blessing, enriching
his life, and transforming his character. But what was the friendship
to Jesus? There is no doubt that it was a great deal to him. He
craved affection and sympathy, as every noble heart does just in the
measure of its humanness. One of the saddest elements of the
Gethsemane sorrow was the disappointment of Jesus, when, hungry for
love, he went back to his chosen three, expecting to find a little
comfort and strength, and found them sleeping.

The picture of John at the Last Supper, leaning on Jesus' breast, shows
him to us in the posture in which we think of him most. It is the
place of confidence; the bosom is only for those who have a right to
closest intimacy. It is the place of love, near the heart. It is the
place of safety, for he is in the clasp of the everlasting arms, and
none can snatch him out of the impregnable shelter. It was the darkest
night the world ever saw that John lay on the bosom of Jesus. That is
the place of comfort for all sorrowing believers, and there is
abundance of room for them all on that breast. John _leaned_ on Jesus'
breast,--weakness reposed on strength, helplessness on almighty help.
We should learn to lean, to lean our whole weight, on Christ. That is
the privilege of Christian faith.

There was one occasion when John seems to have broken away from his
usual humility. He joined with his brother in a request for the
highest places in the new kingdom. This is only one of the evidences
of John's humanness,--that he was of like passions with the rest of us.
Jesus treated the brothers with gentle pity--"Ye know not what ye ask."
Then he explained to them that the highest places must be reached
through toil and sorrow, through the paths of service and suffering.
Later in life John knew what the Master's words meant. He found his
place nearest to Christ, but it was not on the steps of an earthly
throne; it was a nearness of love, and the steps to it were humility,
self-forgetfulness, and ministry.

It must have given immeasurable comfort to Jesus to have John stay so
near to him during the last scenes. If he fled for a moment in the
garden when all the apostles fled, he soon returned; for he was close
to his Master during his trial. Then, when he was on the cross, Jesus
saw a group of loving friends near by, watching with breaking hearts;
and among these was John. It lifted a heavy burden off the heart of
Jesus to be able then to commit his mother to