Jude -
1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the
Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
3 Beloved,
while I was making every effort to write you about our common
salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed
down to the saints.
4 For certain persons
have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who
turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and
deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all,
that the Lord, after saving a people out of the
land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
6 And angels
who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great
day,
7 just as Sodom
and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same
way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example
in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in the same way
these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject
authority, and revile angelic majesties.
9 But Michael
the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing
judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
10 But these
men revile the things which they do not understand; and the
things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by
these things they are destroyed.
11 Woe to them! For
they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they
have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished
in the rebellion of Korah.
12 These are the men
who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they
feast with you without fear, caring for themselves ; clouds
without water, carried along by winds ; autumn trees without
fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
13 wild
waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like
foam; wandering stars, for whom the black
darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about
these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam,
prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many
thousands of His holy ones,
15 to
execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly
deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own
lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were
spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
18 that they were
saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts."
21 keep yourselves in
the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ to eternal life.
22 And have mercy on
some, who are doubting;
23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 Now
to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you
stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
This letter was
written by the brother of Jesus and James. Here Jude referred to himself as the
bondservant of Jesus Christ. Two things to recognize with this statement are
that He recognized Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, for which the Jews
awaited. The other thing, Jude did was call himself a bondservant of Jesus. What
is a bondservant in the 1st century? A bondservant is one who gives
him or herself to be in the service of another for his will and purposes. Jude said
his brother, Jesus, is the Christ and that he believed this so much that he
would do whatever the Lord told him. In this instance, Jude wrote a letter to a
church to encourage them and to remind them.
Jude wrote this letter near the time of 2 Peter. We know this
because many things Jude says in his letter are stated in 2 Peter. Jude was written
during the time of the Roman persecution of Christians. That sets it near 65AD. Nero had begun this round of
persecution. He blamed the Christians for many things, for example the burning
of Rome and the civil unrest.
Jude wrote to the believers of Jesus telling them to stand up
for the faith they had in common with each other and all Christians. He
reminded them there are ungodly people who are turning the grace of God into an
opportunity for sins of the flesh. These people were appealing to the grace they
have in God saying, “We are believers who are forgiven and want to have fun. We
do what we want; we will be forgiven anyway.” These people were twisting the
message of God’s grace to permit licentiousness, unbridled lust and bodily
gratification. Nevertheless, Jude prompted his readers to remember what
happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroyed them and saved Lot. God can still
do this. Jude said God’s grace was not to be used frivolously to live a
self-serving life. His grace, His undeserved love for us, was bought with a
great price, His Son’s death on the cross. These people who talked of doing
whatever they wanted and of allowing themselves to be seduced by the desires of
the body cheapened the love of Christ. God’s grace, Jude said, was not there to
give license to sinfulness, but to remind them of their unworthiness and God’s
greatness. God would not allow this thought and the resultant actions to
continue. Look to the past and see how He took those matters into His hands. Jude
mentioned several times God entered and punished those who twisted His love for
them and their freedom. He recalled for the people about Sodom and Gomorrah and
others who followed their animal/carnal desires, including the people He
destroyed after rescuing them from Egypt because they did not believe. He
reminded them of the angels who wanted to be equal to God and who were banished
to darkness. Jude jumped in to the issues at hand. He warned the people of
these false teachers who were trying to twist the freedom of being a follower
of Jesus into an opportunity to do what their fleshly nature wanted.
Jude was so concerned with the presence, walk, and talk of these
false teachers that he continued explaining whom these false teachers have been
and were in compared to God and His ways. He said they defiled the flesh and
rejected authority. They went so far as to purposely daydream and have fleshly
thoughts, sensual desires. He compared them to animals following their baser
instincts and who were being destroyed. Their destruction was of their own
making. They chose to follow the ways of the flesh, which was contrary to the
truth of God, the pure grace of God given through His Son, Jesus. These false believers
said they were already forgiven and so could do as they wanted. Jude proclaimed
woe upon them, just as John proclaimed to the churches in the book of
Revelation. He said they would have sadness, regret, and separation just like
Cain after he killed his brother, Abel, out of jealousy because his offering
was not from his best. Their woe will be like the prophet Balaam who took
payment to counsel Israel’s enemies. He prided himself on knowing the word and
will of God and he liked the fame. Korah and his relatives of the Levites
rebelled against Moses and Aaron accusing them of setting themselves up to be
the only priests of Yahweh. They, too, wanted to be priests of Yahweh. Korah’s
sin was jealousy and putting him and his family higher in their hearts and
minds than God meant for them to be. They were not humble. Each of these instances
revealed how people showed their ignorance of God. They proclaimed themselves
to know God and did not give their best for an offering, for proclaiming, and
for leading. These people set themselves up in opposition to God and received their
reward/punishment – banishment and death.
