Echoes of Friendship in the Gospel of John

Friendship in the Greco-Roman world took a wide variety of forms, with some “friendships” involving nothing more than a political alliance or patron-client relationship and others involving deep personal intimacy. When Jesus said that his disciples were to be called his “friends” (John 15:15), what type of friendship did he have in mind? This scholarly study shows that the pervasive use of “ideal friendship” language in the Gospel of John points to a striking implication of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: Followers of Jesus are invited to enjoy a level of intimacy with him that can actually, and perhaps only, be compared to the level of intimacy that he enjoys with the Father.

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