Friend

Luke 5:20 (NIV)

Friend, your sins are forgiven.

Often, we see the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He is that, but a lot more of than that. The Lord Jesus Christ is also our friend (John 15:15) and brother (2 Corinthians 5:21). In this verse, Christ was so impressed with the faith of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof that the Lord first called him a friend and healed his sins, and simultaneously healed him. If Christ had only been the Lord and Master in that instance, he would have rebuked the paralytic for breaking the protocol and breaking in illegally. Instead, Christ, our brother and friend, was so impressed with the man's boldness and ingenuity that he could see beyond his immediate physical need and understand that his soul needed to be healed.

A master will do his job, while a friend will go the extra mile with us. Jesus is not just our Lord but also our friend and brother.