Tue, Nov 3, 2009
Contend for the Faith: Studying the Letter of Jude :: Jude 1-2
Introduction
The book of Jude is one of the most neglected books in the New Testament. Many (if not most) pastors have never preached through it, and many (if not most) Christians have never even read it from start to finish. Despite the fact that the Jude is commonly neglected (whether intentional or not), it remains one of the most practically applicable books in all of the Bible – especially in light of the status of the contemporary church (“church” meaning those who profess to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ). When one understands the nature of the book of Jude, one can easily understand why Satan must rejoice at the church’s common ignorance of it’s content – the book of Jude stands as one of the most blunt and straight-forward confrontations of false teaching in all of the New Testament. Because the contemporary church is facing a wide variety of false teaching of its own, this book is just as relevant to modern readers as it was to the original first century readers. In this first installment, we will look primarily at verses 1-2.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1-2 ESV)
Authorship
Whenever studying a biblical book, there is always value in (when possible) identifying the author of that particular book. The book of Jude is no different.
The first word of the first verse tells us that this book was written by a man named “Jude.” The name “Jude” is an English form of the Greek name “Judas,” which is a translation of the Hebrew name “Judah.” Now, just because the author identifies himself by the name “Jude,” doesn’t necessarily reveal his identity because the name “Jude” or “Judas” was a very popular name during the first century A.D. There were basically two reasons for the popularity of the name “Jude.”
1. “Judah” was name of the founder of the Israelite tribe of Judah.
2. “Judas” was the name of a legendary war hero from the second century B.C.
Resulting from the popularity of the name, the New Testament actually speaks of eight men by the name of “Jude” or “Judas” or “Judah.” Judging by name alone, the author of the book of Jude could be any of these eight men.
Thankfully, the author gave us further clues as to his identity – he also identifies himself as “the brother of James.” Of the eight men mentioned previously who share the name “Jude,” only two of them are in any way associated with a man named “James.”
* Jude, the apostle.
* Jude, the half-brother of Jesus.
Of these two remaining candidates, the apostle Jude can be ruled out because we are told in two separate places that he is not the brother of a man named “James;” rather, he is the son of a man named “James” (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). In the whole New Testament, there is only one man named “Jude” who is said to be the brother of a man named “James” – namely, Jude the half-brother of Jesus. Both times he is mentioned in the New Testament we are told that both he and James, along with Joseph and Simon, were the brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we know (almost beyond the shadow of doubt) that Jude, the brother of Jesus, is the inspired author of the book of Jude.
A Servant of Jesus Christ
In light of the fact that Jude was Jesus half-brother, the fact that he does not refer to himself as such is very interesting. Instead, Jude refers to himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ.” It is obvious that Jude is not ashamed of family relations, since he clearly ties himself to his brother James; yet, Jude does not refer to himself as Jesus’ brother. Why? There are two main reasons that I want to suggest for Jude’s description of himself in relationship to Jesus.
First, it is probably an indication of the humility on Jude’s part as a result of his unbelief and opposition to Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5).
Second, and more significant, it is Jude’s way of backing up the boldness and authority with which he writes his letter. If Jude were writing as a historian, his personal relationship and closeness to Jesus as a brother would be of great significance. But Jude is not writing as a historian; rather, he is writing as an authoritative Christian leader. Jude’s human relationship to Jesus is of little significance to the purpose for which Jude writes, namely, to authoritatively call the church to actively and boldly defend the gospel. When Jude became a Christian, he had to change from simply knowing Jesus as his brother to acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Messiah. The significance, then, of Jude’s reference to himself as Jesus’ servant (as opposed to his brother) is to show us that no one – not even the brother of Jesus – is too privileged to be exempt from the need for conversion. All people are required to acknowledge and submit to Jesus as Lord and Messiah – or perish. There are no exceptions.
