Marc Chagall: "The Accordionist" (1957)
Though the brothers of Jesus were not among the twelve apostles, Paul reports James as being one of the leaders in Jerusalem alongside the apostles Peter and John, and other brothers of Jesus also played a prominent role in the early Church (see Galatians 1:19 and 1 Corinthians 9:5). They clearly benefitted from their long association with Jesus though they did not initially understand his public ministry (see Mark 3:21, 29-35), and they were held in esteem by the early church (see Eusebius 3:11).
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, to those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. (1-2 NIV)
Jude addresses his listeners as those whose salvation was the work of God himself, who loves them and will preserve them for the sake of Jesus against all threats. To these he extends mercy, peace, and love. This second triplet lays the groundwork for the central message that Jude will develop: dealing with the threats posed by (a) those who abandon godliness, (b) those who rebel against authority, and (c) those who condemn the godly.
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (3-4 NIV)
Jude would have preferred to build up his listeners in the faith, but he instead warns them not to lose what faith they have, which is under threat from ungodly individuals who are corrupting them and leading some astray.
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (5-7 NIV)
The reference to Israel in the wilderness recalls the rebellion of Korah who questioned why Moses should be regarded with greater authority than any other Israelite (see Numbers 16:1-35). The fate of Korah and his followers is presented as a warning to those who “reject authority.” The reference to “angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling” recalls an obscure passage in Genesis as interpreted by Enoch, which records a legend about angels who abandoned heaven out of lust for the daughters of Cain (see Genesis 6:1-5; Enoch 6:1-7; 7:1-2). Lastly, Sodom and Gomorrah are proverbial examples of “sexual immorality and perversion.”
In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. (8-10 NIV)
The references to fallen angles and to Sodom and Gomorrah have their parallels in “ungodly people [who] pollute their own bodies,” and the reference to Korah has its parallel in those who reject authority. The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah also has a less obvious parallel in those who “heap abuse on celestial beings” given that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah intended to rape Lot’s visitors.
The story about Michael not personally denouncing Satan for slander was an oral tradition (later included in The Testament of Moses) about the mysterious burial of Moses who was alone with the Lord on Mount Nebo when he died (see Deuteronomy 34:1-6). The legend recounts that Satan sought to claim the body of Moses as that of a sinner because Moses had killed a man in Egypt. Michael objected to this denouncement of Moses but did not retaliate by denouncing Satan—he left that to God. Though not canonical, the legend nevertheless forcefully illustrates the point Jude is trying to make about refraining from slander.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. (11 NIV)
In an extreme sense, “the way of Cain” is analogous to slander, because the latter is a form of personal violence. “Balaam’s error” recalls a treacherous scheme suggested by the prophet Balaam, who sought to collect a fee from the Moabites for destroying Israel after originally failing to collect a fee for cursing them (see Numbers 22:1-20). Following Balaam’s advice, the Moabites and the Midianites sent their daughters to seduce the men Israel into worshipping Baal (see Numbers 25:1-17). The Israelites who were seduced, and the Moabite and the Midianite women who seduced them, were are killed; and Balaam himself was killed when he was found among the Moabites whom God ordered destroyed for their treachery (Numbers 31:16).
These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. (12-13 NIV)
The statement “These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves” paints a picture of individuals so puffed up with their own self-importance and so completely self-absorbed that they are oblivious to the unseemliness of their presence at a love feast. They give an appearance of offering guidance, example and, support but offer nothing but degradation. They are like elements of nature that no longer correspond to their place or function on the earth, sea, sky, or heavens. Their barrenness and waywardness mark them out as false shepherds who do not share the inheritance of Christ.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. (14-16 NIV)
The use of Enoch requires some explanation. Up until the latter half on the first century, when the book of Revelation was written, Enoch was the only comprehensive explanation God’s overarching plan for creation. Though this book was not ultimately accepted as canonical, many of its passages nevertheless rang true, and these are the ones directly or indirectly referenced by Jude. Enoch 1:9, which Jude quotes verbatim, actually sounds remarkably like the words of Jesus himself that “the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done” (see Matthew 16:28; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:27).
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. (17-19 NIV)
The apostolic prophesy that “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires” echoes Paul’s warning in 2 Timothy 3:1-9 as well as Peter’s warning in 2 Peter 3:3. The warning in bother is clear: believers in the last days will have to contend with immorality, rebellion, and slander within their midst. Believers are therefore urged to grown in godliness as a bulwark against unbelief.
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (20-23 NIV)
Jude encourages his listeners to persevere by growing in faith and praying in the Spirit, and he urges them to show mercy mixed with fear to those who are led astray while guarding against their own deception. The way forward is not to focus on those who are ungodly but to focus instead on learning the ways of God, practicing the things of God, and trusting in God.
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (24-25 NIV)
Jude concludes by reminding us that (as he stated in his salutation) God himself who called us and loves us will keep us for Jesus our Lord and one day present us blameless before himself. He alone deserves our admiration, devotion, fear, and obedience.
- What is the basis of our hope that we will persevere in the faith to the end even if we stumble on the way?
- Why are we sometimes attracted to prominent individuals whose conduct or temperament are ungodly?
- How should we interact with any people who are a corrupting influence or with those under their influence?
- What steps have we taken to ground ourselves in the truth so that we may be transformed from within by the Spirit and walk with God as Adam did in the Garden?
