1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
2Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
The sin and doom of Godless men
3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Dig Deeper
Last year I was preparing to teach at a biblical teaching conference in the Midwest known as the UnConference. It was the second annual gathering of this conference and I had very much enjoyed the first one. From the completion of the first UnConference, I had known what I wanted to teach about at the second one. I spent the next several months preparing the material that I was going to teach. Not everyday of course, but from time to time. As the time for the second UnConference approached, something became very clear to me. I was praying one morning and I had the very clear realization that I needed to teach on something else that was more pressing. Although I was personally invested in my original topic, I realized that God had other plans, and that the young college students who attended this conference had differing needs than what I originally planned. So, with this growing realization in mind, I changed the topic of my entire teaching track and taught on this entirely different subject. I had been eager to teach on one topic, and I still hope to get a chance in the future to teach on that topic as thoroughly as the format of the UnConference allows, but through the leading of the Holy Spirit and from discerning the current state of affairs, I felt that I needed to teach students on how to correctly discern the word of God and contend for the faith despite the morass of false and confusing teaching that young people will face everyday.
Apparently, Jude, while sitting down to write this letter, went through a similar process. His original intent was to write about something encouraging and uplifting. And although that is important, God had clearly laid something on his heart. Jude likely had the same choice to make that I did. He could go ahead and write about what he wanted to originally, effectively ignoring the leading of the Spirit and disregarding his own better judgment in favor of doing what he might prefer. Or he could do what he did. Rather than going with his original intent, Jude writes to warn his readers of false teachers and urges them to be on their guard against such poisonous venom.
We don't really know all that much about Jude, the author of this short letter. We do know that there are six separate men identified in the New Testament as Jude, but it would appear that this Jude is none other than the younger brother of Jesus. As he begins this letter, though, he curiously does not identify himself as such, but only says that he is a brother of James. It would have been a bit unusual in the first century to mention a brother at all in the opening of a letter rather than your father unless your brother was uniquely significant. James certainly would fit that bill. He was not a follower of Jesus during his lifetime but quickly became one following the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:7). James became well known as the leader of the church in Jerusalem and a primary pillar of the early Christian church. His reputation was so good, even among non-Christian Jews that he was known by them as James the Just. Certainly James was an important figure, but no would argue that he was more important the Jesus Himself. So, why then does Jude only call himself a servant of Jesus Christ rather than a brother. The most likely explanation is that being his brother was of little importance in the kingdom of God. It didn't confer any type of special status or privilege. Being a servant of Christ, however, was important. In fact, it is noteworthy that neither James nor Jude make mention of their status as brothers of Jesus, but both call themselves servants. The fact that they were Jesus' siblings was of no spiritual importance, but that they were servants was important. The word for "servant" could also be translated "slave," and certainly signified a status of humility and subservience to Christ. The title also could be used, however, to indicate a role of leadership, following the examples of Old Testament leaders who were also called servants such as Moses (Josh. 14:7; 2 Ki. 18:12) and David (Ps. 18:1; Ezek. 34:23). Thus, Jude is certainly indicating that he is a fellow humble Christian, but he writes this letter as a leader, one who serves and represents Christ and has something important to impart to the Master's sheep.
Jude writes to those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. Notice as we go along in this short letter, Jude's affinity to describes things in trios. Here he writes to those called, loved, and kept. Those who have been called are those who have received God's call of salvation in Christ Jesus and have entered into the life of Christ. They are the ones that are in Christ and are loved by God as His own sons and daughters. Those who are loved by the Father are those that are preserved spiritually in Christ until He returns and brings to completeness our transformation into the image of God (Col. 3:10). It is Christ who will bring those in Him into eternal life, the age to come (Jude 1:21). It is to these beloved Christians that Jude blesses them with mercy, peace, and love. . . in abundance (note again the trio of categories). Mercy likely refers to the undeserved grace and favor that God lavishes on those in Christ. He also blesses them with the peace that comes from a restored relationship with God as ones who have taken part in the new creation, and to understand and embrace the love that God has for His children.
In the first two verses Jude has masterfully summarized the comfort and benefits of the salvation that belongs to those in Christ. This is what he wanted to talk about. This is clearly what motivates Jude and makes his soul soar. He has entered into the life of Christ, receiving and experiencing the reconciliation between God an man. Sometimes, though, maybe even oftentimes, God calls us to do what He wills rather than what we will. As much as Jude wanted to write a letter of comfort and encouragement, one that would strengthen their faith and love for God, and no doubt, do his soul a bit of good as well, God had other plans. He has called to Jude's attention to a dangerous false teaching that has emerged.
Scholars are divided as to why 2 Peter and Jude are so similar, but they certainly are connected in one way or another. It is not of the greatest significance of how they are related and we will likely never know the answer for sure, but the scenario that seems likeliest to me is that Jude found himself dealing with a groups of churches that were facing the same or very similar kind of heresy that Peter had written about in 2 Peter. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Jude borrowed liberally, and where appropriate from 2 Peter, while adding his own thoughts and crafting the material to meet his particular needs. From here on out, however, we will consider Jude by itself rather than constantly look back and attempt to find significance in it's similarities and differences with 2 Peter.
If there is a singular theme in Jude, we find it in verse 3. Jude urges his readers to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. The word that Jude uses here that is translated "contend" comes from the world of sports. It was a word used when someone competed fiercely to win or for their position (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25). The word came to be used often in the New Testament for those who made an vigorous defense of the true gospel (cf. Col. 1:29; 1 Tim. 4:10; 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7). It is the general faith, the truth of the gospel message, then, that Judge urges them to fight energetically for.
Why do they need to contend for the faith? Because there are false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing (Matt. 7:15), who have concealed their real nature and purpose and have secretly slipped into the fellowship. These men, although seemingly sincere (and these men may have even thought that they were sincere), were more concerned with their own pride, egos, and drawing followers than with defending the faith. Jude says four important things about these false teachers. First, as is clear from the Old Testament (vv. 5-8, 11), from traditional Jewish literature (vv.9, 14-16), and from apostolic teaching (vv. 17-18), the condemnation of these men has long been written about and established as something that would take place. No one should be surprised that there were false teachers then. Second, They are godless, meaning they deny God practically by their actions and teachings. Third, they have changed God's grace into a license for immorality. Fourth, they deny the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus Christ by calling people to live in a manner not in keeping with the life of Christ. Clearly, Jude knew not just Jesus as a sibling, but he knew the life of Christ as a servant and did not take kindly to men who would deny the truth of that life to the followers of Christ.
Devotional Thought
Do you so greatly value the life of Christ that you would instantly drop what you were doing to help someone who was struggling with a false teaching? Would you be equipped to help them? Would you show the same love, care, and concern that Jude shows here? Would you be prepared to do so?
No comments:
Post a Comment