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Amis Letter 07

 

Friendship in the Bible

 

Dear Friend

 

Today I share some thoughts about Friendship in the Bible.

 

The Introduction document referred to the Gospel of John (15:13-15): “No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”

 

In this text Jesus calls his disciples “friends”. It is almost a redefining of their relationship. He does not describe them as followers or disciples but friends. He does not call them “servants” any more. (Has he ever called them servants? In one of the future letters we will share more about the interpretation of the Gospel of John). 

 

The Greek word used here is φίλος, φίλοι, φιλία. It is one of the words used in Classical Greek for love (the others being eros and agape). These words certainly have a strong sense of love. It is almost the practical visibility of agape. 

 

A full discussion of “Friendship in the Bible” would make this a very long letter. I will stick to a few notes. The Bible has some real gold nuggets about Friendship

 

In Ex 33:11 the relationship between God and Moses is described in terms of friendship:  The LORD would speak to Moses face to face just as a man speaks with his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, Nun's son Joshua, his young servant, would not leave the tent. (ISV)

 

Imagine God and Moses in conversation. If we could be eavesdropping just outside the tent, we would hear amicable soft drowning of the two voices in conversation. There might have been moments of humour and laughter as well as more serious talk and exchange of ideas and questions.

 

Another beautiful story about God as friend is that of Enoch in Gen 5:22-24: “After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch communed with God for 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years, communing with God—and then he was there no more, because God had taken him.” 

 

The Dutch theologian Okke Jager made a beautiful story about this. He said that God and Enoch usually had late afternoon walks. At one-point Enoch would say: I must turn back now. One afternoon God replied by saying: “Why don’t you just come home with Me?” Enoch never returned home.

 

There is the story of David and Jonathan (1 Sam 18); sayings about friends in Proverbs (17:17, 19:4 and 27:10 and 17). People called Jesus “a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. (Matt 11:19)

 

There are numerous examples of friends with bad influence too. James 4:4 and the beginning of Proverbs give us some examples. That is not per definition “friendship” – one could say that is non-friendship.

 

The foundational story in the New Testament is that Jesus became Man. He became friend of humankind. There is a lot to be said about that. We will return to that in another letter.  Friendship is a positive, encouraging and fundamental human relationship and we find it everywhere in the Bible.

 

It is one thing to look for texts and aspects of friendship in the Bible. One could also use it as a key to “unlock” or interpret the Bible. If we approach the Bible assuming that the underlying theology is that of friendship we do not see God as judge or critic but we see God as our friend. He is our friend, He wants to be our friend and Jesus is the proof.

 

Where does that leave us? Personally it makes me want to write a whole new theology of the Bible!

 

For us that is a long and exciting journey. And enough for today!

 

Conversation

 

• Make a short list of people you would think of as friends.

• What made them your friends?

• Think of the most painful experience of your life. In what ways were “friendship” involved in this experience?

• Can you think of God as your Friend? What comes to your mind about this question?