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The Epistle of Jude

 

 

Rex Banks

 

 

 

Lesson 28

 

Authorship

 

 

Internal Evidence

 

The writer introduces himself as “Jude (Judas)...brother of James” (v 1).  Some take v 17 to mean that the writer distinguishes himself from those whom he calls “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” but while this is possible, it is not certain.  However, the evidence does suggest that the writer is not Jude the apostle (Lk 6:16) who was martyred in about 44 AD.  The writer takes for granted that the James mentioned is so well known as to need no further identification.  This suggests that James is “James of Jerusalem” (Acts 15:13; Gal 1:18; 2:9), author of the book which bears his name.  We conclude that our writer was the individual who is listed as one of the sons of Joseph and Mary, and thus a fleshly brother of Jesus (Matt 13:55; Mk 6:3).

 

The vocabulary of Jude proves that the author was a Jew, saturated with the Old Testament, using Hebraisms, yet acquainted with the koine dialektos - the ‘common dialect’ (Catholic Encyclopaedia). 

 

 

External Evidence

 

Traces of Jude and references to the Epistle are found in a number of early works. For example:  

 

·      “Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning” (Polycarp Letter to the Philippians).

 

This may be based on Jude 3.

 

·      “You shall not hate any man; but some you shall reprove, and concerning some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your own life” (Didache 2.7).

 

This may be based on Jude 22.

 

·      “And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from heaven, in the days of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, ‘an example of the righteous judgment of God,’ that all may know, ‘that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire’” (Ireneaus, Against Heresies 4.36.4).

 

·      “For this is the affinity of the apostolical teaching and the most holy ‘faith delivered unto us,’” (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Ireneaus).

 

·      “And with reference to the view that they have angels from birth, one might quote …in the Epistle of Jude, ‘To them that are beloved in God the Father and are kept for Jesus Christ, being called,’ - kept completely by the angels who keep them” (Origen Commentary on Matthew Bk 13).

 

·      “The greater he seems to be, the more humble should he be,” says Clement in the Epistle to the Corinthians, - “such an one as is capable of complying with the precept, ‘And some pluck from the fire, and on others have compassion, making a difference.’”  (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata Bk 6).  Compare Jude 22-23.

 

·      And the wonderful thing is, that, though (Josephus) did not accept Jesus as Christ, he yet gave testimony that the righteousness of James was so great; and he says that the people thought that they had suffered these things because of James.  And Jude, who wrote a letter of few lines, it is true, but filled with the healthful words of heavenly grace, said in the preface, ‘Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James’” (Origen Commentary on Matthew Bk 10).

 

·        Unger tells us that “early attestation to the authority of the book” is also found in Shepherd of Hermas, Athenagoras Theophilus of Antioch and others.  According to the Muratorian fragment “the epistle of Jude and two bearing the name of John are counted in the catholic Church.”  Eusebius has:

 

“These things are recorded in regard to James, who is said to be the author of the first of the so-called catholic epistles.  But it is to be observed that it is disputed; at least, not many of the ancients have mentioned it, as is the case likewise with the epistle that bears the name of Jude, which is also one of the seven so-called catholic epistles.  Nevertheless we know that these also, with the rest, have been read publicly in very many churches” (2.23.25).

 

Jude was not included in the Peshito Syriac Version (along with 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation).

 

 

Objections

 

While some deny that Jude authored this epistle, their arguments are not convincing.

 

·        Jerome explains why the epistle of Jude was not readily accepted by some.  He writes: 

 

Jude, the brother of James, left a short epistle which is reckoned among the seven Catholic epistles, and because in it he quotes from the apocryphal book of Enoch it is rejected by many.  Nevertheless by age and use it has gained authority and is reckoned among the Holy Scriptures” (Illustrious Men 4).

 

Prior to the discovery of fragments of the Book of Enoch in the Aramaic language among the Dead Sea scrolls, the only complete text of the Book of Enoch was known from mediaeval Ethiopian manuscripts.  Evidently it is a composite work dating from the last two centuries before the Christian era.  In Enoch 1.9 we read “And behold!  He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly.”  Supposedly, this is the source of a quotation found in Jude 14-15: 

 

“It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”

 

As we consider this matter, lets keep in mind that Jude does not identify the Book of Enoch as the source of this quotation and that it is quite possible that a true prophecy unrecorded in Genesis may have been preserved.   

