What Jesus says in John 15:15 is worth stopping to ponder and meditate upon.

Hope Christian Church 2 June 2013 D. Todd Cravens Sermon Series: The Gospel of John I Call You Friends John 15:12-17, (ESV) 12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 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. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. Jesus often says some incredible things. It s easy to pass over them. It is wise to frequently stop and pause in order to consider his words. David writes in Psalm 143, Psalm 143:5-6 (ESV) 5 I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah What Jesus says in John 15:15 is worth stopping to ponder and meditate upon. John 15:15 (ESV) 15 No longer do I call you servants but I have called you friends Something massive has shifted. This is a pivotal sentence. Jesus is saying that he was no longer going to call them servants, but he was beginning to call them friends. Is this true only for the Eleven? Or is this something that applies to all disciples of Jesus? Why does he say this? Why say it at that moment? What has changed and why does he choose to alter the designation? What does he intend to accomplish by doing this? Page 1 of 8

Friend Rare In OT Being called friend by God in the OT is incredibly rare. The term is only applied to two 1 people in the OT. Abraham is called God s friend (2 Chron 20:7; Is 41:8; cf. Jam 2:23). Moses is also referred to as the only person with whom God spoke face to face, as a man with a friend (Ex 33:11). Other than these two men, no one else is referred to as a friend of God. Friend Rare in NT The use of this term is also rare in the NT as well. We are told that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were those whom Jesus loved. 2 Lazarus is referred to as friend of all the disciples, but no one else is particularly singled out as Jesus friend. This teaching (Jn 15:15) falls between the same command from Jesus repeated twice, which states that the disciples are to love each other. We see it first in v.12 and then again in v.17. Remember that Jesus spoke these words on the night before his death. It is the dying wish of Jesus that his disciples love each other and in the heart of expressing this desire we find this sentence in which Jesus tells his disciples that he is now calling them friends. In these two verses, 12 and 17, he is repeating the command that he first given them during the Last Supper. John 13:34-35 (ESV) 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have love you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. What is the connection between loving each other and being call friend by Jesus? We can follow the train of thought throughout the paragraph. First, Jesus gives the command for the disciples to love each other (v.12). Then he goes on (at the end of v.12) to describe what that love is to look like. He holds out his own love of them as the model for which they are to love each other. They are to love each other in the same way that Jesus has loved them. This begs the question, how has Jesus loved them? Jesus then explains that the greatest expression of love is when one person lays down his life for his friends (v.13). Self-sacrificing love is the highest and deepest demonstration of love. 1 Job does refer to his relationship with God as one of friendship, but he does not directly relate himself personally to God as friend, but rather towards his whole family, i.e. when the friendship of God was upon my tent (Job 29:4). 2 Jn 11:5. Page 2 of 8

Jesus has not yet laid down his life for his friends, so the fullest understanding of what he is teaching will only later settle in on the disciples. We often see this kind of self-sacrificing love on the battle field where one soldier lays down his life for his friends. Last Sunday was Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember soldiers who have given their lives in service to the country. Jack Lucas is one man who is an example of this. offered his life in order to save the lives of his friends. He In 1942 the U.S. was fully engaged in WWII. Lucas enlisted in the Marine Corps on August 6. He forged his mother s signature and lied on his application. He said he was aged 17. In reality he was only 14. He was trained as a sharpshooter and a machine gunner. In November of 1943 he was transferred to Pearl Harbor. While at Pearl Harbor his true age was discovered and he was removed from combat training and put to work driving a truck. He became frustrated by not being able to fight. He had signed up to fight for his country so in February of 1945 he stowed away on the USS Deuel which was headed to the Pacific for combat. As soon as they were out to sea and he surrendered to the commander but never told him about his age. While in route to Iwo Jima, Lucas celebrated his 17th birthday. Six days after his birthday has was among the landing party hitting the beaches of Iwo Jima. He and three of his friends were crawling through a trench when they were attacked by the Japanese. Two grenades were tossed into the trench in which they were crawling. Lucas grabbed both grenades, shoved them into the ground, and lay on top of them. Lucas reported, I hollered to pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades, but I wasn t a superman after I got hit. 3 Both of the grenades went off under Lucas. He buddies assumed he had been killed in the blast, but when they could safely return to retrieve his body, they discovered that he was still alive. Mr. Lucas would have to endure 26 operations and live with over 200 pieces of shrapnel throughout his body. In October of 1945 president Harry Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor. He is the youngest member of the military to ever have received the award in any conflict other then the Civil War. Mr. Lucas died 5 June 2008. 3 Source http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/us/06lucas.html?_r=0 accessed 1 June 2013. Page 3 of 8

