Jude
The Epistle of Jude, usually referred to simply as Jude, is
the penultimate book of the New Testament and is attributed to
Jude, the brother of James the Just (who was called "the
brother of Jesus"). The letter of Jude was one of the disputed
books of the Canon. Although its canonical status was
contested, its authenticity was never doubted by the Early
Church. The links between the Epistle and 2 Peter, its use of
the Apocryphal Books, and its brevity raised concern...
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LITERATURE
The Writer:
The writer of this short epistle calls himself Jude or Judas
(Ioudas. His name was a common one among the Jews: there
were few others of more frequent use. Two among the apostles
bore it, namely, Judas, mentioned in Jn 14:22 (compare Lk
6:16), and Judas Iscariot. Jude describes himself as "a
servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (Jude 1:1).
The James here mentioned is no doubt the person who is
called "the Lord's brother" (Gal 1:19), the writer of the
epistle that bears his name. Neither of the two was an
apostle. The opening sentence of Jude simply affirms that
the writer is a "servant of Jesus Christ." This, if
anywhere, should be the appropriate place for the mention of
his apostleship, if he were an apostle. The appellation
"servant of Jesus Christ" "is never thus barely used in an
address of an epistle to designate an apostle" (Alford).
Phil 1:1 has a similar expression, "Paul and Timothy,
servants of Jesus Christ," but "the designation common to
two persons necessarily sinks to the rank of the inferior
one." In other instances "servant" is associated with
"apostle" (Rom 1:1; Tit 1:1). Jude 1:17,18 speaks of the
"apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they said to you"--
language which an apostle would hardly use of his fellow-
apostles.
In Mk 6:3 are found the names of those of whom Jesus is said
to be the brother, namely, James and Joses, and Judas and
Simon. It is quite generally held by writers that the James
and Judas here mentioned are the two whose epistles are
found in the New Testament. It is noteworthy, however, that
neither of them hints at his relationship with Jesus; their
unaffected humility kept them silent. Jude mentions that he
is the "brother of James," perhaps to give authority and
weight to his words, for James was far more distinguished
and influential than he. The inference seems legitimate that
Jude addresses Christians among whom James was highly
esteemed, or, if no longer living, among whom his memory was
sacredly revered, and accordingly it is altogether probable
that Jude writes to the same class of readers as James--
Jewish Christians. James writes to the "Twelve Tribes of the
Dispersion." Jude likewise addresses a wide circle of
believers, namely, the "called, beloved in God the Father,
and kept for Jesus Christ" (1:1). While he does not
designate a special and distinct class, yet as James's
"brother," as belonging to the family of Joseph, and as in
some true sense related to the Lord Jesus Himself, it seems
probable, if not certain, that his Epistle was intended for
Christian Hebrews who stood in urgent need of such testimony
and appeal as Jude offers...
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jood (Ioudas): Brother of the Lord, and author of the Epistle
of Jude.
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Its author was probably Jude, one of the brethren of
Jesus, the subject of the preceding article. There are no
data from which to determine its date or place of writing,
but it is placed about A.D. 65. The object of the epistle is
plainly enough announced ver. 3; the reason for this
exhortation is given ver.
4. The remainder of the epistle is almost entirely
occupied by a minute depiction of the adversaries of the
faith. The epistle closes by briefly reminding the readers
of the oft-repeated prediction of the apostles --among whom
the writer seems not to rank himself --that the faith would
be assailed by such enemies as he has depicted, vs. Jude
1:17-19 exhorting them to maintain their own steadfastness
in the faith, vs. Jude 1:20,21 while they earnestly sought
to rescue others from the corrupt example of those
licentious livers, vs. Jude 1:22,23 and commending them to
the power of God in language which forcibly recalls the
closing benediction of the epistle to the Romans. vs. Jude
1:24,25 cf. Roma 16:25-27
This epistle presents one peculiarity, which, as we
learn from St. Jerome, caused its authority to be impugned
in very early times --the supposed citation of apocryphal
writings. vs. Jude 1:9,14,15 The larger portion of this
epistle, vs. Jude 1:3-16 is almost identical in language and
subject with a part of the Second Epistle of Peter. 2Pe 2:1-
19
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The author was "Judas, the brother of James" the Less (Jude
1:1), called also Lebbaeus (Matt. 10:3) and
Thaddaeus (Mark
3:18). The genuineness of this epistle was early
questioned, and
doubts regarding it were revived at the time of the
Reformation;
but the evidences in support of its claims are
complete. It has
all the marks of having proceeded from the writer
whose name it
bears.
There is nothing very definite to determine the time
and place
at which it was written. It was apparently written
in the later
period of the apostolic age, for when it was written
there were
persons still alive who had heard the apostles
preach (ver. 17).
It may thus have been written about A.D. 66 or 70,
and
apparently in Israel.
The epistle is addressed to Christians in general
(ver. 1),
and its design is to put them on their guard against
the
misleading efforts of a certain class of errorists
to which they
were exposed. The style of the epistle is that of an
"impassioned invective, in the impetuous whirlwind
of which the
writer is hurried along, collecting example after
example of
divine vengeance on the ungodly; heaping epithet
upon epithet,
and piling image upon image, and, as it were,
labouring for
words and images strong enough to depict the
polluted character
of the licentious apostates against whom he is
warning the
Church; returning again and again to the subject, as
though all
language was insufficient to give an adequate idea
of their
profligacy, and to express his burning hatred of
their
perversion of the doctrines of the gospel."
The striking resemblance this epistle bears to 2
Peter
suggests the idea that the author of the one had
seen the
epistle of the other.
The doxology with which the epistle concludes is
regarded as
the finest in the New Testament.
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