 

“Amidst the multitude of traditions…handed down by the Jews from a remote antiquity, though many of them were false, and many of a trifling character, it is reasonable to presume that some of them were true and were of importance.  No man can prove that the one before us is not of that character; no one can show that an inspired writer might not be led to make the selection of a true prophecy from a mass of traditions; and as the prophecy before us is one that would be every way worthy of a prophet, and worthy to be preserved, its quotation furnishes no argument against the inspiration of Jude” (Barnes).

 

Jewish tradition mentions the names of two magicians, Jannes and Jambres, who opposed Moses, and Paul confirms the accuracy of this tradition (2 Tim 3:8).  If Jude did quote from a Jewish writing, this fact would not establish the inspiration of that work any more than Paul’s quotations from Aratus, Menander and Epimenides (Acts 17:28; 1 Cor 15:33; Tit 1:12) would establish the inspiration of the works of these Greek writers.  Moreover, the Book of Enoch may not have been the immediate source of Jude’s quotation.  Inspired writers do not need to depend upon tradition.    

 

According to Clement of Alexandria and others, when Jude describes the conflict between the archangel Michael and Satan over the body of Moses (v 9), he is quoting from an apocryphal book entitled the Assumption of Moses, of which only small portions survive today.  Again, if true, this would not call into question the inspiration of the Epistle.

 

·        It is sometimes suggested that the errorists against whom Jude warns were Gnostics (see notes on Pastorals, Colossians, 1, 2, 3, John) betraying a post first century date, but as we have seen, the seeds which gave rise to this heresy were present in the first century.  There is no reason to suppose that Jude is opposing full blown Gnosticism.

 

·        Others suggest that v 17 show that the writer is quite some time removed from the apostolic age, but this is to get more out of this verse than is there.

 

·        Finally, some contend that the very Hellenistic language of the epistle along with the use of numerous rare words suggest that this was not the work of a Galilean.  However, as we have seen, we simply do not know enough about the first century situation to make such an argument.

 

 

Jude

 

(1)          Jude, along with his brothers, failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah until after His resurrection (Jn 7:5 cf Acts 1:14).  Like James, Jude does not refer to his relationship with Jesus but instead calls himself “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ.”  Likely this is because he values his spiritual relationship to his Lord above any earthly tie.  From 1 Cor 9:5 it appears that Jude was married and was accompanied upon missionary journeys by his wife.

 

(2)          Eusebius has the following:

 

“(When)…Domitian had commanded that the descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Jude (said to have been a brother of the Saviour according to the flesh), on the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to Christ himself.  Hegesippus relates these facts in the following words.

 

‘Of the family of the Lord there were still living the grandchildren of Jude, who is said to have been the Lord’s brother according to the flesh.  Information was given that they belonged to the family of David, and they were brought to the Emperor Domitian by the Evocatus.  For Domitian feared the coming of Christ as Herod also had feared it.  And he asked them if they were descendants of David, and they confessed that they were. Then he asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. And both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them; and this property did not consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only thirty-nine acres, and from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labor.’

 

Then they showed their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callousness produced upon their hands by continuous toil as evidence of their own labor.  And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works.  Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church.  But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were witnesses and were also relatives of the Lord.  And peace being established, they lived until the time of Trajan.  These things are related by Hegesippus” (3.19–20.7 c.f. 3.32.5, 6).

 

 

 

Addressees

 

This short epistle is addressed to “those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ” (v 1).  This very general greeting coupled with the absence of personal allusions in the body of the letter makes precise identification of the recipients impossible.  There may be an indication that the writer had direct information about a particular group of Christians.  He calls them “beloved” (v 3) and knows that “certain persons have crept in among (them)” (v 4).  He also urges them to “remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v 17).

 

Some have suggested on the basis of v 1 that Jude is addressing the same audience as James, namely scattered Jewish Christians (see notes on James).  The exegetical method employed by Jude and his dependence upon the Hebrew rather than Greek text may point in this direction but we cannot be certain of this.  Others have suggested on the basis of the similarity between 2 Peter and Jude that the latter is writing to Christians of a predominantly pagan background in Asia Minor, but again this is far from certain.  The errors condemned by Peter may not have been limited to Asia Minor.  “We may guess but in the end we are forced to say that we do not know who the original recipients were” (Carson et al).    

