There are several notable friendships in the New Testament, from Jesus and Lazarus to Paul and Timothy. Scripture also says that David and Jonathan were so close, it was as if their souls were knit together. Other religious traditions stress the spiritual importance of friendship.
David and Jonathan were, according to the Hebrew Bible's Books of Samuel, heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, who formed a covenant, taking a mutual oath.
He said, “Friends are people who make it easier to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 1 In this sense, seeking another person's highest good is the essence of true friendship. It is putting someone else first. It is being strictly honest, loyal, and chaste in every action.
John the Apostle
Polycrates believed that John was the one "who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord", suggesting an identification with the beloved disciple: John, who was both a witness and a teacher, "who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord", and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Aaron appears paired with Moses frequently in Jewish and Christian art, especially in the illustrations of manuscript and printed Bibles.
Elisha became Elijah's close attendant until Elijah was taken up into heaven.
Friends give pleasant, sincere advice, seeking our highest good (Proverbs 27:9; Proverbs 12:26); Friends honor each other above themselves (Romans 12:10). Friends love each other the same way Christ loves us (John 15:12-13); Friends challenge each other to meet the highest good (Proverbs 27:17).
In Christ we're no longer enemies of God or slaves to sin; we're now friends of God. No longer do we have to clamor to prove ourselves, get noticed, or live in fear. Jesus has made us friends with God. If you want to have real friends, you first have to know friendship with God through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Job 42:10-17 NLT. When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home.
DOG. — It seems that nature has given the dog to man for his defense and for his pleasure. Of all the animals it is the most faithful : it is the best friend man can possibly have.
The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism.
Jesus was closer to some of his followers than to others. He had many disciples, 12 apostles and an inner circle of three best friends: Peter, James and his beloved disciple, John.
Job's three friends were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.
Daniel lived in captivity in Babylon along with his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Though they faced pressures to conform to Babylonian society and give up the ways of their people, they stood strong in their faith, and God blessed Daniel with wisdom and the ability to interpret dreams.
'” Lazarus is the only individual character in the Fourth Gospel explicitly identified by name as Jesus's friend. Jesus's love for Lazarus needs to be considered within the context of Jesus's relationship with the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, as well.
In the 19th century, Elijah was romantically involved with a witch named Céleste Dubois, whose death was later caused by his half-brother Klaus. In the 21st century, Elijah rekindled his relationship with Katerina Petrova aka Katherine Pierce, before ending it to go to New Orleans to help Klaus.
In John 15:14, friendship with Jesus is still conditional: “you are my friends if you do what I command you.” But in John 15:15, that condition seems to be removed, because Jesus says, “I do not call you servants any longer…but I have called you friends.” What accounts for the change?
Psychologists say that there are three main friendship types. First, there's historical or lifelong friends. Then we have common-interest friends (or people we call friends because we have certain things in common). Lastly, intimate friendships involve types of friends with whom we share an especially strong bond.
Jesus stops in Bethany where his friends Martha and Mary and their brother, Lazarus, live. John's Gospel tells us that Jesus “loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5). One commentator indicates that Mary and Martha may have been the most important and prominent women in Jesus's life after his own mother.
Phoebe was a woman entrusted by Paul to bring his letter to Rome and preach his words to the local congregation. By her reading the letter aloud, she was teaching and exhorting as a trusted and capable woman, bringing her own oral skill and preaching ability to his words.
One of these texts, known as the Gospel of Philip, referred to Mary Magdalene as Jesus's companion and claimed that Jesus loved her more than the other disciples.
Jesus calls Judas, “friend.” Jesus has shown Judas great trust. He has numbered him among the Twelve. He has confided to him the common purse. The word “friend” conveys a certain intimacy.