So Jesus thinking moves from love, to friendship, and then from friendship to obedience. He points out that true friendship results in obedience to his commands (v.14). Being a friend of Jesus is demonstrated through obedience to his commands. No Longer Servants, But Friends (v.15) However, this is where Jesus guides the thinking of the disciples into a new direction. How is it that friendship is demonstrated through obedience? Masters can command their servants and servants must obey, but that obedience does not necessarily flow out of friendship. It may flow out of fear of punishment. Jesus clearly expects obedience, but not a slavish kind of obedience. Jesus is not lowering his expectations upon his followers, he is actually about to elevate his followers so that they might rise up to meet his expectations. So he says, No longer do I call you servants but I have called you friends How can Jesus still expect the disciples to obey his commands and yet call them friends? He is now saying, I do not want you to think of yourselves as servants but as my friends. Why? On what basis should the disciples think that they are Jesus friends? There are four pillars, or proofs, of this friendship: 1) Revelation 2) Election 3) Appointment 4) Prayer 1) Revelation (15b) The first pillar (or proof) of friendship is revelation. Revelation assumes communication. Every friendship necessarily entails communication. Friends talk to one another, but Jesus did not merely communicate with disciples, he revealed to them all that he heard from his Father. Jesus revealed to his friends what his Father intended to do. Jesus revealed the will of God to them. John 15:15 (ESV) 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. Jesus has revealed all that he has heard from his Father. Jesus has not hidden from his disciples anything that his Father has shared with him. This is quite amazing. Whatever the Father had revealed to Jesus, he, in turn, has revealed to the disciples. Jesus passed on to his disciples all that the Father was saying and doing. Not only did Jesus communicate this information to them, he also explained it he revealed it. Page 4 of 8

Jesus revealed things to the disciples that he did not explain to others. He revealed to them the why behind his actions, but they were the only ones with whom he shared this information. Matthew 13:10-11 (ESV) 10 Then the disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? 11 And he answered them, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Masters do not share with their servants the reasons for which they do what they do. They simply give the command and expect it to be carried out. Kings do not explain their commands to their servants. They simply command and expect it to be carried out. This is not the way Jesus has treated his disciples. Jesus is explaining that they can be assured of his friendship because he had revealed to his disciples everything that his Father had intended them to know. Jesus had hidden nothing from them that the Father desired they know. This is kind of revelation and communication is way of friendship. The disciples were Jesus friends because he had revealed to them all that his Father had revealed to him. Jesus shared his mind with his friends. 2) Election (v.16) The first proof of friendship was revelation and the second proof of Jesus friendship is election. Jesus chose his disciples, they did not choose him. John 15:16 (ESV) 16 You did not chose me, but I chose you Jesus is saying, You are my friends because I chose you. Remember. I chose you to be my disciples. You did not choose me, but I chose you, so then know that you are my friends. This was exactly the opposite the custom of the day. In terms of teacher-pupil relationships, Jesus here broke with contemporary custom, for it was common in first-century Palestine for disciples to attach themselves to a particular rabbi, not vice versa. 4 4 Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 459. Page 5 of 8

Jesus is reinforcing in the minds of the disciples that he is not merely enduring their presence, but he enjoys their company. 5 He chose them. He wanted them to be with him. Oh, how comforting this sentence will be on the morrow when each of these men will have to sit with the truth that they had abandoned him in his darkest hour. The disciples are his friends because Jesus had chosen them. 3) Appointment (v.16) The first proof of friendship was revelation, the second was election, and the third proof of friendship is appointment. Jesus gave the disciples an appointment. He gave them a mission and a purpose. What is the mission? The mission is that they would go and bear abiding fruit. John 15:16 (ESV) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide Jesus explains that the disciples are his friends because he has entrusted to them the mission of going and bearing abiding fruit. When you are about to die and you have some things that yet need to be accomplished, you do not send just anyone to do it. You send someone you know you can trust. You send a friends. What is the mission? This mission is bearing abiding fruit. Jesus tells the disciples to go and bear fruit. This going points away from the internal work of the Spirit in sanctification and most likely toward making other disciples. This friendship with Jesus means joining him in his mission to spread a love for the glory of his Father to new believers. The appointment is intended to go into the world with the message of the gospel the good news that the kingdom of God has come among men. This friendship with Jesus is not intended to be kept to themselves. Jesus appointed them with a purpose of bearing fruit, of making disciples who will abide in Jesus just as they were to abide in Jesus. 4) Prayer (v.16) Lastly, the fourth proof of friendship is the gift of prayer. How are they to accomplish this appointment, this mission on which they have been sent? The answer is through prayer. John 15:16 (ESV) 5 Originally spoken by Kevin Hornbeck. Page 6 of 8

