Jude 1 | TNotes | STEP | Book of Jude — Quick facts: Purpose: To urge readers to defend their faith in the face of false teaching Author: Jude, brother of Jesus Date: Unknown, possibly around the same time as 2 Peter (early 60s AD ) Setting: Written to a group of churches that had been infiltrated by false teachers who encouraged an immoral lifestyle Book of Jude — Overview: Setting Jude wrote this letter to combat false teachers in the early church. Jude focuses less on what these people were teaching than on the way they were living; at the heart of Jude’s critique is the charge that they were libertines—they assumed that God’s grace revealed in Christ gave them the freedom to do whatever they pleased (1:4 ). They had no respect for authority (see 1:8-9 ), and they engaged in many sinful behaviors (1:16 , 19 ). These profligates, who claimed to be followers of Christ (see 1:4 ), were effectively denying the Lord and were therefore destined for the condemnation of all who rebel against him. Summary After the letter opening (1:1-2 ), Jude explains the situation prompting his letter (1:3-4 ): The imminent danger posed by the false teachers required that he write a very different kind of letter from the one he had planned to write. In 1:5-16 , Jude elaborates on the character of these false teachers. This section unfolds in an A-B-A’ sequence. Jude first uses three scriptural examples to illustrate the condemnation that the false teachers face ( A, 1:5-10 ). He then cites three more scriptural examples to castigate them for their ungodly attitudes and behavior ( B, 1:11-13 ). At the end of this section, he returns to their condemnation, citing Jewish tradition to hammer home his indictment ( A’, 1:14-16 ). Jude then appeals directly to his readers (1:17-23 ), urging them to hold fast to God’s truth and to reach out to believers who might be tempted to follow the false teachers. The letter ends with a notable doxology (1:24-25 ). Author Jude identifies himself as “a brother of James” (1:1 ). This James is almost certainly the “Lord’s brother” (Gal 1:19 ; see Matt 13:55 // Mark 6:3 ), who became the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13-21 ; 21:18 ) and wrote the letter of James. Jude was therefore also a brother of Jesus (Jude is called “Judas” in Matt 13:55 // Mark 6:3 ). Jude and the other brothers of Jesus did not follow Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5 ), but evidently became believers after the Resurrection (see Acts 1:14 ; 1 Cor 15:7 ) and traveled to spread the message about the resurrected Lord (1 Cor 9:5 ). Date and Destination We know so little about Jude that we cannot pin down a date or destination for the letter. It was probably written after AD 45, to allow time for the kind of false teaching described here to develop. It was probably written before AD 90, when even a young brother of Jesus would have been old. The close relationship between 2 Peter and Jude suggests that the two might have been written at about the same time (see 2 Peter Book Introduction, “Relationship to Jude”). Meaning and Message False Teachers. False teachers of many varieties have disturbed God’s people over the years. Jude’s letter is a powerful reminder of their potential to harm the community and offers a stark depiction of their terrible fate. Jude’s description of the false teachers makes dynamic use of the Old Testament and other Jewish traditions. Jude compares the false teachers to the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness (1:5 ), to the angels who rebelled against God (1:6 ), and to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (1:7 ). The false teachers are like Cain (see Gen 4 ), Balaam (see Num 22–24 ), and Korah (see Num 16 ). Like all of these examples, false teachers are rebels against the Lord and will experience his judgment. Defending the Faith. In 1:3 , Jude implies that there is a core message in the early church which serves as the basis for Christian belief. Paul assumes the same thing when he urges Timothy to “guard what God has entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20 ; see 2 Tim 1:14 ). To be a Christian means to have faith in God and love for others; it also means to confess gladly the truth that God has revealed in Jesus Christ. We cannot truly express faith in God unless we acknowledge the truth that he has revealed. For this reason, early Christians, even in the New Testament period, formulated creedal statements to summarize the essentials of Christian truth (e.g., 1 Tim 3:16 ). These creeds were often crafted to counteract a false teaching. If we are to heed Jude’s call to “defend the faith,” we need to know just what that faith is. Too many Christians spend too much energy in debating nonessential details and too little in learning the essentials well. Only by learning the essentials will the faithful be able to explain their faith to others and to guard Christian truth from false teaching. Summary for Jude 1:1-2: 1:1-2 In a typical letter opening, Jude identifies himself and his audience and prays for them. • keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ: This description introduces an important emphasis (see also 1:21 , 24 ) and gives assurance in the context of false teaching. 1:1 Jude (or Judas ) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Judah.” It was a common name; this Jude was a brother of James , who was a brother of Jesus (see Jude Book Introduction, “Author”). • a slave of Jesus Christ: Jude acknowledges that he is under Jesus’ lordship in every area of life. The title also carries honor: The great Old Testament leaders of God’s people were also called slaves or servants of God (see Josh 14:7 ; 2 Kgs 18:12 ; Ezek 34:23 ). • to all who have been called: It is unclear who the specific recipients of Jude’s letter were.