 

 

Composition: Date, Place and Circumstances

 

(1)          It is very clear that the language of Jude is very similar to that of 2 Peter.  Some argue that the former was reliant upon the latter, while others incline to the opposite view.  Some argue for the priority of 2 Peter on the basis of the fact that Peter sometimes (but not always) uses the future tense when speaking of the false teachers (eg 2:1-3, 12-13), whereas Jude speaks of an existing situation when speaking of the same (eg v 4).  This is not conclusive evidence that Jude is later than 2 Peter because the future is also used to speak of events and situations which are likely to occur.  In my view, a stronger argument can be made on the basis of v 17 where Jude warns:   

 

“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’” 

 

This warning follows Jude’s description of the errorists in language which closely resembles 2 Peter.  It seems most natural to conclude that Jude has 2 Pet 3:3-4 in mind when he reminds his readers of the apostolic warnings against errorists.  Jude says that the errorists had been “written about” (lit) of old.  “The original term for ‘of old’ (palai) sometimes indicates but a brief space of time, eg Mk 15:44 (according to the text of Weymouth and Nestle, and RV) relates that Pilate asked the centurion if Jesus had been ‘any while’ (palai) dead, which limits the term to a few hours” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia).  Thus Jude may have had 2 Pet 3:3-4 in mind.

 

In Adam Clarke’s view:

 

“The Epistle of St. Jude is not a bare copy of the Second Epistle of St. Peter, for in the former, not only several thoughts are more completely unravelled than in the latter, but several additions are made to what St. Peter had said; for instance Jud 1:4, Jud 1:5, Jud 1:9, Jud 1:16.”

 

Since the Petrine Epistles likely date from the 60s, if Jude is reliant upon 2 Peter, this short Epistle was written sometime later.  Guthrie’s date of 65-80 AD is most reasonable.  A pre 70 AD date may be suggested by the fact that Jude does not mention the destruction of Jerusalem in listing examples of divine judgment

(vv 5-7).

 

(2)          Certainty is beyond us and there are other factors to consider.  Some take v 17 to indicate that the apostles are figures of the past but this is far from certain.  Others take Jude 3 (“the faith once delivered unto the saints”) as an indication that the contents of the faith have long been settled but again this is quite a stretch.  Some give various reasons for defending the priority of Jude.  For example, some defend Jude’s priority on the basis of style and on the basis of the fact that Peter tends to throw light of Jude’s more obscure passages.  Others suggest that it is more likely that Peter has embodied the text of Jude in his Epistle than that Jude has included part of Peter’s Epistle in his.  These and similar arguments in defense of Jude’s priority do not appear to carry much weight.  

 

(3)          Egypt and Palestine are common suggestions as to place of origin, but again there is no concrete evidence available on this matter.

 

On the other hand there is no doubt about why Jude wrote as he did at this time because our author tells us in so many words in the body of the epistle.  Since his explanation for writing is central to an understanding of the epistle as a whole, we will consider this in our discussion of the letter itself.

 

 

The Letter

 

(1)          Jude introduces the body of his epistle with an explanation of his purpose for writing (vv 3-4).  Verse 3 tells us that Jude was either contemplating writing, or was already engaged in writing a treatise on what he calls “our common salvation,” that salvation which all Christians enjoy together.  Evidently Jude learned of dangers facing the brethren from false teachers and suspended the writing of this treatise and instead wrote this present letter.  In this context, the following points are noteworthy:

 

·      “The aorist (write) contrasted with the present inf. implies that the new epistle had to be written at once and could not be prepared for at leisure, like the one he had previously contemplated” (Reineker and Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).

·        The urgency is due to the fact that “certain persons have crept in unnoticed” (v 4) - hence Jude’s concern.  These “certain persons” are false teachers, and the word translated “unnoticed” suggests the idea of “slipping in alongside of,” or, as it were by a side door (cf 2 Pet 2:1-2).  The situation is critical.  The errorists are those “whose condemnation was written about long ago” (NIV), perhaps a reference to Old Testament prophecy about the fate of such false teachers or a reference to 2 Peter.  These false teachers are “ungodly persons” who “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness,” evidently “by interpreting it as actually allowing or supporting the practice of lasciviousness, gross fleshly indulgence” (Woods).  Such teaching amounted to a denial of “our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

 

·        In light of this, Jude’s brethren are to “contend earnestly” for “the faith,” that body of apostolic teaching (cf Acts 6:7; cp Acts 13:7, 8, 12 – “the word of God,” “the faith,” “the teaching of the Lord”) which was delivered “once for all” and was thus never to be reviewed, updated, amended or modified.

 

Thus the book of Jude is a call for faithful Christians to take up arms against crafty enemies of the gospel who are infiltrating the church.

