Jude
Introduction
Jude,
which is rendered “Judah” in Hebrew and “Judas” in Greek, was
named after its author (verse 1), one of the 4 half-brothers of
Christ (Mat. 13:55; Mark 6:3). As the fourth shortest New Testament
book (Phil. 2Jhn. and 3Jhn. are shorter), Jude is the last of 8
general epistles. Jude does not quote the Old Testament directly, but
there are at least 9 obvious allusions to it. Contextually, this
“epistolary sermon” could be called “The Acts of the
Apostates.”
Although
Jude (Judas), was a common name in Israel (at least 8 are named in
the New Testament), the author of Jude generally has been accepted as
Jude, Christ’s half-brother. He is to be differentiated from the
Apostle Judas, the son of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). Several lines
of thought lead to this conclusion:
(1)
Jude’s appeal to being the “brother of James,” the leader of
the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), and another half-brother of Jesus
(verse 1; Gal. 1:19);
(2)
Jude’s salutation being similar to James (Jas. 1:1); and
(3)
Jude’s not identifying himself as an apostle (Verse 1), but rather
distinguishing between himself and the apostles (verse 17).
Like
most if not all of Jesus’ immediate family, Jude did not respond
favorably to Jesus’ ministry during His earthly days (John 7:5).
Yet later he may have been among Jesus’ brothers who had preaching
ministries (1Cor. 9:5). As a close relative of Jesus and a brother of
James, himself a renowned Jewish Christian leader in Jerusalem, Jude
wrote with authority and the assurance that his earliest readers
would give him a careful hearing.
The
doctrinal and moral apostasy discussed by Jude (verses 4-18), closely
parallels that of (2Pet. 2:1 – 3:4), and it is believed that
Peter’s writing predated Jude for several reasons:
(1)
2Pet. anticipates the coming of false teachers (2Pet. 2:1-2; 3:3),
while Jude deals with their arrival (verses 4, 11, 12, 17, 18); and
(2)
Jude quotes directly from (2Pet. 3:3), and acknowledges that it is
from an apostle (verses 17-18).
Since
no mention of Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 was made by Jude,
though Jude most likely came after 2 Peter (A.D. 68-70), it is almost
certainly written before the destruction of Jerusalem. Although Jude
did travel on missionary trips with other brothers and their wives
(1Cor. 9:5), it is most likely that he wrote from Jerusalem. The
exact audience of believers with whom Jude corresponded is unknown,
but seems to be Jewish in light of Jude’s illustrations. He
undoubtedly wrote to a region recently plagued by false teachers.
Although
Jude had earlier rejected Jesus as Messiah (John 7:1-9), he along
with other half-brothers of our Lord, was converted after Christ’s
resurrection (Acts 1:14). Because of his relation to Jesus, his
eye-witness knowledge of the resurrected Christ, and the content of
this epistle, it was acknowledged as inspired and was included in the
Muratorian Canon (170 A.D.). The early questions about its canonicity
also tend to support that it was written after 2Pet. If Peter had
quoted Jude, there would have been no question about canonicity,
since Peter would thereby have given Jude apostolic affirmation.
Clement of Rome (96 A.D.), plus Clement of Alexandria (200 A.D.),
also alluded to the authenticity of Jude. Its diminutive size and
Jude’s quotations from uninspired writings account for any
misplaced questions about its canonicity.
Jude
lived at a time when Christianity was under severe political attack
from Rome and aggressive spiritual infiltration from Gnostic-like
apostates and libertines who sowed abundant seed for a gigantic
harvest of doctrinal error. It could be that this was the forerunner
to full blown Gnosticism which the Apostle John would confront over
25 years later in his epistles. Except for John, who lived at the
close of the century, all the other apostles had been martyred, and
Christianity was thought to be extremely vulnerable. Thus, Jude
called the church to fight, in the midst of intense spiritual
warfare, for the truth.
Writing
to warn believers of false teachers, Jude uses similar material as
(in 2Pet. 2). Both Jude and Peter were alarmed about the rapid rise
of false doctrines and the subsequent prevailing attitude of
apostasy, and both men addressed these issues in their epistles.
Evidently
Jude’s original intent for his letter was to discuss truths of the
common salvation that both Jews and Gentiles received. But he was led
of the Spirit to exhort believers to defend the truth and contend for
the faith. He reminds his readers that God punishes violations of His
law, citing Old Testament examples of Cain, Sodom and Gomorrah, the
Egyptians, Balaam, and the rebellion of Korah (see Numbers 16).
Jude
is the only New Testament book devoted exclusively to confronting
“apostasy”, meaning defection from the true, biblical faith
(verses 3, 17). Apostates are described elsewhere (in 2Thes. 2:10;
Heb. 10:29; 2Pet. 2:1-22; 1 Jhn. 2:18-23). He wrote to condemn the
apostates and to urge believers to contend for the faith. He called
for discernment on the part of the church and a rigorous defense of
biblical truth. He followed the earlier examples of:
(1)
Christ (Mat. 7:15; 16:6-12; 24:11; Rev. chapters 2 and 3);
(2)
Paul (Acts 20:29-30; 1Tim. 4:1; 2Tim. 3:1-5; 4:3-4);
(3)
Peter (2Pet. 2:1-2; 3:3-4); and
(4)
John (1Jhn. 4:1-6; 2Jhn. 6-11).
Jude
is replete with historical illustrations from the Old Testament which
include:
(1)
The Exodus (verse 5);
(2)
Satan’s rebellion (verse 6);
(3)
Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 7);
(4)
Moses’ death (verse 9);
(5)
Cain (verse 11);
(6)
Balaam (verse 11);
(7)
Korah (verse 11);
(8)
Enoch Verses 14-15); and
(9)
Adam (verse 14).
Jude
also vividly described the apostates in terms of their character and
unconscionable activities (verses 4, 8, 10, 16, 18-19). Additionally,
he borrowed from nature to illustrate the futility of their teaching
(verses 12-13). While Jude never commented on the specific content of
their false teaching, it was enough to demonstrate that their
degenerate personal lives and fruitless ministries betrayed their
attempts to teach error, as though it were truth. This emphasis on
character repeats the constant theme regarding false teachers, their
personal corruption. While their teaching is clever, subtle,
deceptive, enticing and delivered in myriads of forms, the common way
to recognize them is to look behind their false spiritual fronts and
see their wicked lives (2Pet. 2:10, 12, 18-19).
Several
verses in this short epistle relate to future judgment, Christ’s
return, the Last Days, and the believer’s destiny in the presence
of His glory. An interesting tidbit of prophecy is seen (in verses
14-16), where Jude quotes from ancient Jewish literature (200 B.C.).
This prophecy, not recorded in the Old Testament, is from the extra
biblical book of 1 Enoch (1:9). Jude uses it to emphatically
illustrate the second coming of Christ.