Book of Jude — Quick facts:

Purpose: To urge readers to defend their faith in the face of false teaching

Author: Jude, brother of Jesus

Date: Unknown, possibly around the same time as 2 Peter (early 60s AD)

Setting: Written to a group of churches that had been infiltrated by false teachers who encouraged an immoral lifestyle

Book of Jude — Overview:

Setting
Jude wrote this letter to combat false teachers in the early church. Jude focuses less on what these people were teaching than on the way they were living; at the heart of Jude’s critique is the charge that they were libertines—they assumed that God’s grace revealed in Christ gave them the freedom to do whatever they pleased (1:4 ^a). They had no respect for authority (see 1:8-9 ^b), and they engaged in many sinful behaviors (1:16 ^c, 19 ^d). These profligates, who claimed to be followers of Christ (see 1:4 ^e), were effectively denying the Lord and were therefore destined for the condemnation of all who rebel against him.

Summary
After the letter opening (1:1-2 ^f), Jude explains the situation prompting his letter (1:3-4 ^g): The imminent danger posed by the false teachers required that he write a very different kind of letter from the one he had planned to write.
In 1:5-16 ^h, Jude elaborates on the character of these false teachers. This section unfolds in an A-B-A’ sequence. Jude first uses three scriptural examples to illustrate the condemnation that the false teachers face (A, 1:5-10 ⁱ). He then cites three more scriptural examples to castigate them for their ungodly attitudes and behavior (B, 1:11-13 ^j). At the end of this section, he returns to their condemnation, citing Jewish tradition to hammer home his indictment (A’, 1:14-16 ^k).
Jude then appeals directly to his readers (1:17-23 ^l), urging them to hold fast to God’s truth and to reach out to believers who might be tempted to follow the false teachers. The letter ends with a notable doxology (1:24-25 ^m).

Author
Jude identifies himself as “a brother of James” (1:1 ⁿ). This James is almost certainly the “Lord’s brother” (Gal 1:19 ^o; see Matt 13:55 ^p // Mark 6:3 ^q), who became the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13-21 ^r; 21:18 ^s) and wrote the letter of James. Jude was therefore also a brother of Jesus (Jude is called “Judas” in Matt 13:55 ^t // Mark 6:3 ^u). Jude and the other brothers of Jesus did not follow Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5 ^v), but evidently became believers after the Resurrection (see Acts 1:14 ^w; 1 Cor 15:7 ^x) and traveled to spread the message about the resurrected Lord (1 Cor 9:5 ^y).

Date and Destination
We know so little about Jude that we cannot pin down a date or destination for the letter. It was probably written after AD 45, to allow time for the kind of false teaching described here to develop. It was probably written before AD 90, when even a young brother of Jesus would have been old. The close relationship between 2 Peter and Jude suggests that the two might have been written at about the same time (see 2 Peter Book Introduction, “Relationship to Jude”).

Meaning and Message
False Teachers. False teachers of many varieties have disturbed God’s people over the years. Jude’s letter is a powerful reminder of their potential to harm the community and offers a stark depiction of their terrible fate. Jude’s description of the false teachers makes dynamic use of the Old Testament and other Jewish traditions. Jude compares the false teachers to the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness (1:5 ^z), to the angels who rebelled against God (1:6 ^aa), and to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (1:7 ^ab). The false teachers are like Cain (see Gen 4 ^ac), Balaam (see Num 22–24 ^ad), and Korah (see Num 16 ^ae). Like all of these examples, false teachers are rebels against the Lord and will experience his judgment.
Defending the Faith. In 1:3 ^af, Jude implies that there is a core message in the early church which serves as the basis for Christian belief. Paul assumes the same thing when he urges Timothy to “guard what God has entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20 ^ag; see 2 Tim 1:14 ^ah).
To be a Christian means to have faith in God and love for others; it also means to confess gladly the truth that God has revealed in Jesus Christ. We cannot truly express faith in God unless we acknowledge the truth that he has revealed. For this reason, early Christians, even in the New Testament period, formulated creedal statements to summarize the essentials of Christian truth (e.g., 1 Tim 3:16 ^ai). These creeds were often crafted to counteract a false teaching.
If we are to heed Jude’s call to “defend the faith,” we need to know just what that faith is. Too many Christians spend too much energy in debating nonessential details and too little in learning the essentials well. Only by learning the essentials will the faithful be able to explain their faith to others and to guard Christian truth from false teaching.

Summary for Jude 1:1-2: 1:1-2 ^aj In a typical letter opening, Jude identifies himself and his audience and prays for them.

• keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ: This description introduces an important emphasis (see also 1:21 ^ak, 24 ^al) and gives assurance in the context of false teaching. 1:1 ^am Jude (or Judas) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Judah.” It was a common name; this Jude was a brother of James, who was a brother of Jesus (see Jude Book Introduction, “Author”).

• a slave of Jesus Christ: Jude acknowledges that he is under Jesus’ lordship in every area of life. The title also carries honor: The great Old Testament leaders of God’s people were also called slaves or servants of God (see Josh 14:7 ^an; 2 Kgs 18:12 ^ao; Ezek 34:23 ^ap).

• to all who have been called: It is unclear who the specific recipients of Jude’s letter were.