7. Ibid., 145 – 46.
What Does Jesus Mean When He Says, "Follow Me"?
But then why does He say, "No longer do I call you slaves . . . I have called you friends"? Is He expressly telling them their relationship with Him was now a familiar personal camaraderie between colleagues, rather than a master-slave relationship governed by authority and submission? Does that part of the statement show that He was disclaiming the whole slave metaphor?
Not at all. Look at the context. First, He expressly indicates that He had called them slaves — because that is precisely what they were: douloi, with Him as their uncontested kurios. That relationship, by definition, cannot change. So in verse 15 He is simply saying they were His friends as well as His slaves. And He clearly explains why He makes a differentiation between mere slaves and friends: "The slave does not know what his master is doing." In other words, a slave's obedience is implicit, unhesitating; and he is not owed any explanation or rationale from the Master. He is to obey whether he understands why or not.
But Jesus had kept nothing secret from His disciples. His purposes were fully known to them: "all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you" (v. 15). They were therefore much more than mere slaves to Him. They were His friends as well, privy to His thoughts and purposes (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16). In a similar way, every ruler would have friends among his subjects to whom he might reveal personal matters, but they were still his subjects. Friendship with one's lord or master does not nullify the authority inherent in the relationship.
This concept of friendship between master and slave was not unknown in Roman times (cf. Philem. 15 – 17), but it was highly unusual. The tension between slaves and slave owners was — as we might expect — usually filled with enmity. Murray Harris cites a Latin proverb which said anyone who owns many slaves also has many enemies.7 Jesus turned that principle on its head by bringing His disciples into the circle of intimate friendship. He makes His slaves His friends by His love for them.
The love is mutual, of course, but the status is not. He was still their Lord and they were still His douloi. In other words, as friends, they were not His "buddies" in the sense of being casual chums or peers with Him in the relationship. He remained their Lord and Master, and they belonged completely to Him. To quote Murray Harris once more,
It should be observed that although Jesus calls His obedient disciples his friends, they are not thereby authorized to call him their friend. In the Old Testament, Abraham (2 Chr. 20:7; Is. 41:8) is called God's friend. But
7. Ibid., 145 – 46.