Jude
Encouragement to Defend Truth Against False Teaching
The brief book of Jude is mostly a sober warning against false teachers. Like John’s epistles, Peter’s second epistle, and Hebrews, Jude wants us to feel the seriousness of their perversion of and departure from the gospel so that we will persevere in faithfulness. - Jon Bloom
A Servant of Jesus Christ
Vs. 1 - Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:
It is probable that, since Jude is not mentioned within the Acts of the Apostles nor in any of the other books of the New Testament, he was not a leader in the early church. Therefore, it was quite natural to identify himself with one who was a leader in the church-his brother James. - Paul A. Cedar
Commentators speculate that, if Jude was the brother of James, the well-known leader in the early church in Jerusalem, then he must also have been the brother of Jesus. And if he was, in fact, Jesus’ brother, his self-identification as “servant” became even more meaningful as he humbly took his place as an obedient follower of the Messiah, wishing “mercy, peace, and love” to his “called, loved, and kept” brothers and sisters in the faith.
Contend for The Faith
Necessary
Vs. 3 - Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.
It had been Jude's intention to write a treatise on the faith which all Christians share; but that task had to be laid aside in view of the rise of men whose conduct and thought were a threat to the Christian Church. In view of this situation the need was not so much to expound the faith as to rally Christians in its defense. - William Barclay
“Contend for”- This unique compound verb pictures a person taking his or her stand on top of something an adversary desires to take away, and fighting to defend and retain it. - Thomas Constable
Ungodly People
Vs. 4 (NLT) - I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches
It was reported to Jude that certain “ungodly people” were leading Christians to abuse grace and to deny Jesus, and the bulk of the letter is a description of their conduct and condemnation.
Grace into Sensuality - vs.4 - saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
Denying Jesus - vs. 4 - and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
These People
To thoroughly illustrate all the ways “these people” had rejected God and prepared themselves for judgment, Jude provided multiple examples from Jewish history and extra-biblical literature.
Jude . . . is a troubled pastor, anxious to shake the shoulders of his community to wake them up to the threats in their very midst. For him, as for most of the early Church, faith in Jesus was a matter of life and death, and anyone or anything that threatened that life of faith was indeed a mortal enemy. - Donald Senior
Analogies
Unbelieving like Israel
After God redeemed Israel and liberated the nation from bondage in Egypt, the people failed to continue to believe God’s promises and to trust in His power (Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 1:32). God judged those who failed by destroying them in the wilderness. He let that generation die rather than bringing the unbelieving apostates into the Promised Land. - Thomas Constable
Prideful like Angels
The Jews believed in a fall of the angels and much is said about this in the Book of Enoch which is so often behind the thought of Jude. - William Barclay
Jude’s point in this illustration was that the apostates in his day had also abandoned a position of great privilege and blessing, namely, the opportunity to serve and glorify God. God would also judge them severely because of their departure. - Thomas Constable
Immoral like Sodom
The account of the destruction of the city of Sodom can be found in Genesis 19. It was judged because of its inhabitants’ refusal to repent of all manner of iniquity and immorality.
Rebuked like Satan
The strange story of the death of Moses is told in Deuteronomy 34:1-6. The Assumption of Moses goes on to add the further story that the task of burying the body of Moses was given to the archangel Michael. The devil disputed with Michael for possession of the body. He based his claim on two grounds. Moses' body was matter; matter was evil; and, therefore, the body belonged to him, for matter was his domain. Second, Moses was a murderer, for had not he slain the Egyptian whom he saw smiting the Hebrew ( Exodus 2:11-12). And, if he was a murderer, the devil had a claim on his body. The point Jude is making is this. Michael was engaged on a task given him by God; the devil was seeking to stop him and was making claims he had no right to make. But even in a collection of circumstances like that Michael spoke no evil of the devil but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you!" If the greatest of the good angels refused to speak evil of the greatest of the evil angels, even in circumstances like that, surely no human being may speak evil of any angel.
What the men Jude is attacking were saying about the angels we do not know. Perhaps they were saying that they did not exist; perhaps they were saying they were evil. This passage means very little to us, but no doubt it would be a weighty rebuke to those to whom Jude addressed it. - William Barclay
Reckless like Cain
Jude offered no explanation for his brief mention of Cain (Genesis 4), but we know that this son of Adam was cast from the presence of God as “restless wanderer on the earth” for murdering his brother.
