Jude

1Chapter
1-2I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!

Fight with All You Have in You

3-4Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.

Lost Stars in Outer Space

5-7I’m laying this out as clearly as I can, even though you once knew all this well enough and shouldn’t need reminding. Here it is in brief: The Master saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Later he destroyed those who defected. And you know the story of the angels who didn’t stick to their post, abandoning it for other, darker missions. But they are now chained and jailed in a black hole until the great Judgment Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, which went to sexual rack and ruin along with the surrounding cities that acted just like them, are another example. Burning and burning and never burning up, they serve still as a stock warning.
8This is exactly the same program of these latest infiltrators: dirty sex, rule and rulers thrown out, glory dragged in the mud.
9-11The Archangel Michael, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn’t have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, “No you don’t. God will take care of you!” But these people sneer at anything they can’t understand, and by doing whatever they feel like doing—living by animal instinct only—they participate in their own destruction. I’m fed up with them! They’ve gone down Cain’s road; they’ve been sucked into Balaam’s error by greed; they’re canceled out in Korah’s rebellion.
12-13Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind; late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit, Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots; wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach but the foam of their shame; Lost stars in outer space on their way to the black hole.
14-16Enoch, the seventh after Adam, prophesied of them: “Look! The Master comes with thousands of holy angels to bring judgment against them all, convicting each person of every defiling act of shameless sacrilege, of every dirty word they have spewed of their pious filth.” These are the complainers, the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead.
17-19But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.” These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
20-21But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
22-23Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.
24-25And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes.
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.