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Introduction
The author of this letter is Jude – the brother of James and also of Jesus.
This letter bears many similarities to 2 Peter, including the fact that it was written in the last days before the coming of the Lord that 2 Peter had prophesied – that is, the period of time after the mid-60’s when Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome.
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Jude 1
Jude 1:1 – The expression “kept for Jesus Christ” is similar in purpose to an expression used by the apostle John (2 Jn 1:1), “the chosen lady” – that is, a way of referring to the New Testament church as the bride of Christ.
Jude 1:2 – This is a common apostolic greeting. The brothers of the Lord – James and Jude – were regarded as the apostles were regarded – that is, as founders of the faith. The way Paul referred to them demonstrates this.
1 Cor 9:5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
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Gal 1:19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
Jude 1:3 – Jude had been intending to write these believers (“beloved”) about their “common salvation” which would be the central benefit of the Second Coming. It was a topic of great hope. Instead, Jude feels that he must shift gears and urge them to “contend earnestly for the faith” – a topic of great concern. Thus a letter that was originally to be focused on anticipation of a joyous event must now be focused on securing participation in that joyous event. The driver of this change was the manifestation of just what Jesus and the apostles had prophesied all along – that as the day of the Lord drew near, there would be a proliferation of false teachers and false teachings accompanied by an overall decline in church vitality.
I suppose we could say that, given the prophecies, Jude should have realized that he would need to send this kind of warning letter, but prophecies are not set to a calendar or clock. Rather, they unfold like the seasons. Therefore, Jude knew the time for a letter like this would come, and he’s only letting us know that he just now saw the signs that it was time. It’s also possible that he has seen more of a struggle in some believers than he thought they’d have. (After all, who – besides Jesus – could have predicted that Peter’s knees would buckle at a critical moment?) Jude wants to strengthen the faith of the believers with whom he has contact to help fortify them against Satan’s schemes during this difficult period.
***** As for “the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints,” this is the faith we should seek to hold. It’s not some new faith. It’s the faith that Jesus gave the apostles – for He was the author of it (Heb 12:1-2) – and that the apostles and the Lord’s brothers in turn spoke and wrote about to their contemporaries. We were not there to literally hear what they spoke, but we have the texts that they wrote and that document what they spoke. It is from these pages that our faith comes. ***** The New Testament is testimony to 1) what the apostles preached, and 2) what their churches believed. The first is easier to recognize, but the second deserves to be remembered alongside it. Skepticism was as present in the 1st century as it is in ours. The people who believed had reasons to believe and we should be sure to understand what those reasons were. Faith is not something different from reason; it is the outcome of reason. Refusal to believe when the facts warrant belief…is irrational.
Jude 1:4 – Paul in 2 Timothy, Peter in 2 Peter, and John in 1 John speak about these false teachers who would multiply in the final days. In the first two letters, they were prophesied. In the third, John testifies that they’ve arrived. Therefore, this letter and 1 John were written at about the same time. See all three of these letters and accompanying BSN notes for more description of these times. Jude himself will give an extensive description of the false teachers as this letter unfolds. ***** The way to “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness” is to talk about God’s forgiveness without talking about our repentance, or, more broadly, to talk about the benefits God grants us without talking about the requirements He places on us. God is not a patsy. ***** When these false teachers turned God’s grace into a license to sin they were denying Jesus’ role as Master of our lives. As He Himself rhetorically asked:
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Jude 1:5 – Jude begins his detailed warning by reminding his readers that not all the Israelites who escaped Egypt got into the promised land. In fact, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who got all the way there because the rest of their generation disqualified themselves and died in the wilderness. Paul similarly used ancient Israel as a pattern from which the New Testament church was supposed to learn (see 1 Cor 10). ***** An NASB footnote on “the Lord” in this verse reads “Two early mss read Jesus.” #RPJ
Jude 1:6 – Even angels get judged – how much more human beings!
Jude 1:7 – Sodom and Gomorrah were not just judged for their own sakes, but as a example for any societies that would choose to live ungodly in the future. That includes ours. Do we think that Sodom and Gomorrah had to face the consequences of their defiant sins but that America will get a free pass?
Jude 1:8-9 – Foolish and ungodly men let their tongues loose in evil, yet even righteous angels know to be guarded in what they say…even to the devil.
Ps 50:19 “You let your mouth loose in evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
Ps 50:20 “You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
Ps 50:21 “These things you have done and I kept silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
People think that because God doesn’t punish evil instantly that he’s not going to punish it at all – but that’s not the case. Therefore, we need to control our tongues (see James 3 for more on this subject) and not assume that if God doesn’t immediately punish us for shooting our mouths then He won’t ever do it.
Eccl 8:11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.
Eccl 8:12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.
Eccl 8:13 But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
Jude 1:10 – It is amazing how much evil people act like animals. There is something retarding about evil. We become less than human.
Jude 1:11 – You can find these stories in the Old Testament at the following locations:
- “Cain” – Genesis 4
- “Balaam” – Numbers 22-24
- “Korah” – Numbers 16
Jude 1:12-13 – You can’t read Jude’s sentences briskly. You have to slow way down at times and digest them one phrase – or even one word – at a time. He speaks in headlines, and leaves a lot to be unpacked from them. He’s giving a lot of visual images in this sentence. Picture each one, putting yourself in the situation that these believers face, see what the images tell you: reefs, clouds, trees, waves, and stars.
- “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;” – Picture it.
- “clouds without water, carried along by winds;” – Picture it.
- “autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;” – Picture it.
- “wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam;” – Picture it.
- “wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” – Picture it.
Jude 1:14-15 – Jude uses the word “ungodly” four times in this one sentence. He also uses it in verse 4 above and verse 18 below. It is the defining characteristics of the false teachers he is warning against in this letter.
Jude 1:16 – As with verse 12-13 above, this is a sentence that must be broken down and pondered piece by piece to grasp the meaning. This sentence is easier to break down than that one, but it still helps to break it down. (By the way, susceptibility to flattery causes a lot of people to put up with the first four flaws in a person to get the benefit of the fifth; beware of anyone who tells you that you are better than the people he’s criticizing.)
- “grumblers,”
- “finding fault,”
- “following after their own lusts;”
- “they speak arrogantly,”
- “flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
Jude 1:17-19 – Jude is pointing out, as I said at the outset, that this current manifestation of false teachers was prophesied by Jesus’ apostles. And I mentioned that some of those prophecies could be found in 2 Timothy and 2 Peter.
Jude 1:20-21 – Here’s how to make sure you don’t get pulled down by false teachers and false teachings.
Jude 1:22-23 – And while you’re insuring your salvation for yourself, keep as many others in the boat with you that you can.
Jude 1:24-25 – For other benedictions, see Blessings and Curses.
We are living in the run-up to a judgment as were Jude and his contemporaries; however, we are not living in the run-up to a major revelation and the coming of a kingdom as they were. We have the great revelation that came with the Second Coming: that Jesus Christ is God and Father (Isaiah 9:6). And we are living under the dominion of the kingdom of which He is King. We also have something that generation did not have: a complete Bible (OT and NT) accessible in practically any place and at practically any time. Since in the kingdom of God, every man is the priest of his household, the best protection against false teachers and teachings, and against loss of spiritual vitality, is that you do with the Bible for your family what Ezra sought to do for all Israel.
Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
And do it every day. If you do, then you and your family will secure the “common salvation” (verse 3) which Jude hoped for his readers.
The Duty of a Man 