¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jesus now opened Himself fully to His followers. He wanted to send no doubt that His desire was to fellowship with them.

¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants [slaves],

A slave does what he is told without question.

for a servant does not know what his master is doing;

The slave does not know his master’s plans or business because he does not have a close relationship with his master. His only reason for existence is to do what his master tells him. A slave is a mere instrument of the master; he is simply something that is useful. He is not someone who is privy to the purposes of the master.

but I have called you friends,

Friends have unrestrained connection with each other. They are those who hold confidences with Jesus. There is a closeness factor here. Jesus was not satisfied with mechanical obedience; He wanted agreement from a sense of friendship. Motivation from love makes all the difference.

for all things that I heard from My Father

Jesus clearly revealed the Father’s plan to His followers. He kept nothing back from them because He revealed “all things” about the Father’s design for creation to them. The words “all things” do not mean inexhaustible knowledge of God but what He wished to reveal in Christ.

I have made known [revealed] to you.

Jesus conveyed to His disciples everything they needed to know in the transition between His incarnation and the new and upcoming economy. He brought His disciples fully into His confidence about these things. Jesus’ revelation was not exhaustive because He had yet many things to communicate with the apostles. However, He would do this in the future through the Holy Spirit.

PRINCIPLE:

Friendship with Jesus entails mutual responsibilities.

APPLICATION:

A slave obeys blindly and without insight about his master’s purposes. Jesus, however, chose to make those who fellowship with Him His friends. He is not satisfied with servile obedience but with motivation that comes from love.

A true friend of Jesus knows what his Master is doing. One-sided friendship is not true friendship. True friendship involves sharing of information and responsibilities. Jesus gives full-disclosure to His “friends.” He withholds nothing they need from them. Freedom comes through knowledge. Followers of Jesus are the objects of divine revelation. This privilege comes from their relationship to Him. However, there is a proclivity to fly to speculations beyond what Jesus and His apostles have revealed to us.