. Listen to this testimony

from the great Jewish scholar Montefiore. He is looking at Jesus

from a non-Christian point of view:

"The rabbis attached no less value to repentance than Jesus.

They sang its praises and its efficacy in a thousand tones...

They too welcomed the sinner in his repentance. But to seek