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. Jesus revealed God to the disciples, which one would only do to friends. He chose them. He appointed them, and finally he gave them the precious gift of prayer. Jesus appointed them to go on a mission, a mission of bearing abiding fruit, and now he is saying that he has also provided them with the means to accomplish that mission prayer. Jesus has given his friends privilege of prayer. His friends can speak with him at any time and in any place. He has given his friends the means to accomplish the mission on which he is sending them. And he has given them the staggering promise that so long as the prayer is offered in Jesus name, the Father will give whatsoever is asked. In Jesus name does not merely mean tacking those three words onto the end of all your requests in order to make them magically come to pass. Lord, let me win the Powerball lottery, in Jesus name, Amen! In Jesus name means according to Jesus will and in accord with all the purposes for which he lived. In this context it means that the prayers that the Father will answer are the ones that are directed toward accomplishing the mission on which Jesus has sent them. The Father will answer those prayers directed at bearing abiding fruit whatsoever they may be. So what should you take home with you? 1. These words are not only for the Eleven who originally heard them, but they are for me and you too, if you will believe and receive them. Just after saying these words, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, Father, 6 I do not ask for these [Eleven] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (Jn 17:20). What Jesus is teaching here is for you and me if we believe it. 2. What is the connection between this teaching on being the friend of Jesus and loving other Christians? The connection is that you will not love others unless you know that Jesus has first loved you. You cannot love others like Jesus has love you unless you have first personally experienced the love of Jesus. If you do not know that Jesus has extended his love to you, then you will not extend that love to others. You will be unable to love others unless you know yourself already loved by him. 3. Jesus invites you obey him as friend not as servant. Jesus can command obedience, but evidently he prefers obedience that flows from a relationship of friendship. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, but right now he invites people to come and 6 John 17:1. Page 7 of 8

experience his friendship. Jesus is interested in willing obedience not begrudging compliance. He yearns for the kind of obedience that flows from a heart that trusts him, that truly believes that his commands are good and not burdensome. a. Friendship - a person who would willingly obey your smallest request in a time of need (like getting a Snickers bar in the middle of the night). 4. Friends share everything. When you go from here go home get alone and tell Jesus all your troubles. Speak to him as a friend, not as an overseas supervisor to whom you must report. Friends share the smallest of details about each other s lives and they talk all the time. Start treating Jesus like the most respected friend you have. 5. Jesus has seen to it that he also shared with us all that he heard from his Father. His disciples wrote it all down for us. Treat the Bible as a love letter from a friend, not history textbook that you are required to read in order to graduate. 6. Remember he chose you before you ever chose him. The doctrine of election is one of the most blessed doctrines in all of Scripture. Paul turns to it again and again as a source of comfort. Ephesians 1:3-6, (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he blessed us in the Beloved. You were, in the mind of God, loved from before the foundation of the earth. God s love for his children extends back to before the world began. God told Jeremiah, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you and appointed you (Jer 1:5). The word knew means to know and love intimately. 7. The blessing of being called friend of Jesus is a blessing to be heralded, not a family secret to be hidden. This message is to be shared not shielded. Jesus appointed his friends to go and make more disciples of people of all nations and prayer is the means for accomplishing that mission and fulfilling that appointment. If you are his child, then know that you are loved. Jesus desires friends who willingly obey him, not servants who begrudgingly comply. If you are his child, then know that Jesus does not merely tolerate your presence, he enjoys your company. No longer do I call you servants but, I have called you friends. May you walk in that friendship this week. Page 8 of 8