From now on I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.
I call.
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
friends.
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
all.
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
John 17:6-8,26 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word…
Genesis 18:17-19 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; …
for a servant does not understand what his master is doing
This phrase highlights the limited knowledge and understanding a servant has regarding the master's plans. In biblical times, servants were expected to follow orders without question. Jesus contrasts this with the relationship He offers, where His followers are given insight into God's purposes. This echoes the idea in Amos 3:7, where God reveals His plans to His prophets.
But I have called you friends
Calling the disciples "friends" indicates a significant shift in relationship. Friendship implies mutual knowledge, trust, and love. In ancient cultures, friendship was a bond of loyalty and shared purpose. This reflects the covenant relationship God desires with His people, as seen in the friendship between God and Abraham (James 2:23).
because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you
Jesus emphasizes the transparency and openness He has with His disciples. This phrase underscores the divine revelation Jesus provides, sharing the wisdom and knowledge He received from the Father. It aligns with the role of Jesus as the ultimate prophet, revealing God's will, as seen in Hebrews 1:1-2. This also fulfills the promise of the New Covenant, where God's law is written on the hearts of His people (Jeremiah 31:33).
• Jesus draws a clear line: the relationship is changing from servanthood to something deeper (John 13:16; Galatians 4:7).
• Servants obey, but they remain at a distance; they are valued for work, not intimacy.
• The change highlights grace—disciples didn’t earn promotion; Christ grants it (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Servants receive orders without explanations; insight is limited (Luke 17:7-10).
• God never intended His people to stay in the dark; revelation is a sign of love (Amos 3:7).
• Christ’s teaching ministry has been pulling the curtain back (Matthew 13:11).
• Friendship with God is a biblical pattern—Abraham (James 2:23) and Moses (Exodus 33:11).
• Friendship implies mutual affection, shared interests, and open conversation (Proverbs 18:24).
• In Christ, the disciples experience covenant friendship, not casual acquaintance (John 14:21-23).
• Jesus is the perfect revelator, passing on exactly what the Father gave Him (John 8:26; 12:49-50).
• “Everything” underscores completeness; no hidden agenda, no secret knowledge reserved for an elite (John 17:8).
• The Spirit will continue this disclosure after the resurrection (John 16:13-15).
• The purpose is not information only, but transformation and mission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
John 15:15 reveals a stunning shift: through Christ, believers move from mere servants to cherished friends. Friendship signifies access, understanding, and shared purpose. Jesus offers full disclosure of the Father’s heart so that His people can live in intimate fellowship and faithfully carry out His will.
(15) Henceforth I call you not servants.--Better, I call you no longer, or, I do not still call you, servants. (Comp. John 14:30.) For the word "servant," as applied to them, comp. John 12:26; John 13:13. It is used again in this discourse (John 15:20), but with reference to an earlier saying. In John 20:17, he calls them brethren. The word here rendered "servant" means literally "bond-servant," "slave." He will not apply this to them, but the foremost Apostles felt that His service was perfect freedom, and it became the common title which they applied to themselves. (Comp., e.g., Romans 1:1; James 1:1; 2Peter 1:1; Revelation 1:1.) . . . Verse 15. - No longer do I call you servants, bond-slaves. True, he had in this very discourse spoken of them as his δοῦλοι, (John 13:13, 16). Again and again in his parabolic teaching he had spoken of his disciples as servants of a Lord (Matthew 13:27; Matthew 22:4; Luke 12:37; and John 12:26, where another word is used). And moreover, later on in this very chapter (Ver. 20), the word and thought return, so that this relation to him, gloried in by St. Paul (Philippians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 7:22), St. James (James 1:1), Jude (Jude 1:1), and even St. John (Revelation 1:1), could be sustained in its integrity, even after it had been transfigured, and penetrated through and through with the light of love. Because the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth. The slave is an instrument, doing by commandment, not from intimate knowledge, his Lord's behests. But you I have called (εἴρηκα) - on previous occasions (see Luke 12:4; and cf. John 11:11, "Our friend Lazarus") - friends, for whom it is joy to die, and I have effected the transfiguration of your service into love. I have raised you by the intimacy of the relations into which 1 have drawn you from the position of slave to that of friend. You may be, you must be, my servants still; I am your Master and Lord; but you will be servants from a higher motive and a more enduring link and bond of union. For all things which I heard of my Father. Notice the source of the Savior's teaching. He was sent from God, trained and taught, as a man; he chose thus, humanly, to learn step by step, thing by thing, what to reveal of his own nature, of his purpose and plan in redeeming men, concerning the essence of the Father himself, and the entire significance of his self-manifestation. That which I heard I made known unto you. This is only in apparent contradiction with John 16:12, where he implies that there will be more for them to learn in the future, when the mystery of his death, resurrection, and ascension shall have been accomplished. The limitation of the πάντα α} ἤκουσα does not consist in doctrines as opposed to practical duties, nor in the plan of salvation for individuals as antithetic to principles of his kingdom, nor in principles as distinguished from what may ultimately be found in them, but in the capacities and circumstances of the disciples themselves (John 16:12 is a corollary of this solemn assurance). The reason of the present assertion is the proof that it thus supplies of their dearness to him. "Ye are my friends." He had told them all that they could bear. He had lifted the veil high enough for their truest joy and noblest discipline. He had bared his heart to them. He had kept back nothing that was profitable. He had proved his own friendship, and thus given a conclusive reason for his complete self-devotion on their account.