 

(2)          Jude’s treatment of the errorists is strikingly similar to Peter’s discussion in 2 Peter 2, as the following parallels show:  

 

2 Pet 2:1

Jude 4

Warning against heretics who deny the Lord that bought them.

2 Pet 2:2

Jude 4

These individuals turned God’s grace into licentiousness.

2 Peter 2:1

Jude 4

They were deceptive.

2 Peter 2:3, 15

Jude 11

They were motivated by covetousness.

2 Peter 2:10

Jude 8

They despised authority.

2 Peter 2:18

Jude 16

They spoke words of vanity.

2 Peter 2:12

Jude 10

They were brutal, unreasoning.

2 Peter 2:5

Jude 11

They are likened to Balaam.

2 Peter 2:17

Jude 17

They are “springs without water...clouds carried away along by winds.”

 

Divine judgment upon these false teachers is as certain as was judgment upon the unfaithful Israelites at the time of Moses, the angels who rebelled and the immoral citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv 5-7).  Defiant like Cain, mercenary like Balaam and rebellious like Korah (v 11), they epitomize the ungodliness which calls forth God’s judgment, just as Enoch had prophesied (vv 14-15).  They “cause division,” they are “worldly minded” and they are devoid of the Holy Spirit (v 19).  Jude paints a grim picture indeed of the errorists.  Baukham says, “It is better to see their antinomianism as simply one of the streams that flowed into later Gnosticism, but which at this stage is not distinctively Gnostic.”

 

(3)          In addition to warning the faithful, Jude also exhorts and encourages them (vv 17-23).  In fact “the negative polemic against the false teachers is subordinate to the positive teaching of vv 20-23” (Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, The Oxford Companion to the Bible). 

 

 

Verses 20 and 21 contain four exhortations

 

·        “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (as opposed to building upon human philosophy or the unstable teaching of errorists).

 

·        “Praying in the Holy Spirit” (likely meaning according to the Spirit’s will as set forth in the Word, and perhaps also in the knowledge that the Spirit helps us in our weakness as we pray).

 

·        keep yourselves in the love of God.”

 

·        waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life…”

 

 

Verses 22 and 23 continue to encourage by giving instructions about certain groups

 

(Minor textual problems are involved here.  KJV mentions two groups, most later versions three groups.  The later appears to have the strongest manuscript support and is in keeping with the triadic pattern of Jude’s thought).  Three classes of people and three different attitudes are dealt with now:

 

·        “Have mercy on some who are doubting.”  “The teaching and practice of the false teachers have caused them to be uncertain about the truth of Christianity” (Blum).  These bewildered brethren are to be treated tenderly and patiently, and escorted back to the truth.

 

·        “Save others - snatching them out of the fire.”  These are more advanced in error, on their way to the fire of hell.  There is urgency about the “snatching” from the fire to which they are dangerously close.

 

·        “On some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” These are those deeply embedded in the immorality of the false teachers, and precautions are to be taken against contamination.

 

 

 

 

 

Verses 24 and 25 take the form of a doxology to God, a reminder to Jude’s audience that despite the false teachers, they need not fear because of what God can do

 

He is “able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy.”  This is a fitting assurance with which to end an epistle full of urgent warnings against crafty, ungodly opponents.

 

Origen described Jude as “an Epistle…filled with the vigorous words of heavenly grace” and it certainly is an interesting little document.  Metzger and Coogan describe Jude as a “masterly composition…which at times achieves an almost poetic effect.”  Jude’s descriptions “are often just as picturesque as those of James, for example, when he compares the intruders to “spots (‘hidden rocks’ - RV) in the feasts of charity;” “clouds without water, carried along by wind;” “autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;” “wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame” (Berkhof).  Although the letter does not contain direct quotes from the OT, various OT characters are alluded to, such as the Israelites in the desert (v 5), the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (v 7), Cain, Balaam and Korah (v 11).  Jude is also fond of parallelisms and triadic (three-fold) illustrations. 

 

 

Outline

 

(1)          Greetings and Purpose for writing explained (Jude 1-4).

 

(2)          False Teachers (Jude 5-16).

 

Certainty of Judgment (Jude 5-7).

Their Characteristics (Jude 8-13).

Their Future Judgment (Jude 14-16).

 

(3)          Exhortation and Encouragement to the Faithful (Jude 17-23).

 

(4)          Closing Doxology (Jude 24-25).

 

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