Jude

This letter is addressed to believers, “them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.” A wealth of allusions to the Old Testament examples suggest Jude had a primarily Jewish audience in view. He modestly states in his salutation that he is the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. In fact, he was likely the half-brother of Jesus; the Jude referred to in the gospels (Matt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3).

Outline of epistle

After a brief salutation (Jude 1-3), Jude warns that deceivers have crept into the ecclesia unawares. To stress the baseness of their characters, which he feels has not been fully recognized, he cites Old Testament examples of people who resemble these deceivers (vs. 4-13). Prophecies from Enoch and the apostles are then cited to confirm these people are serious enemies of the Truth (vs. 14-19). Measures designed to counter their evil influence and strengthen the ecclesia are presented (vs. 20-23). Then the epistle concludes on a confident note with a beautiful prayer of encouragement.

Prophecies of trouble were being fulfilled

The crisis the apostles had warned about had now arrived (e.g. Acts 20:29; II Pet. 2:1-3). False teachers had crept into their midst unawares. Thus, although Jude had intended to write words about the salvation they shared (v. 3), he was compelled to de­liver an urgent message. If his message arrived in time, some believers could be “pulled from the fire” with decisive action (v. 23). While it is true Jude’s epistle bears a close resemblance to the words of Peter (e.g. II Peter 2), Jude warns the problems Peter had foreseen were now a reality (vs. 17,18).

Grace used as excuse for sin

In Romans, Paul addresses a key issue: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:1,2). God’s grace in forgiving sins is a blessing in which the believer can rejoice, but it must not be used to tolerate sin. Yet the deceivers in Jude’s time were “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness” (Jude 4). Like Cain, these wicked men were seeking to use God’s grace as opportunity to fulfill their own desires (vs. 8,10,16,18).

Knowing decisive action was needed, Jude urged his readers to recall the mighty acts of God. He describes three occasions when God openly intervened, making evident His anger with blatant sinners (vs. 5-7).

Three historical examples

Israelites in the wilderness (v. 5) and Sodom and Gomorrah (v.7) are cited and readily documented from scripture. Identifying the “angels” of verse 6, however, is more challenging.

Those who propose the existence of fallen angels find their explanation in Genesis 6. To do so, they must equate the “sons of God” with heavenly angels and suggest that god-men resulted from their liaisons with beautiful women. The context of Genesis 6 and of the rest of scripture suggests this is the wrong conclusion. Peter’s warning about the writings of Paul is usefully remembered in connection with all the Bible: “In which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scrip­tures, unto their own destruction” (II Pet. 3:16).

It is not necessary to postulate mythical creatures to identify Jude’s “angels.” Numbers 16 provides satisfactory human candidates. Those led by Korah to revolt against Moses and God left their first estate (office) as prominent men in Israel and sought elevated positions in the nation (Num. 16:10). In an open and spectacular example of God’s wrath at their presumption, the earth opened and swallowed them up. Symbolically, they were thus reserved in darkness until the day of judgment.

The “brethren” who crept in unawares are good matches to Jude’s Old Testament examples. “These filthy dreamers,” warns Jude, “defile the flesh [Sodom and Gomorrah], despise dominion [Korah], and speak evil of dignities [complaining Israel]” (v. 8). Unless the believers resisted the deceivers, these lessons of history would be repeated on them.

Further warnings

The false brethren spoke “evil of those things which they know not” (v. 10). Their presumption contrasted sharply with Michael the archangel who trusted in God to rebuke the enemy (Zech. 3:2).

They were people dominated by “what they know naturally” (v.10). Like Cain, Balaam and Core (Korah) before them, they bowed to their human motivations, excelling in jealousy, greed and lust instead of respecting God’s commands (v. 11).

Although they had crept in unawares, the evil character of the false brethren is vividly described (vs. 12,13). Their immorality makes them “spots in your feasts of charity:” their barrenness is depicted as “clouds without water, trees without fruit:” their angry railings are like “raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame” and their destiny is likened to “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”

Taking action

The countermeasures Jude suggests are very constructive (vs. 20-23) although not ones which would naturally come to our minds. Instead of fighting back, as the natural man would do, Jude encourages his beloved to concentrate on prayer and building up their faith (v. 20). This echoes the attitude of the apostle Paul who makes it clear even evil men in our midst cannot separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:35-39).

In fact, Jude hoped, with the help of the believers, some of those who had been taken in by the false brethren could still be saved. Their escape would depend on them being pulled from the fire (v. 22). It is sobering for us to consider the words “and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (I Pet. 4:18).

A beautiful prayer

Jude ends his epistle with the beautiful prayer: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” May the mighty hand of God be ever present in our lives.