The Bible makes some big claims about Jesus Christ.

We read that he is the son of God, the Messiah, a prophet, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the beginning and the end, rabbi (teacher), the Great High Priest and so much more, but what has been arresting me this week is the fact that Jesus is also a friend.

I can’t think of any other religion or philosophy where the central character is both Lord and friend. What is even more astounding about this first-century Galilean is that he was the one that extended friendship, in the most unlikely of places.

He started conversations with people that people like him didn’t talk to. He met with those that had a reputation, those that were given a wide berth, even those that society had given up on and cast out.

There are two stories I want to draw your attention to, the first is in John 4 and the second is in Mark 5.

In John 4, Jesus meets a woman at a well, and in Mark 5, Jesus meets a crazed man in a graveyard.

Both people were marginalised. Both had a bad reputation, for different reasons, both of them had been given up on by society, yet Jesus approaches the unapproachable, reaches out to the unlovable, offers dignity, hope, respect.

Jesus wasn’t looking to make a religious convert, instead he came to bring freedom, and both the woman and the man that day found true freedom. Freedom from their own baggage, from societal judgement, freedom from their own pain.

Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve, and he so often did this by making friends.

The good news is that Jesus is still in the business of making friends today, all across the world. When Jesus ascended into heaven to be with his Father, he sent his Spirit to inhabit his people.

This means that Jesus is with us now, if we open our hearts and let him in, and he longs to make friends today, just like he has always done, because he is the same, yesterday, today and forever, he is only a short prayer away…Lord Jesus, be my friend.