THE KING AND HIS FRIENDS

Choosing friends has been a task frequently criticized throughout all times and his friends were not exception. Certainly, his closest friends were the ones called “disciples” and they were chosen from a variety of occupations. There were fishermen, carpenters, tax collectors whom built their own financial status by hard work. They were certainly not counted among the peasants but on the contrary were considered “publicans and sinners” (24) with whom he frequently lied at tables to eat and drink in excess (25). Because of this habit people labeled him as a gluttonous man, and a winebibber (26). This caused a visible disgust among all those who considered themselves puritans and seekers of perfection, the Pharisees. The publicans (because of their preferences and excesses) were on the lowest step on the moral ladder as a result.

He used to attend big parties at his publicans friends' homes, often accompanied by other publicans as his entourage. This, of course, would bother Pharisees a lot (27). It was in one of these feasts that it was required from him to provide wine, his favorite drink, and he offered six water pots of stone, containing from two hundred and twelve to three hundred and eighteen liters each one (28, 29) of "good wine" (30) and they got really drunk from it. He also liked to put on some "shows" while with his friends like the time when Maria, one of his favorites, sister of Martha and Lazaro, from Bethany (31) came to a dinner party and washed his feet, anointed them with a very expensive ointment and wiped them out with her own hair of her head (32). He didn't care that people called her a sinner, she was his friend and that was the only thing that mattered. He was a king, of royal lineage and he said once: "Henceforth I call you not servants...but I have called you friends" (33).

He also added: "Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends" (34)

24. Matthew 9:10
25. Matthew 11:19
26. Luke 7:34
27. Luke 5: 29-30
28. John 2:6
29. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Firkin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firkin)
30. John 2:9
31. John 11:1-2
32. Luke 7:37-39
33. John 15:15
34. John 15:13