Greedy like Balaam
Balaam (Numbers 31) stands for two things. (a) He stands for the covetous man, who was prepared to sin in order to gain reward. (b) He stands for the evil man, who was guilty of the greatest of all sins-the sin of teaching others to sin. So Jude is declaring of the wicked men of his own day that they are ready to leave the way of righteousness to make gain; and that they are teaching others to sin. - William Barclay
Rebellious like Korah
Korah (Numbers 16) incited a group of prominent Israelite leaders to rebel against the authority of Moses, and, as a result, was swallowed up with all his relatives by something like a sinkhole or fissure in the ground.
Metaphors
Sky, land, and sea are ransacked for illustrations of the character of these men. - Moffatt
Vs. 12 - These people are…
Dangerous Reefs - Hidden and dangerous to the church
Selfish Shepherds - Motivated by their own greed
Waterless Clouds - Making empty promises
Fruitless Trees - Producing nothing of value
Wild Waves - Reckless and lacking self-restraint
Wandering Stars - Fallen off course to burn away
Because the author attached little to no explanation to his figurative language, commentators can only speculate on his intended meaning. It is very clear, however, that Jude wanted to strongly communicate the dangerous and destructive nature of these false teachers.
Judgment
Vs. 14-15 - It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way”
Jude, a pious Jew, knew and loved the Book of Enoch and had grown up in a circle where it was regarded with respect and even reverence; and he takes his quotation from it perfectly naturally, knowing that his readers would recognize it, and respect it. - William Barclay
Enoch’s prophecy confirms the certain punishment of people characterized by such ungodliness. Whether they criticize or flatter, whether they grumble or boast, their actions are always motivated solely by what is going to benefit them personally. (The prophecy of Enoch is taken from the apocryphal ‘Book of Enoch’.) - Don Fleming
But You, My Friends
Before Jude ended the letter, he provided instruction for how these believers should respond to the dangerous false teachers he had just described. “These people” were seeking to deceive, but Jude’s “dear friends” should strive to protect the truth, to encourage one another, and to look to God for mercy and preservation.
Remember the Apostles’ Warning
Vs. 17 - But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.”
The actual words of Jude's quotation are not in any New Testament book. He may be doing any one of three things. He may be quoting some apostolic book which we no longer possess. He may be quoting, not a book, but some oral tradition of the apostolic preaching; or some sermon which he himself had heard from the apostles. He may be giving the general sense of a passage like 1 Timothy 4:1-3. In any event, he is telling his people that error was only to be expected in the church. - William Barclay
Acts 20:29-30 - I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 - Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
Strengthen One Another
Vs. 20 (NLT) - build each other up in your most holy faith
The NLT interprets Jude’s admonition here to be directed towards other Christians. Other translations call for believers to build up their own personal faith. Either way, the instruction is for these Christians to “rear up” or strengthen their trust in the truth.
Wait for Mercy
Vs. 21 - waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.
The apostles consistently reminded the Christians of the early church to live with a sense of urgency as they anticipated the return of Jesus and the promise of eternal life.
Show Mercy to One Another
Vs. 22-23 - Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Jude’s readers should tenderly help those of their fellow believers who were struggling and perhaps stumbling under the influence of the false teachers. Those in view are earnest doubters who sincerely cannot decide between truth and error. They are wavering in their loyalty. We should not abandon these brethren but compassionately seek to restore them. - Thomas Constable
Jude uses the Greek word (diakrinō) that also means a wavering uncertainty, and as one dictionary puts it, “being at odds with oneself.” In other words, be merciful to those who are struggling over the competing truth claims. Don’t crush them or condemn them; help them.
I can’t help but think that Jude recalled how Jesus once showed mercy to him. Because there was a time when he doubted his divine brother’s claims, and Jesus at some point helped him. - Jon Bloom
John 7:5 - For not even his brothers believed in him.
To God Be The Glory
Vs. 24-25 - Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
Jude ended his letter with a doxology that served as a reminder of the divine power available to believers as they contend against heretics. He praised God because He was able to protect believers from falling into the sinful practices of the false teachers and grant them entrance into His glorious presence. - Terry L. Wilder
The concluding doxology is universally recognized as one of the fullest and most beautiful in Scripture. Stressing the security of the believer in the midst of apostasy, it brings the epistle to a marvelous conclusion. - Hiebert
Consistent in the writing of the apostles is the call for believers to contend and to commit followed immediately by a reminder that the presence and protection of God would empower them for the task.
