Jude
Introduction to the book of Jude
Jude writes to a community that needs to take a stand for the truth. A group of false teachers has entered the church. Through false revelations, they are prompting believers to use the grace of God as license for immorality, especially of the sexual kind. Jude warns against compromising with evil. He points out that the false teachers, in their selfish actions, have rejected the authentic Jesus. Jude challenges Christians to remain firm in the faith that leads to eternal life. He encourages Christians to live as people empowered by the Holy Spirit, standing in the love of God (Jude 17–21). The very brief letter of Jude has a single focus: to warn believers against succumbing to false teaching. Jude helps Christians stay true to the faith by painting a grim and gloomy picture of deviant teachers. Arrogant, immoral, and greedy, these teachers are destined for the terrible judgment God has in store for all who deny and defy him. Who would want to follow such people to their condemnation? This is the question that Jude puts before us in this letter. In a world with so many distorted ideas about Christianity, we need to be reminded of the dangers of false teaching. The letter of Jude is brief. Until recently scholars neglected it more than any other New Testament book. Jude sought to protect Christian truth and strongly opposed heretics who threatened the faith. The letter’s message is relevant to any age because believers should defend the gospel vigorously. Jude bears an obvious similarity in content with 2 Peter, a book that also deals firmly with false teachers who were infiltrating the church.“These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look out for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever” (vv. 12–13).
Theme & Overview
Jude writes to warn Christians about false teachers who are trying to convince them that being saved by grace gives them license to sin. Although Jude was very eager to write to his readers about salvation, he felt that he must instead warn them about certain immoral men circulating among them who were perverting the grace of God. The "NIV Study Bible" says these false teachers were trying to convince believers that being saved by grace gave them license to sin since their sins would no longer be held against them. Jude thought it imperative that his readers be on guard against such men and be prepared to oppose their perverted teaching with the truth about God’s saving grace. Jude says it is imperative that his readers be on guard and be prepared to oppose false teaching with the truth about God’s grace. The primary purpose of the letter of Jude is to warn against false teachers. Jude felt a pastoral responsibility to this community to keep them from straying into dangerous territory. In doing so, Jude shows that false teaching is nothing new: It has happened before in the community of God’s people, and it even happens in the spiritual realm. The church always needs to be on guard against distortions of the truth. Jude shows us that we are all vulnerable to mistaking our own desires for God’s will. Although a false teaching might seem plausible at first—and a false teacher might appear authentic—it ends up pointing away from God and toward destruction. To avoid being led astray, we need to rely on the Spirit’s guidance and invite other believers to help hold us accountable (17–23). We should take advantage of these safeguards—staying on the path and assisting others who are struggling. Jude encourages us to uncover falseness by contending boldly for the faith, with full assurance that God’s power will keep us from stumbling (24). The church must contend for the one true faith once for all delivered to the saints (v. 3), and people of faith must persevere to the end by resisting the false teachers and following the truth.Author
Most likely Jude, the half-brother of Jesus. Jude, the brother of James. Most likely, this is the half-brother of Jesus (Jude 1:1; Matthew 13:55). As its title implies, the book was written by Jude, brother of James and Jesus (cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3, where Gk. “Judas” is the same as “Jude” in Jude 1). There is little debate regarding the authenticity of the letter because of the strength of internal evidence (e.g., v. 1). Some have claimed that an anonymous author wrote this using Jude’s name, but it is unlikely that any imposter would choose the name of such an insignificant figure for his writing. Also, such a pseudonymous work would have been rejected by the church.Recipients
Jude is written to a general audience, rather than to a specific congregation or person. According to the text itself, concern over apostasy changed the writer's intent. Rather than writing about common salvation, he felt led to warn fellow believers about false teachers and ungodly doctrines. The reliance on references to Old Testament ideas suggests that Jude wrote to Jewish Christians, or to well-informed Gentile believers.