By His Grace – For His Glory
Brandon
Follow Us:
VoM|Posts - http://bit.ly/19VfUP
Twitter - http://bit.ly/2jzl0v
Facebook - http://bit.ly/1zH5MI
Tumblr - http://bit.ly/KcHOz
Join Vessels of Mercy: http://bit.ly/19VfUP
The book of Jude is one of the most neglected books in the New Testament. Many (if not most) pastors have never preached through it, and many (if not most) Christians have never even read it from start to finish. Despite the fact that the Jude is commonly neglected (whether intentional or not), it remains one of the most practically applicable books in all of the Bible – especially in light of the status of the contemporary church (“church” meaning those who profess to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ). When one understands the nature of the book of Jude, one can easily understand why Satan must rejoice at the church’s common ignorance of it’s content – the book of Jude stands as one of the most blunt and straight-forward confrontations of false teaching in all of the New Testament. Because the contemporary church is facing a wide variety of false teaching of its own, this book is just as relevant to modern readers as it was to the original first century readers. In this first installment, we will look primarily at verses 1-2.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1-2 ESV)
Authorship
Whenever studying a biblical book, there is always value in (when possible) identifying the author of that particular book. The book of Jude is no different.
The first word of the first verse tells us that this book was written by a man named “Jude.” The name “Jude” is an English form of the Greek name “Judas,” which is a translation of the Hebrew name “Judah.” Now, just because the author identifies himself by the name “Jude,” doesn’t necessarily reveal his identity because the name “Jude” or “Judas” was a very popular name during the first century A.D. There were basically two reasons for the popularity of the name “Jude.”
1. “Judah” was name of the founder of the Israelite tribe of Judah.
2. “Judas” was the name of a legendary war hero from the second century B.C.
Resulting from the popularity of the name, the New Testament actually speaks of eight men by the name of “Jude” or “Judas” or “Judah.” Judging by name alone, the author of the book of Jude could be any of these eight men.
Thankfully, the author gave us further clues as to his identity – he also identifies himself as “the brother of James.” Of the eight men mentioned previously who share the name “Jude,” only two of them are in any way associated with a man named “James.”
* Jude, the apostle.
* Jude, the half-brother of Jesus.
Of these two remaining candidates, the apostle Jude can be ruled out because we are told in two separate places that he is not the brother of a man named “James;” rather, he is the son of a man named “James” (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). In the whole New Testament, there is only one man named “Jude” who is said to be the brother of a man named “James” – namely, Jude the half-brother of Jesus. Both times he is mentioned in the New Testament we are told that both he and James, along with Joseph and Simon, were the brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we know (almost beyond the shadow of doubt) that Jude, the brother of Jesus, is the inspired author of the book of Jude.
A Servant of Jesus Christ
In light of the fact that Jude was Jesus half-brother, the fact that he does not refer to himself as such is very interesting. Instead, Jude refers to himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ.” It is obvious that Jude is not ashamed of family relations, since he clearly ties himself to his brother James; yet, Jude does not refer to himself as Jesus’ brother. Why? There are two main reasons that I want to suggest for Jude’s description of himself in relationship to Jesus.
First, it is probably an indication of the humility on Jude’s part as a result of his unbelief and opposition to Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5).
Second, and more significant, it is Jude’s way of backing up the boldness and authority with which he writes his letter. If Jude were writing as a historian, his personal relationship and closeness to Jesus as a brother would be of great significance. But Jude is not writing as a historian; rather, he is writing as an authoritative Christian leader. Jude’s human relationship to Jesus is of little significance to the purpose for which Jude writes, namely, to authoritatively call the church to actively and boldly defend the gospel. When Jude became a Christian, he had to change from simply knowing Jesus as his brother to acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Messiah. The significance, then, of Jude’s reference to himself as Jesus’ servant (as opposed to his brother) is to show us that no one – not even the brother of Jesus – is too privileged to be exempt from the need for conversion. All people are required to acknowledge and submit to Jesus as Lord and Messiah – or perish. There are no exceptions.
By His Grace – For His Glory
Brandon
Follow Us:
VoM|Posts - http://bit.ly/19VfUP
Twitter - http://bit.ly/2jzl0v
Facebook - http://bit.ly/1zH5MI
Tumblr - http://bit.ly/KcHOz
Join Vessels of Mercy: http://bit.ly/19VfUP
From the YouVersion Blog RSS Feed
Videos for you to use Introducing YouVersion Live to your Group, Church or Event
Below are a couple resources we wanted to pass on to all of you who have been creating groups and events... Read more »
