The Letter of Jude

Contending for the Faith

The Letter of Jude, which consists of only twenty-five verses, is a strange and surprising document, in which many of the details escape us. One thing is clear, however: there was a need to defend the essentials of the faith handed down by the Apostles and to warn people against erroneous currents of thought that combined immorality and mysticism in an odd way.

Some groups were tearing the communities apart, right in the midst of the community gatherings. These people, who thought of themselves as spiritual, went on inventing classes and hierarchies of celestial beings, to the point of dissolving the lordship of Christ and of insulting the angels.

Although the Letter does not indicate for whom it was specifically intended, it was most likely aimed at the Jews of the Dispersion (i.e., those living throughout the Roman empire) who had accepted Christ as their Savior. If such were not the case, it would be difficult to understand the reason for the use of such obscure personages in Jude’s Old Testament illustrations and for the citations from apocryphal books that would have meant very little to a Gentile audience.

We are here in the final period of the apostolic age, toward the end of the first century. The author, who speaks so vehemently in the name of truth, writes under the name of Jude, a brother of James (the most representative person of the Jerusalem Church: see Gal 1:19; 2:9; Acts 15:13-21; James: Introduction) and therefore perhaps also a relative of Jesus (see Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3).

It is possible, though not necessary, to identify this Jude with the apostle of the same name: Jude Thaddeus (see Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:16; Jn 14:22; Acts 1:13). Perhaps this person filled some office after the death of his brother James in A.D. 62. He may have exhorted the faithful to fight for the true faith against a distortion of the Gospel.

Whoever the author was, he wrote in some of the best Greek of the New Testament. Furthermore, he shows great acquaintance with Jewish writings of his time, the texts of apocalypses that he cites and that he approximates in his writing. His energetic and picturesque style is also reminiscent of the early Prophets of the Old Testament.

His violent intervention must have had some success, for in fact it is picked up in the Second Letter of Peter, but with some revisions (see, for example, verses 17-18 cited almost verbatim in 2 Pet 3:3).

We should not be surprised that the author is not afraid to employ abusive formulas; these are formulas often already in use in the religious literature of the time. We should attend rather to the author’s deeper concern: not to let the Christian mystery be enfeebled.

Indeed, the Letter opens with a salutation and a splendid expression of the awareness of being a Christian (1-4). It goes on to warn against false teachers (5-19). Then it provides a capsule program of the Christian life encompassing faith, prayer, love, mutual assistance, and avoidance of corruptors of the faith (20-23). It concludes with one of the most beautiful doxologies of the New Testament, noting that we must stand one day before the living God, who gives us strength to persevere and make progress (24-25).

The Letter of Jude may be divided as follows:

Salutation (1-2)

Benefits of Being a Christian (3-4)

Character and Doom of the False Teachers (5-16)

Appeal to the Faithful (17-19)

A Program of the Christian Life (20-23)

Doxology (24-25)