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

We can’t help but remember Abraham, the “friend of God” (James 2:23). Concerning him, God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do …” (Gen 18:17). God was about to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness, and He wanted to tell Abraham ahead of time. Friendship has its perks, and insider knowledge is one of them. In our passage today Jesus reveals things to the disciples that are insider knowledge, namely, everything Jesus had heard from the Father concerning His mission on earth. The disciples may not have understood it all, but it was there for them to learn.

A servant, by contrast, does not need to know what the Master is doing, but only needs to know what he, the servant, must do. He doesn’t need to know the “why.” But a friend, as Jesus now calls the disciples, is invited into the inner circle of counsel. We, along with the upper room audience, are asked to join with Christ in His mission, not as automatons who don’t think, but as those who engage in thinking about how to execute the mission. The Upper Room teaching, along with all that Jesus taught the disciples, was not intended to be a set or list of itemized marching instructions. His teachings were the guiding principles with we are to live out and carry on the mission of Christ.

Sometimes it would seem to be easier if the Lord would orchestrate every detail of our lives, to give us writing in the sky or a fleece on the ground to determine His will. Should I take this job or that one? Should I marry this person or not? Should I become a missionary on the foreign field or be a missionary in the workplace at home? But God wants to engage us as partners, as friends who join in with our mind, our ideas, our personalities and our gifts. He leaves much for us to decide and figure out, as though saying, “How do you want to do this?” While this may seem like a dangerous tip of the hat to humanism, keep in mind Jesus in our passage is speaking to those who were followers of Him. This is not a group of ‘Sunday morning only’ kind of Christians. These are the ones to whom He says, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you” (vs. 14).

So while the mission is determined by God, the details are left up to those who are Jesus’ friends, the ones who do as He commanded, namely those who act in love, just as He sacrificed Himself in love.

Lord, thank You for bringing me into Your circle of counsel. I want to use the gifts You have given me to continue Your mission in the world.