City Life Starter

Written by Blesson Selvanesan

The Word

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

Interpretation

A rabbi always chose his disciples. Although several aspire to become a pupil under a rabbi and hang around one to be called in, only a few are ever chosen. An invitation from a rabbi are hard to get and decision to follow him, if called, is the most important event in a man’s professional life. The student will have to serve the rabbi like a servant with absolute obedience and devotion. Even though they do not understand what the rabbi is doing or teaching, they must show unquestionable loyalty and do so with a heart of a humble servant. A rabbi typically never revealed all his knowledge or mission to any one and a student can never become like that of the teacher.

In this setting, what Jesus told his disciples are groundbreaking and radically new. Here is a rabbi who taught everything diligently and elevated his disciples to the status of friends. He revealed all that He heard from His father to his disciples. This is emptying himself of all his power and knowledge to give a call beyond any other rabbi. He raised the status of all his disciples to his equal and made them sit with and around Him as friends. This is a new idea and a new status that Jesus gave to his followers. I am sure many rabbis at that time would have thought what Jesus did was obnoxious to the culture and tradition.

Application

Jesus did not hold back even when he is expected to. He gave it all. His purpose was not to sit on a pedestal, but to enable everyone with His Father’s vision and hand them over His life’s mission to them. He knew well that they will fail, he trusted them anyway. This is a great leadership principle. We all know, how this worked. They were devoted to the point of dying for Jesus’ cause. We are all here to talk about it today because of Jesus trusting and passing that vision from the Father to His disciples whom He called friends.

How difficult it is for us to trust others and in their ability? How many times institutions are destroyed because of its leaders sitting on a pedestal calling shots and treating their team as servants? Are we willing to teach our disciples our Father’s business? Let’s learn from Jesus.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving Jesus as our eternal friend. Help us to follow Him and extend the same privilege that He gave to us to others. Help us to the pass the baton with joy and with trust and respect. We love you for being our friend. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.