Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p.220. The “one thing needful” was something spiritual and eternal in nature, instead of those things that are merely material, physical, and social. Jesus said to Martha, “There is one thing in life worth being seriously concerned about—and that is the relationship of the human soul with God.” Martha was disturbed by the fact that Mary seemed to have no concern about helping her to prepare and serve the meal—and in a mood of desperation, she came to Jesus and lamented the fact that Mary had left her with the work of food preparation. Martha said in essence, “Doesn’t it seem unfair to you that Mary just sits here while I do all the work?” Martha said to Jesus, “Bid her therefore to help me” (verse 40).

Martha wanted to give her guests the royal treatment, but she allowed her concern about getting the meal ready turn to irritation and complaint. She was motivated by hospitality and wanted to be a good hostess—but she became involved beyond her strength! And so she went to Jesus and said, “Don’t you care that my sister has left me do all the work? Tell her to help me!” The Greek construction of the words makes it clear that Martha anticipated a positive answer to her question. She expected Jesus to come to her aid. She was sure He would send Mary to help in the kitchen.Even though Peter had denied even knowing Jesus to the stragglers in the courtyard at Caiaphas', later, when He is raised from the dead, Jesus sends word, "Tell the disciples...and Peter I am going ahead of you to Galilee." (Mk 16:7) Even though Luke tells us their eyes met across that courtyard when Jesus heard Peter utter his third denial, still Jesus was willing to turn and go from that place and die on the cross for Peter and for you and for me, knowing the worst in all of us. You can sit around and speculate about whether you would do such heroic deeds if you were thrust into those situations, but the place we all need to apply this is by confronting our selfishness in small, daily matters. Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Eph. 5:25). Do you? You say, “Oh, sure, I’d die to save my wife from an intruder that was trying to kill her.” But do you die to yourself so that you can serve her? Do you turn off the TV or leave the computer and help her clean up the kitchen or get the kids into bed? Do you give up your own pursuits because you delight to be with her? It’s in these small, daily ways that we should be practicing sacrificial love for one another. B. We can only love one another if we abide in Christ’s love.

Mary seemed to care very little about such details. She didn’t mind disarranged cushions and things not always in their exact place. She preferred to sit and interact with the company than go to a lot of work to make a dainty meal. Jesus gathered his disciples one last time, on the night before his death, to prepare them for the next day and beyond. In the midst of this sacred evening he said, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). To be called Jesus’s servant is an immeasurable privilege. Yet Jesus confers a greater honor. He brings us even closer. He calls us friends. Jonathan’s friendship with David in 1 Samuel gives us a clear parallel. We rightly think of them as exemplifying friendship. But their story specifically pictures how we can be friends with the Christ, the messianic King. Jonathan was the friend of David, yet David was Israel’s anointed king. And when David called on Jonathan to demonstrate faithfulness, he responded, “Whatever you say, I will do for you” (1 Samuel 20:4). As David points forward to Jesus as the King, Jonathan points forward to all who follow Christ as friends. And in friendship with Jesus, there is also challenge. Because of course this isn’t a friendship of equals. And so, we, the friends of Jesus, are also to be obedient to him: ‘You are my friends if you do what I command’ (John 15:14, emphasis added). Obedience doesn’t make us friends of God, but our obedience flows out of our friendship with him. (Just as Jesus’ obedience to the Father doesn’t make him God’s Son, but it flows out of his position as the son. See John 15:10.) One writer says, “The Lord wants all of us to imitate Mary in our worship, and to imitate Martha in our work—blessed are those who achieve the balance!”

Lesson 6) Mary chose the good part, the one thing needful—which is salvation through repentance of sin, faith in Christ—and a commitment to follow Him in obedience. A master could command a slave, “Fix dinner for 50 guests tomorrow,” but he didn’t need to explain why he was having so many for dinner. But a master who viewed himself as a friend to his slave would have explained the situation behind such a large dinner party. Jesus’ point in our text is that He has openly shared with the disciples the things that He has heard from the Father. By “all things,” He means all things necessary for them to know at this point. He later (John 16:12) tells them that He has many more things to tell them, but they could not bear them yet. After the resurrection, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures in ways that they could not understand before His death (Luke 24:45). First, let’s expand our vision of him. Consider how he is the greatest friend to great sinners. He draws near in our suffering, and he remains committed even in our stumbling. He lets us all the way in, and loves us to the very end. He doesn’t just justify us and then nudge us aside; he welcomes us into his deepest heart. Or more importantly, what does it mean when He calls us His friends? We have over simplified and sermonized endlessly on the question, skirting all around the issue but never getting to the point. We have reduced the profound concept of becoming His "friends" to the shallow notion of being His "buddies."

