Jude

1Chapter

Greeting

1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
2May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Jude’s Purpose in Writing

3Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. 4For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

Apostates: Past and Present

5Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; 6and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. 7Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. 9Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed. 11Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

The Apostates’ Doom

12These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
14It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.” 16These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
17But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

Exhortation and Benediction

20But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22Have mercy on those who waver; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
24Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
Study
Chapter 1
CSB

CHALLENGE AND TACTICS

CHALLENGE: “Christians are intolerant of people who believe differently.”

TACTICS EMPLOYED: Google It & Walking Contradiction

First, ask what they mean by intolerant. Many people today say all views are equal. In this light, you are intolerant if you think your religious views are right and others are wrong. Thus tolerance means accepting everyone’s views. However, people who define tolerance this way often contradict themselves. After all, the belief that Christianity is the one true religion is obviously a viewpoint. If all views are equally valid, the Christian’s view is just as valid as other views and should be tolerated. And yet people who criticize Christians for being intolerant are rejecting the Christian viewpoint and are thus being intolerant by their own definition.

CSB

The sin most strongly connected with Sodom and Gomorrah is homosexuality, which Paul describes as unnatural (Rm 1:26-27, see note). Along with his mention of the punishment of angels who flouted God’s created order, Jude uses what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of the judgment that falls on those who reject God’s authority.

CSB

Jude alluded to traditions found in pseudepigraphal works (The Assumption of Moses and/or The Testament of Moses) in recounting a dispute over the burial of Moses in v. 9. And in vv. 14-15, he cited a text from the pseudepigraphal 1 Enoch. (A pseudepigraphical work is one written under the name of another—in these cases, Moses and Enoch.) The citation from 1 Enoch proves more difficult because Jude actually quoted from the book and claimed that “Enoch … prophesied” (v. 14).

Some think Jude actually quoted the historical Enoch, a man who was taken up to heaven before death (Gn 5:23-24). It is difficult to see, though, how Jude could have cited an actual oral tradition from the historical Enoch since the book of 1 Enoch was in circulation in Jude’s day and was well known in Jewish circles. Jude almost certainly derived the citation from the book of 1 Enoch, and the latter is clearly pseudepigraphical. We would be faced with having to say that Jude knew that this specific quotation from 1 Enoch derived from the historical Enoch. It is better to conclude that Jude quoted the pseudepigraphical 1 Enoch and that he also believed that the portion he quoted represents God’s truth. Jude’s wording does not demand that he thought he had an authentic oracle from the historical Enoch.

There is no reason to conclude, however, that the entire book should be part of the canon of Scripture (see Augustine, City of God 15.23). Jude probably cited a part of 1 Enoch that he considered a genuine prophecy. Perhaps he referred to Enoch because the adversaries treasured the work, and therefore he used their ammunition against them. It is possible that the false teachers rejected Christian tradition about Christ’s coming and hence Jude cited Enoch’s prophecy. Indeed, the content of the prophecy is not remarkable, assuring the readers that the Lord will truly judge the ungodly.

Importantly, citing a quotation from another source does not indicate that the entire work is inspired—even if the saying itself is true. For instance, Paul quoted Aratus (Phaenomena 5) in Ac 17:28, and he surely did not intend to teach that the entire work is inspired Scripture. Similarly, he quoted Epimenides in Ti 1:12, without any notion that he accepted the truth of the whole work.

Some might think that the citation here is different because Jude said Enoch “prophesied.” The verb prophesy is sometimes used to designate canonical Scripture (Mt 15:7; 1Pt 1:10). But the verb is also used to say that a certain utterance or saying is from God. For example, Caiaphas prophesied regarding the fate of Jesus, even though he was an unbeliever (Jn 11:51). Zechariah prophesied when the Spirit filled him at John the Baptist’s birth (Lk 1:67). Women prophesied when the believing church gathered (1Co 11:4-5; see Ac 19:6; Rv 11:3). A prophecy may derive from God and still not be a part of canonical Scripture. We cannot necessarily draw the conclusion from the words “Enoch. . . prophesied” that the work was considered to be Scripture. It would have been more telling if Jude had used the phrase “It is written” with reference to 1 Enoch. Jude simply drew from a part of the work that he considered true.

We know the Qumran community valued 1 Enoch but did not include the book in its canon. Nor do any major Christian groups today consider 1 Enoch to be inspired Scripture. Jude cited it for its truth, but he did not claim inspiration for the entire work.