Jude


Encouragement and warnings


  Reading time approx 6 minutes

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About this epistle 1

About Jude

Sometimes encouragement and edification in the faith are needed, other times the situation calls for a warning. In this letter, Jude warns of evil people who have infiltrated the church and are spreading false teachings.
Structure:
Three things are often listed in sequence in this letter, see, for example, Jude 1:1, 2, 11. Of the 227 Greek words in the letter, 16 are unique to Jude and are found only in this letter. There are several similarities in imagery and subject matter with 2 Pet..

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents


Persons (8) BETA

Persons in Jude


Places (3)

Places in Jude


Unique Words (16)

Unique Words in Jude



  Written: Around 50-80 AD An earlier date is more likely, since the apostles had recently written to the recipients of the letter, see Jude 1:18. Jude was the youngest half-brother of Jesus and may have been born around 10 AD, which gives an upper limit of around 80-90 AD based on the life expectancy of that time.

To: Unknown location, perhaps Asia Minor. It was a general letter intended to be read by everyone, see Jude 1:1. The recipients were probably predominantly Jews, as the content presupposes a good knowledge of the Old Testament, contemporary Jewish apocryphal writings, and contemporary rabbinical teaching. From: Unknown location, Jude's brother James was in Jerusalem, but 1 Cor. 9:5 mentions that "the Lord's brothers" traveled. Since it is a letter, Jude is not in the same place as the recipients.

Author: Jude, Jesus' youngest half-brother.

This is the only letter in the New Testament from Jude. Jesus grew up in a large family with several younger half-brothers and half-sisters. The four brothers were named James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, see Matt. 13:55–56. Based on the order in which they are listed, James was the eldest and Jude the youngest. James also wrote a letter – the Epistle of James. None of the siblings believed in Jesus when he was on earth, see John 7:5, but after his death and resurrection, this changed. All of Jesus' brothers were present in the upper room, see Acts 1:14.

Reading time: ca 6 minutes.

Total Word Count

461 words in the book (in the original text).

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Jude

Greetings

11[From:] Jude,
    servant (slave, bondman) of Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ)
    and brother of James.
[Like his brother James, Jude chooses not to present himself as Jesus' half-brother, see James 1:1. In God's kingdom, it is the spiritual relationship with Jesus that counts.]
To those:
    who are loved [with selfless and generous love] in God the Father,
    who are kept in Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ),
    who are called.

2May:
    mercy (compassion expressed in action),
    peace (harmony, freedom from fear, well-being)
    and love [that is selfless, generous, and righteous]
be with you in abundance (multiplied measure, growing more and more). [Jude has a fondness for the number three, which appears frequently in this letter. The letter begins with three personal names. In the introduction, there are a total of three lists of triplets that define himself, the recipients, and God's blessing to them. In the next verse, there is the first of three "my beloved ones," see verses 3, 17, and 20.]

Hold fast to the faith

The reason for the letter – false teachers

3Beloved [my dear friends, see verses 17 and 20], despite my great eagerness to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and exhort (encourage) you to continue to fight (as an athlete fights in a competition) for the faith [the gospel, the sum of Christian doctrine, see Acts 6:7] once for all delivered to the saints.
4For certain people have crept in among you [entered unnoticed through a side door] whose judgment was long ago foretold (written in advance) in Scripture. [The next paragraph gives three examples of God's judgment from the Old Testament. Peter also writes about this, see 2 Pet. 2:1. The following three characteristics describe these false teachers:]
    They are godless [completely lacking respect and reverence for God].
    They distort (change, shift) the grace of our God to defend immorality (looseness, sensuality – Gk. aselgeia).
    They deny our only Sovereign and Lord, Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ). [The word aselgeia here refers to sexual sin, which is clear from the context and other examples in the letter, see Rom. 13:13.]

Three cautionary examples

5Now I want to remind you (I long to remind you), even though you already know all this. [You know the stories from the Old Testament, how God's judgment is effective over disobedience, often not immediately, but it will come. Jude wants to assure his readers that these false teachers who have crept in will receive their judgment.]
You know how the Lord (Jesus) first saved (redeemed) his people from Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe. [See Num. 14 and Heb. 3:16–19. Several early manuscripts do not have "the Lord," but "Jesus."]

 6You know [the stories of] the angels who did not keep their high position, but abandoned their proper dwelling place. He keeps them in darkness with eternal chains until the great day of judgment. [It is likely that Jude is referring to the event in Gen. 6:1–4.]

