Whose Friend Am I?

Seems like everyone is marching to the beat of the same drummer, but Jesus is not that drummer. If I march to the beat of the Lamb of God, I’m out of line. Jesus is my friend and King and apparently that makes me not a friend of everyone else. Jesus knows everything I go through, “… but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” John 19:12

I have experience working under several administrative authorities at the same time. The head custodian was my direct boss, the school administrator had authority over classrooms, the church administrator had authority over Sunday activities, and the athletic department had authority over the brand-new indoor basketball court. I received my assignments which often conflicted with the actual activities being held in the building. It was a nightmare for me to mention any name as my ultimate authority. Whatever name I mentioned their essential response was, “hail the king of the building” then smite me with some verbal disapproval. The enemies of my friend and king Jesus did that to Him too, they “… went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.” John 19:3

My janitorial boss would say to me, “I’m the one who pays you” implying that he could fire me. I tactfully ignored him. A similar thing happened to Jesus, “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” John 19:10 Routinely, I would pick up my phone the moment an administrator questioned what I was doing. I wanted the two administrators to work out between them what I was supposed to be doing. After a while I think they were all screaming in the back of their minds, “crucify him”, referring to me. Jesus knows what we go through, “As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” John 19:6

I am nothing more than filthy rags compared to Jesus, He has more love, purity, and innocence in his little finger than I have in my whole being. Even so, everything that He suffered was for me, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17