Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Jude 1

This brief letter begins with the customary self-identification of the author. He is “Jude”—most likely the one who was the half-brother of Jesus (see the introduction). Modestly he calls himself a “servant” (lit., “slave”; GK 1528) of Jesus Christ; as such he belongs to him. Jude’s calling himself a servant implies that what he is about to write is what his Master wants him to say. He also calls himself “a brother of James,” the half-brother of Jesus who wrote the letter of James and became the head of the church in Jerusalem (see the introduction).

The readers are “the called” (GK 3105), which in Pauline theology stresses the sovereign activity of God’s grace in summoning to salvation. This term is almost synonymous with “Christian.” They are “loved by God the Father.” The Father, who is love , has set his love on his people (cf. Dt 7:6–8). Moreover, they are “kept [GK 5498] by Jesus Christ.” Since there is no word for “by” in the Greek text, it can also be translated “kept for Jesus Christ” (see NIV note); i.e., God the Father preserves Christians for his Son (cf. vv.24–25).

“Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance” is typical of the greeting, or prayer, that stood at the head of ancient letters. Jude omits the word “grace,” which is used in the salutations of practically all other NT letters. Perhaps his reference to these three words is a way of showing facets of God’s grace to humankind. All three describe what God does for us. “Mercy” is his compassion, “peace” is his gift of quiet confidence in the work of Jesus, and “love” is his generosity in granting us his favors and meeting our needs.

Jude tells his “dear friends” (lit., “beloved”; GK 28) how he came to write this letter. He wanted to write a positive statement of the Christian faith. Whether he was actively engaged in writing or only in the process of thinking about it is not clear. “The salvation we share” is that which all Christians now participate in, though elsewhere in the NT salvation is spoken of as future (cf. 1 Peter 1:5). Both are true. Christians have been saved (Titus 3:5), they now possess salvation (Jude 3; cf. Hebrews 6:9), and they long for Christ who “will appear a second time... to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

By saying “I felt I had to write,” Jude explains that a compelling obligation to the people of God prompted him to change his focus for their spiritual good. His letter is now intended to exhort the readers to struggle for “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” “Contend” (GK 2043; related to 74–76) basically refers to the intense effort in a wrestling match (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25). The specific form here shows that the Christian struggle is to be continuous. “The faith” (GK 4411) is the body of truth that very early in the church’s history took on a definite form (cf. Acts 2:42; Romans 6:17; Galatians 1:23). Without doubt, the form of the faith as a body of recognized truth became clearer as time passed. Jude stresses that this faith has been entrusted “once for all” (GK 562) to the “saints” (GK 41)—the ones set apart by God for himself. Basically the Christian faith cannot be changed; its foundation truths are not negotiable (2Jn 9).

Jude now explains the reasons why he was compelled to write. Ungodly men had “secretly slipped in” among the believers (cf. Galatians 2:4), whose condemnation “was written about long ago.” This phrase could refer to God’s writing down from eternity the destiny (i.e., reprobation) of the wicked, but more likely it refers to previously written predictions about the doom of the apostates.

After stating the destiny of these men, Jude describes them as “ungodly” or “impious” (GK 815), a term often used of notorious sinners. This general word is made more specific by the two charges that follow. (1) They “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” Evidently their understanding of grace and perhaps of the forgiveness of sins led them to feel free to indulge in all forms of sexual depravity (cf. comment on 2 Peter 2:2). (2) They “deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (cf. 2 Peter 2:1). Exactly how they denied Jesus Christ, Jude does not say. Certainly they denied him by immoral living that ran counter to his commands. Perhaps they also denied him in teaching a Christology that denied either his full humanity or his full deity. However, the word translated “Sovereign” (GK 1305) is commonly used of the Father (Acts 4:24), and the word “only” makes it difficult to apply this word to Jesus. Thus this phrase can also be translated, “the only Sovereign [the Father] and our Lord Jesus Christ.” If this is adopted, then the error of the godless men was moral rather than theological (cf. Titus 1:16).

As Peter did in 2 Peter 1:12, Jude states that his readers already know what he is about to say but that he will remind them of it. So he gives them three examples of the Lord’s judgments: on the unbelievers at the time of the Exodus, on the fallen angels, and on Sodom and Gomorrah. In each instance the objects of judgment are notable rebels against the Lord.

The first example is that of Israel, who experienced the great display of God’s grace in the Exodus, saw and heard his revelation at Sinai, and received his care in the wilderness; yet a number of them disbelieved and rebelled. Obviously this is not an instance of people being saved and then losing their salvation. Jude describes the rebels as “those who did not believe.” The Israelites were physically delivered from bondage, not by their faith as a nation, but by God’s covenant love and mercy. The warning in this judgment is against unbelief and rebellion.