 7So also were Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities [Admah and Zeboiim, see Deut. 29:23], which in the same way indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desires. They stand as a warning example and receive their punishment in eternal fire [Gen. 19].
 8The same is true of these [false teachers, see verse 4]. They are led by dreams [which they claim to be divine guidance]. [The three sins they commit are:]
    They defile (soil) their bodies [through sexual sin].
    They despise [the Lord's] authority [through their lifestyle].
    They mock high powers (angelic powers) [with their big words]. [Based on the reasoning in the next verse, these high powers refer to angels, and most likely evil angels. Perhaps these false teachers taught that there are no demons. They mocked high angels in comparison to Michael, who was humble and did not presume to judge the devil but instead asked the Lord to judge him.]
9But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil over the body of Moses, he [Michael] did not dare to pronounce any scornful judgment on him, but said, "May the Lord rebuke you." [When Moses died, after seeing the Promised Land, he was buried by the Lord himself somewhere in the land of Moab, see Deut. 34:1–12. The quote "May the Lord punish you" has a parallel in Zech. 3:1–2 where the devil argued about the priest Joshua's dirty clothes. The angel Michael was considered to be the special guardian angel of the people of Israel, see Dan. 12:1. According to Jewish tradition, the dispute over Moses' body concerned the devil accusing Moses of not being righteous because of his killing of the Egyptian, see Ex. 2:12. These details are not included in the Bible and are believed to come from a Jewish text from the middle of the first century called "The Ascension of Moses," which deals with his ascension to heaven. There is only one manuscript, and these particular parts, which are believed to deal with the dispute over Moses' body, are missing.
    In this case, it is irrelevant whether the story is true or not. Perhaps Jude chose to include it because his audience was familiar with the story. The point is clear – these false teachers spoke about things they knew nothing about. Luke and Paul also quote Greek poets in their writings, without thereby validating everything in these extra-biblical works, see Acts 17:28; 1 Cor. 15:33; Titus 1:12.] 10These, on the other hand, mock what they do not know [angelic powers], and what they understand of nature like irrational animals, they corrupt themselves with.

Woe to them

11Woe [expression of intense despair over] them! [Now follow three examples from the Old Testament:]
For they went [set out] in the [wicked] way of Cain [where he tried to become righteous through his own deeds; and when he was confronted by God, he murdered his brother instead of repenting, see Gen. 4:6–8.],

and they threw themselves [devoted themselves fully] into Balaam's delusion for payment [who allowed himself to be persuaded by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites in exchange for financial compensation, see Num. 22–24; 2 Pet. 2:15–16],

and in Korah's rebellion (rebelliousness, questioning, contradictory logic – Gk. antilogia) they perished. [Korah was a Levite who rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, see Num. 16:1–33.]
 [Now follow five more examples that form a chiasm. The first and last have to do with seafaring and the danger of straying off course. The second and penultimate use images of water with clouds and wild sea waves. Central to this is an image in which false teachers are likened to trees without fruit, a simile often used by Jesus, see Matt. 12:33.] 12They are reefs at your love feasts [agape meals where the congregation also celebrated communion] where they shamelessly feast with you and help themselves. [These false teachers are like hidden reefs that cause ships on their way to port to run aground and be wrecked.]
They are clouds without rain
    driven away by the winds.
[In a climate where rain is essential for life, rain clouds were eagerly awaited. These false leaders were spiritually empty.]
They are late autumn trees without fruit,
    [the fruit-bearing season is over and they have borne no fruit]
    twice dead [completely dead] and uprooted.
[The center of the kiasmos. Jesus speaks in a similar way, see Matt. 7:16–20.]
 13They are wild sea waves
    foaming with their abominations.
They are wandering stars [comets, meteorites, and shooting stars that cannot be navigated by]
    who have the black darkness [blackest abysmal darkness] to wait for forever.

The Judgement foretold by Enoch

14Enoch, in the seventh generation after Adam [see 1 Chron. 1:3, the generation is specified to distinguish him from Cain's son of the same name, see Gen. 4:17], prophesied about them: "Behold, the Lord comes with his myriads (literally: "tens of thousands," also describing an innumerable number) of holy ones 15to judge everyone and hold every soul accountable for all the ungodly deeds they have done and for all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." [In a society that was rapidly sinking deeper and deeper into sin, Enoch walked with God. He lived to be 365 years old and was taken up without dying a natural death, see Gen. 5:18–24. Verses 14-15 are a direct quotation from First Enoch 60:8 and 1:9. The book is an apocryphal Jewish text from around 300 BC that describes the fallen angels in Gen. 6 and Enoch's visit to heaven. It has never been included in the biblical canon or the apocrypha, but was a common extra-biblical book when the books of the New Testament were written. Eleven copies of the book were found in Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The reason Jude quotes from this book may be that his opponents held it in high regard and often used it in their arguments. See also the reasoning in verse 9.] 16These people complain (mutter quietly) [against God, see Ex. 16:7–9], find fault with others (are dissatisfied with their lot) while following their [evil] desires. They boast about themselves and flatter others when it benefits them [for their own gain].

Advice for growing in faith

Remember the warnings

17But you, [my] beloved [friends], should remember what has been foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ). 18They told you, "In the last days, there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19These are the ones who cause divisions; they are worldly (earthly, unspiritual) people who do not have the Spirit [Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:14].

Your own responsibility—remain in God's love

[It is not enough to simply oppose false teachers; believers must continue to grow in faith and love.] 20But you, [my] beloved [friends],
    as you build yourselves up on your most holy faith,
    while praying in the Holy Spirit,
21remain [then] in God's love [make sure to preserve the love that is righteous, unselfish, and generous], while you wait for [personally and warmly welcome] the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ) [who will bring you] to eternal life.

Show mercy

22Be merciful to those who doubt. [This exhortation probably refers to those who have been led astray by false teachers.] 23Others [who have already gone astray] you should save,
    by snatching them out of the fire. [The fire refers to the coming judgment see Matt. 3:10.]

To others you should show mercy, but with fear, so that you even despise their tunics [undergarments worn closest to the body] that are defiled by the flesh.

Praise

24He who has the power to keep you from falling and to bring you before his glory without blemish and rejoicing – 25the one God, our Savior through Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ), our Lord – to him be glory, majesty, dominion, and power before all time, now and forever.

Amen (so be it).




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