Jesus has Lazarus, Martha and Mary as His good friends and visits them for a meal. On the other hand, Judas Iscariot, even though being one of His closest disciples, is the one who betrays Him; in other words, the opposite of being His friend.

Being a good and faithful friend of Jesus can be challenging. Judas accuses Jesus' good friend Mary, of wasting an expensive ointment. The money could be used to help the poor, Judas claims, when in actual fact, he wants to help himself to the money for personal gain.

Even Lazarus is not spared. The chief priests also decide to kill Lazarus since it is on his account that many Jews are leaving them and believing in Jesus. Therefore, we see that being a good friend of Jesus has dreadful consequences.

But then, Jesus Himself is not spared. He is the suffering servant, which we read of today in Isaiah's song describing this suffering servant. If Jesus can suffer this way, what more, His good friends like Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

We are also good friends with Jesus. Therefore, we cannot escape the persecutions or tribulations that come along with this friendship. We can ask ourselves today: are we Jesus' good friends or the opposite, like Judas Iscariot?