John 15:12-13, 17: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends…. This I command you, that you love one another.” John lived a long time. He was the only apostle to avoid martyrdom, although he narrowly escaped death on numerous occasions. John’s brother, James, was the first of the 12 disciples to be put to death for following Jesus, but John was the last disciple to die. He lived to be around 100 years of age and was the most authoritative Christian leader on earth at the end of his life. Unterberger, Andrew (April 4, 2022). "Forever No. 1: C.W. McCall's 'Convoy' ". Billboard . Retrieved April 12, 2022. Because love is primarily a commitment and not a feeling, it can be commanded. The Bible does command certain feelings, for example, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16). Or, “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). And love should not be devoid of feelings. It is a caring commitment; people should feel our genuine feelings of love for them. But even when we don’t feel especially loving, we need to obey God by sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others. I’m sure that the cross didn’t feel good at the moment, but Jesus endured it because He was focused on the future joy of having us with Him in heaven for all eternity (Heb. 12:2).I encourage you to consider Jesus' own answer to this question. You can start by looking at John 15:8-17. Before proceeding, it is important to make an etymological detour and speak briefly about the terminology used for “love” in the Fourth Gospel. The Johannine imagery of “love” and “friendship” spans two word groups: ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν. The verbal form, ἀγαπάω, is used thirty-seven times in John whereas φιλέω occurs twelve times. Most of this usage congregates around the Farewell Discourse (John 13:31–17:26), where “love” and “friendship” are major themes and where, according to the vast majority of Johannine scholars, the two verbs, together with their respective cognate groups, are used interchangeably with no distinction in meaning. This later scholarship contradicts the consensus of many 19 th century British scholars, who tended to see the alternation of verbal forms in John 21:15-17 as not merely one of style but of substance. However, support for this archaic position has continued to dwindle in the face of the apparently irrefutable evidence that the Fourth Gospel regularly deploys synonyms for the sole purpose of stylistic variation. But now, things have changed. Through the work of Christ, God’s people can once again be known as his friends. And Jesus notes that one element of this change is a new openness. Previously, as servants, they didn’t know what their master was doing. A servant has to get on with their tasks regardless of whether they understand them. But now, Jesus says, he will share with his followers all that God the Father reveals to him. As Paul the Apostle will later say, God has now revealed the ‘mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed’ (Ephesians 3:4-5). Friendship is characterised by openness: an honesty and transparency between friends.

Friendships are most often seasonal. We are close to people we attend school with, work with, or live nearby. Once the circumstances of life change, the friendship can fade. My Society of Christian Doctrine sent me for three intensive weeks of reading Theology at Notre Dame with Dr Timothy O’Malley (“Introduction to Catechetical Theology”) and Dr Angela Senander (“Renewing Moral Theology with the Call to Holiness”). I arrived in June, fresh from having completed my thesis for the Master of Arts in Theology. Three months later, in September 2016, I successfully defended this same thesis on “‘Love of Friendship’ in the Christian Life” and was awarded the MA in December 2016. Thank God for this Christmas gift, which began with the great privilege of studying theology first at the University of Malta and subsequently at Notre Dame. What twice-blest opportunities these were to share learning and insights through conversation with fellow students, in guided reading with our mentors of the Institute for Church Life and Theology Department, where I experienced collegiality, hospitality, and a spirit of good will. Yet for some, friendship with Jesus seems to diminish his glory. I’ve often heard the sentiment, “Jesus is not our friend; he’s our King.” But we don’t have to choose, because both are true — Jesus is our exalted king and he is our truest friend. This doesn’t minimize his glory; it magnifies it — because it displays the immeasurable riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:6–7). Only grace explains the sovereign King welcoming sinners as his friends. Now we have the Holy Spirit and the Spirit-inspired Word of God to reveal to us all that we need to know for life and godliness (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:9-13; 2 Pet. 1:3-4). If you know Christ, you know things that the most brilliant scientists and philosophers in the world don’t understand! You know the living and true God, who spoke the universe into existence! You know His plan for history. You know how to have your sins forgiven. You know why He put you on this planet. You know that you will spend eternity with Him in glory. You know how He wants you to conduct yourself in all of life’s difficult situations. All of this and more is revealed to us in God’s inspired Word!

Finally, let’s prove our friendship through obedience. How much would change if we knew that the one who loves us so deeply is with us so constantly? Is not his companionship itself one of the greatest deterrents to sin? If our great friend died for our sins, how can we treat them so lightly? When Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you,” let’s respond, like Jonathan, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” Barnett, Betsy (March 2, 2022). "We Got Us a Convoy: The Colorado Freedom Convoy Heads East on I70 on Thursday". Kiowa County Independent . Retrieved April 12, 2022. There is a difference of stylistic level, of associations, and of nuances. But within any one individual passage these differences do not amount to a distinction of real theological reference: they do not specify a difference in the kind of love referred to. [ii] Cash Box Top 100 1/31/76". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018 . Retrieved October 30, 2017.