Jude told the Christian readers what these men and women were. They
were false and rocks on which to ground people like hidden reefs in the sea. They
brought moral damage when they gathered to feast for themselves, not for the
Lord’s Supper (see 1 Corinthians 11:20-21). These people were like clouds that
carried no life-giving water but were blown around; they falsely boasted of their
gifts (see Proverbs 25:14). They were like autumn trees with no fruit; they were
dormant, dead, and gave no fruit. There was nothing in their lives to show they
were from God and so they were doubly dead – physically and eternally. These
false teachers were like the wild waves of the sea of which Isaiah spoke in
Isaiah 57:20. They could not be quiet, but tossed their waves of shame and
disgrace like refuse and mud, nothing of which to be proud. Finally, Jude
compared them to wandering stars which have no sun around which to orbit, but
which continue forever in unending darkness, a foreboding netherworld gloom for
eternity. These false believers brought moral danger and boasted of their
superior knowledge, but did not bring life through rain nor show their
spiritual fruit. Instead, they showed their shame and disgrace and were
destined to live forever in the darkness with the prince of darkness, not with
God.
Jude continued this letter by being very explicit regarding
these false believers and teachers. Instead of reminding them of the past when God
brought judgment or comparing them to false and dead things, Jude told them in
verses 14-16 who these people were. These false teachers were the ungodly who
will be judged by God. They were the grumblers and faultfinders who tried to
find a way around God’s commandments. They wanted what they wanted and to follow
their own desires. They sought approval and advantage regarding their way of
life and precepts by being arrogant and flattering people. Jude warned the
believers of Jesus against these people.
As an alternative and the only life-giving way to live, said
Jude, remember the words spoken by the apostles of the Lord, those who walked with,
saw, and heard directly from the Christ. Remember they said there would be
mockers in the last time who followed their own lusts. These false disciples
and teachers would cause divisions, be worldly-minded (fleshly-desired) and not
connected to the Holy Spirit. But you, followers of Jesus, Jude said, be firmly
rooted in Jesus, growing in Him and being strengthened in your faith as your
were taught (see Colossians 2:7). Pray in the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for
us to the Father in deeper ways, with perseverance and petitioning for all
believers to stand strong (see Romans 8:26 and Ephesians 6:18). Take effort to keep
yourselves carefully in the love and goodwill of God as His children. While you
do this, eagerly wait with expectant hope for the return of Christ and His
mercy to take you to His Kingdom as promised for His followers (see Titus 2:13).
Jude offered five things to do during this intermediate time while awaiting the
return of Jesus instead of listening to and following the false believers.
Remember the words of the apostles. Be firmly rooted and growing in Christ.
Pray in the Holy Spirit interceding for the other believers. Carefully keep
yourselves in the love and way of God. Eagerly wait with hope for Christ’s
return.
Jude told them, while you are doing these things and waiting for
Christ’s return, have mercy on those who doubt within themselves about the
Father and the Son. Give them patience and gently show them you care with the
love of God; help them see the Truth with clarity. Often these people will turn
to God because of His love. For others, help preserve them by snatching them
out of the fire of eternal death as God snatched the Israelites repeatedly, even
though some did not turn to Him (see Amos 4:11). Be diligent and lovingly keep
on speaking Truth to these who choose to keep walking from Jesus. Jesus desires
that no one will be lost but that all will come to repentance (see 2
Peter 3:9). Even
go so far as to help
others, with trembling, hating even with what they clothed themselves in life (their
life choices) knowing those life choices are against God. The lives of these
people was complete rebellion against God. Jude told them, while you are doing
the above for believers living in the world before the second coming of Christ,
look also to those who do not accept Jesus as God’s Son, bearing the penalty
for their sins. They were not only to love God and other believers, but were to
love non-believers so much that they did not give up on telling them the Truth,
even to the point of snatching them from hell’s fires in their fleshly clothes
of their human choices.
This is an interesting
letter. Jude could have kept his letter to warning the believers. Instead, He
spent time reminding them of their past, God’s faithfulness, Jesus’ love, and
Jesus’ commandments He left for each of His believers. Jesus’ three
commandments to His followers are: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, mind, and strength. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The
second is you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40 [NASB]);
the third is “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this will all men know that you are My disciples” (John 13:34 [NASB]). By
following Jesus’ commandments, not only would they be remembering the words of
the apostles, continuing in their growth in Christ, praying in the Holy Spirit,
and eagerly awaiting the hope Christ put within His believers, they would be a
living testimony of Jesus. They would be praying for and working toward bringing
all people to a saving faith in Jesus, the doubters as well as the blatant
rebels. They would not be staying focused on the negative, anti-Christian
things that were happening; they would be working toward becoming more Chistlike.
Jude closed his letter with His
own statement of trust in Jesus. He said a prayer over these people of God. He
prayed for them not to stumble and positively prayed for them to stand before
God blameless and with great joy. He gave them over to the hands of God who is
able to keep them in His safety. He praised God, the Father and Son, for His glory,
power, and authority from before time and through eternity because God is more
powerful than anything. This is the God in whom the believers can stand, be
reassured, and hope - the Father and Savior of all humankind.
This is how we can stand in
the face of false teachers, doubters, and blatant rebels of God. We know God is
not only all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere-present, but His character
is encompassed by His love that never ceases. He does not wish anyone to be
separated from Him for eternity. His love made a way for that not to happen. Jesus
became His sacrifice of to take the penalty and pay the price for our sins.
These questions remain: Will
you accept His love and sacrifice? Will you reach out and keep on reaching out
with His love so that all will have the opportunity to know and experience
God’s love forever? He gives us the choice. What do you choose?