Date
Somewhere between AD 67 and 80. Jude and 2 Peter share common themes, so scholars are split on which came earlier, and whether or not one drew inspiration from the other. Peter refers to widespread apostasy as something which "would" happen, while Jude describes it as something which "is" happening. For that reason, most believe it was written later.Background
The letter identifies Jude as a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James (1). In the early church, the most well-known James was the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19)—so Jude (also called Judas) often has been understood to be another of Jesus’ brothers, even though the letter does not state this (compare Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3). It is not possible to know for certain when Jude was written. If the author was indeed a brother of Jesus, the letter probably was in circulation before the end of the first century. Jude has a literary relationship to 2 Peter, which could be used to help date Jude more accurately, but the date of 2 Peter also is unknown. Jude warns against a heresy that in some ways resembles what later became Gnosticism, a philosophy that regarded physical matter as evil and spirit as good. This way of understanding the world often encouraged people to do whatever they wished with their physical body. In addition, the false teachers whom Jude addresses apparently were guilty of rebellion against authority, presumptuous speech, and sexual immorality. Jude rebukes them for deceiving unstable believers and corrupting the Lord’s Supper. Although the date and author of Jude is uncertain, the social situation is obvious: A group of false teachers are wreaking havoc in the congregation, and this must be stopped.The Purpose & Audience (Reasons for the letter)
False Teachers. False teachers of many varieties have disturbed God’s people over the years. Jude’s letter is a powerful reminder of their potential to harm the community and a stark depiction of their terrible fate. Jude’s description of the false teachers makes dynamic use of OT and Jewish traditions. Jude compares the false teachers to the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness (v 5), to the angels who rebelled against God (v 6), and to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (v 7). The false teachers are like Cain (see Gen 4), Balaam (see Num 22–24), and Korah (see Num 16). Like all of them, false teachers are rebels against the Lord and will experience his judgment.Defending the Faith. In v 3, Jude implies that there is a defined body of doctrine in the early church to which all Christians need to adhere. Paul assumes the same thing when he urges Timothy to “guard what God has entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20; see 2 Tim 1:14).Message And Purpose To be a Christian means to have faith in God and love for others; it also means to confess gladly the truth that God has revealed in Jesus Christ. We cannot truly express faith in God unless we acknowledge the truth that he has revealed. For this reason, early Christians, even in the NT period, formulated creeds to summarize the essentials of Christian truth (e.g., 1 Tim 3:16). These creeds were often crafted to counteract a false teaching. If we are to heed Jude’s call to “defend the faith,” we need to know just what that faith is. Too many Christians spend too much energy in debating nonessential details and too little in learning the essentials well. Only by learning the essentials will the faithful be able to explain their faith to others and to guard Christian truth from false teaching. Jude had originally meant to write a letter on salvation to his friends. But he changed his plans when he learned of false teachers who had infiltrated the church (vv. 3–4). Because of their influence he instead urged his readers to contend for the faith (v. 3). Jude reminded his readers that they shared a common salvation and alerted them to the need for vigilance in contending for the faith. The reason the church must contend for the faith is that intruders were troubling the church. In v. 4, Jude introduced his readers to the opponents, pronounced judgment upon them, and outlined their vices. Verses 5–16 provide the evidence for what is said in v. 4. Three examples of God’s judgment in the past are relayed in vv. 5–7, and in vv. 8–10 Jude stated that the opponents deserved judgment because of their lifestyle. In v. 11 the opponents are compared to three men who went astray in the past: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Verses 12–13 clarify that the character of the opponents placed them in the same category as these infamous figures. Jude closed this section with the prophecy of Enoch, which promises judgment on the ungodly (vv. 14–15). Jude correlated the lives of the adversaries with those who would experience judgment (v. 16).Key Verses (ESV)
Jude 1:3: "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." Jude 1:17–18: "But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.'"Jude 1:22–23: "And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."Key Passages (NLT)
Mt 13:55–56 "Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?”"Mk 6:3"Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him."Jud 1–25"This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.…"Structure
The book of Jude is one chapter in modern Bibles. After the introduction and greeting (Jude 1–2), the author begins by explaining his reason for writing (3–4): He wants his readers to contend for the faith in its true form because false teachers are distorting it. The bulk of the letter (5–16) is devoted to describing and denouncing these opponents of the faith. The language that Jude uses in this section is similar to remarks in 2 Peter (with 2 Peter perhaps drawing on Jude’s words). Jude characterizes the false teachers with examples from the Old Testament (5–7, 11), from nature (12–13), and from ancient writings outside the Bible (9, 14–15). Jude advises believers to build themselves up in faith, prayer, and love, and to help those whom the false teachers have led astray (17–23). The letter ends with a powerful statement called a doxology that praises the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord (24–25).Outline
• Greeting (1–2) • Purpose for writing (3–4) • Judgment on false teachers (5–16) • Exhortation to persevere (17–23) • Doxology (24–25) Jude's letter is short; this is one of five single-chapter texts contained in the canon of Scripture.
Jude's emphasis is on the dangers posed by false teachings. The concern is not merely about competing religious ideas. Rather, Jude warns of those who claim to be Christian believers, yet teach doctrines contradictory to the truth. Such persons are a danger to the church's spiritual health, as they promote selfishness, sinfulness, and division.
What's rebuked in this letter sounds very much like Gnosticism: an early heresy which many early church fathers would confront in their own writings.