He was their Rabbi and Lord (1:38; 13:13) and had previously called them servants (13:16), but not anymore.

John 1:38  Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

John 13:13  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I am.

John 13:16  I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

A servant, or slave (doulos), was no more than a living instrument. He can see what his master does, but the servant can not know the reasons for his master’s actions. His duty was to do what he was told. Period. To be a servant or slave of God is an honorable thing. All who are truly His are indeed His servants (Deut 34:5, Josh 24:29, Psa 89:20, Titus 1:1, James 1:1) and so are we, but Jesus has made us so much more! He has given us an intimacy with God that not even the greatest men knew until He came into the world. We are God’s friends and He lets us in on the things He is doing and the reasons He does them. We are His confidential friends.

Deuteronomy 34:5  And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said.

Joshua 24:29  After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.

Psalms 89:20  I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

Titus 1:1  Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—

James 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

He had made the Father known to them (John 1:18, Matt 11:27, 13:11) and would make sure that they learned everything the Father wished them to know and that they remembered it all (John 14:26), but there are limits to how much He can tell them and us. The limitation is not in Him, but within ourselves (John 16:12). Maclaren says that “He will not pour out His treasures into vessels that will spill them.” How many times has He spoken to us and we have not received it? How many times has He shown us the direction for our life or whispered incredible truths into our ears and yet we did not know? One of the expressions that Jesus used frequently was “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9) That means to use the abilities that He has given you. We all have ears — even spiritual ones — but do we listen? He wants to tell us wonderful things and great insights, but we need to seek His Voice, listen to Him, and then treasure what He says.

John 1:18  No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Matthew 11:27  “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 13:11  He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

John 14:26  But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:12  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

Mark 4:9  Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Such rebounds the inward ear
Catches often from afar;
Listen, prize them, hold them dear,
For of God — of God — they are.