CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITING

AUTHOR: Jude called himself “a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James” (v. 1). The James to whom Jude refers is not the son of Zebedee. He can be ruled out of consideration because he was martyred at an early date (Ac 12:1-2). Most likely Jude refers to the well-known leader of the Jerusalem church (Ac 15:13-21; Gl 2:9). This is significant, for this James was the brother of Jesus (Mk 6:3). If Jude was a brother of James, then he was also a brother of Jesus. Rather than call himself Jesus’s brother outright, Jude chose humbly to designate himself as Christ’s servant.

BACKGROUND: Jude wrote to those who are “the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (v. 1). This designation is general enough to apply to Christian believers anywhere. But Jude clearly had a specific group in mind because he called them “dear friends” (vv. 3,17,20) and addressed a situation that affected them. The readers were probably Jewish Christians because of Jude’s several references to Hebrew history. Beyond this information we do not know exactly who the recipients of the letter were.

Jude is difficult to date precisely. If Jude the brother of Jesus was the author, the letter must be dated sometime within his lifetime. Any date for the letter’s writing must also allow time for the false teachings to have developed. Jude may be dated reasonably somewhere between AD 65 and 80. Nothing in the letter points to a date of writing beyond this time. A date within Jude’s lifetime rules out the viewpoint that the false teaching in question was second-century Gnosticism.

MESSAGE AND PURPOSE

Jude had originally meant to write a letter on salvation to his friends. But he changed his plans when he learned of false teachers who had infiltrated the church (vv. 3-4). Because of their influence he instead urged his readers to contend for the faith (v. 3). Jude reminded his readers that they shared a common salvation and alerted them to the need for vigilance in contending for the faith. The reason the church must contend for the faith is that intruders were troubling the church.

In v. 4, Jude introduced his readers to the opponents, pronounced judgment upon them, and outlined their vices. Verses 5-16 provide the evidence for what is said in v. 4. Three examples of God’s judgment in the past are relayed in vv. 5-7, and in vv. 8-10 Jude stated that the opponents deserved judgment because of their lifestyle. In v. 11 the opponents are compared to three men who went astray in the past: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Verses 12-13 clarify that the character of the opponents placed them in the same category as these infamous figures. Jude closed this section with the prophecy of Enoch, which promises judgment on the ungodly (vv. 14-15). Jude correlated the lives of the adversaries with those who would experience judgment (v. 16).

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLE

Jude is often overlooked because of its brevity. The book is also neglected because of unexpected features such as its quotation of 1 Enoch and its allusion to the Assumption of Moses. Some readers wonder how a canonical book could cite noninspired, nonbiblical writings. Furthermore, the message of Jude is alien to many in today’s world because Jude emphasized that the Lord will judge evil intruders who are attempting to corrupt the church. The message of judgment strikes many people today as intolerant, unloving, and contrary to the message of love proclaimed elsewhere in the NT.

Nevertheless, some of the Bible’s most beautiful statements about God’s sustaining grace are found in Jude (vv. 1,24-25), and they shine with a greater brilliance when contrasted with the false teachers who had departed from the Christian faith.

The message of judgment is especially relevant to people today. Jude’s letter reminds us that errant teaching and promiscuous living have dire consequences. Jude was written so believers would contend for the faith that was transmitted to them (v. 3) and so they would not abandon God’s love at a crucial time in the life of the church.

Jude’s connection with 2 Peter is debated. What one decides about this issue inevitably affects one’s beliefs about the authorship and dating of each letter. They are strikingly similar in content. Thus, if 2 Peter used Jude and the latter book was written somewhere between AD 65 and 80, the apostle Peter could not have been the author of 2 Peter. But the use of 2 Peter by Jude poses no such problem, allowing 2 Peter to fit within Peter’s lifetime. It seems best to conclude that Jude borrowed from 2 Peter or that both used a common source.

STRUCTURE

The letter of Jude is a vigorous and pointed piece of writing. Scholars have often remarked that its Greek is quite good and that Jude used imagery effectively. The letter bears the marks of a careful and disciplined structure and was directed to specific circumstances in the life of the church. Jude was steeped in the OT and Jewish tradition, and he regularly applied OT types and texts to the false teachers who had invaded the church (vv. 8,12,16).

Pseudepigraphal writings are noncanonical books not written by their purported authors. Jude cited from the pseudepigraphal book of 1 Enoch (1:9) in Jude 14-15. He likely also referred to an event found in the Assumption of Moses (Jd 9). But this does not mean that Jude viewed these noncanonical books as authoritative Scripture. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he simply used them as illustrations.

OUTLINE

I.Greeting and Purpose (vv. 1-4)

II.Description of the False Teachers (vv. 5-19)

III.Exhortation to Faithfulness (vv. 20-23)

IV.Doxology (vv. 24-25)

2085-1406 BC

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2085?

The Exodus 1446

Korah’s Rebellion 1420?

Balaam’s error 1409?

Moses’s death 1406

250 BC-AD 50

Pseudepigraphal books of Enoch written 250 BC-AD 50

The Assumption of Moses written 4 BC-AD 30

Jesus’s birth Winter, 5 BC

Birth of Jude, half-brother of Jesus AD 5

Jesus’s trials, death, resurrection Nisan 14-16 or April 3-5, AD 33

AD 33-62

Pentecost 33

Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road October 34

James becomes leader of the church at Jerusalem. 44

The letter of James written 48-52

James is stoned to death. 62

AD 62-180

The letter of Jude written 66

Jewish War 66-70

Destruction of Jerusalem 70

Jude’s grandsons appear before Emperor Domitian. 96

Muratorian Canon includes Jude as Scripture. 180