Epistle of Jude

The brief Epistle of Jude is a book in the Christian New Testament canon. Considered on the "general epistles" because it is a addressed to no particular church or person, it is a brief book of only a single chapter with 25 verses. The putative author, Jude, identifies himself as the brother of James—possibly James the "brother of Jesus" of Acts and Mark 6:3 or in Catholic tradition "James the Less," making Jude the same person identified by Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18 as the apostle Thaddeus. However, modern scholarship tends to doubt that the letter could have been written by either of these, seeing it as originating from either late first or early second century CE.

The letter is particularly concerned with a heretical teaching which held that sexual immorality was permissible under the doctrine of Christian freedom from the Jewish law.

Summary

The letter opens with a salutation identifying the writer as Jude, the brother of James. He makes his concern plain immediately. Certain men have "secretly slipped in among you." He accuses these teachers of twisting "the grace of our God into a license for immorality" and also of denying Jesus Christ as "our only Sovereign and Lord."

The first charge is fairly easy to understand. A number of Christians interpreted Paul's teaching on freedom from the Jewish law to mean that they were free from even the most basic Mosaic commandments, such as the law against adultery and fornication. This heresy, calling antinomianism was also known in Saint Paul's day, for he argues against it in I Corinthinans 5. In the following verses the author makes an analogy between those who commit sexual sin at Sodom and Gomorrah and the "the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home"—an apparent reference to events described in the Book of Enoch, which was widely read by both Jews and Christians at the time. He accuses the heretics of polluting their own bodies, rejecting authority, and "slander celestial beings." He mentions the archangel Michael, who is mentioned nowhere else in then canonical scriptures except the Book of Revelation. The reference to a struggle between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses appears to be derived from the non-canonical book known as the Assumption of Moses. "Woe to them!" he curses, for the have followed the way of Cain, resembling prophet-for-hire Balaam and the rebellious Korah, who challenged the priestly authority of Aaron.

The men, perhaps prophets or preachers of an antinomian Gnostic sect, have apparently gained some authority in the church, for the author calls them "shepherds." He suggests the should be excluded from the church's "love feasts," the eucharistic celebrations which in the early church were also festive meals. In condemning these men, Jude quotes directly from the Book of Enoch, declaring that "the Lord is coming with myriads of his holy ones to execute judgment." He reminds his readers of what "the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" had taught earlier—that "there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." He concludes with the hope that true Christians will reach out to those who may be led astray by the teachings of the evildoers—some be means of compassion, but some "with fear." He closes with a salute to "him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."

Author and date

Jude the apostle, the author the Epistle of Jude in Catholic tradition

The epistle identifies itself as being written by "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James" (NIV). If taken at face value this apparently refers to Jesus' own brother or half brother Judah. In Mark 6:3, the people of Nazareth ask: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah, and Simon?" However, Catholic tradition holds that Jude is not this Judah, but the "Judah Jacobi" of Luke, 6:16 and Acts, 1:13—also called Thaddeus (Matthew 10:3: Mark 3:18).

Though it is held as canonical by all Christian churches, many scholars consider the letter a pseudonymous work. Some believe it to have been written between the end of the first century and the first quarter of the second century C.E., arguing from the references to the apostles (1:17-18), tradition (1:3), the book's competent Greek style, and the apparent opposition to a Gnostic form of antinomianism. Others, using similar data, date it between 66 to 90. Still others hold to the traditional view that it was written by Jude, and that the heresy against which it fights is not the Gnosticism of the late first and early second century, but an earlier form of antinomianism that shared with later Gnosticism a concern with angelology.

By the end of the second century Jude was widely accepted as canonical. . Source such as the writings of Clement and Tertullian, as well as the Muratorian fragment considered the letter as scripture. The authorship was called into question by Origen, who spoke of doubts held by some—although he himself accepted it as authentic. The fourth century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, however, classified it with the "disputed writings." The letter was eventually accepted by the influential Church Father Athanasius—whose list of canonical works ultimately became authoritation—and by the synods of Laodicea (c. 363) and Carthage (397). Doubts regarding Jude's authenticity were revived at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

The debate has continued over the author's identity as the apostle, the brother of Jesus, both, or neither. Some scholars have argued that since the author refers to other earlier teachers as apostles (apparently not including himself) he cannot be identified with the Jude who is listed as one of the Twelve (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13; cf John 14:22).

Style

The Epistle of Jude is a brief book of only a single chapter with 25 verses. It was composed as an encyclical letter—that is, one not directed to the members of one church in particular, but intended rather to be circulated and read in all churches. The form, as opposed to the earlier letters of Paul, suggests that the author knew Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians or even that the Pauline epistles had already been collected and were circulating when the text was written.

The wording and syntax of this epistle in its original Greek demonstrates that the author was capable and fluent. The epistle is addressed to Christians in general (1:1), and it warns them about the doctrine of certain errant teachers to which they were exposed. Examples of heterodox opinions that were circulating in the early 2nd century include Docetism, Marcionism, and Gnosticism.

The epistle's style is combative, impassioned, and rushed. Many examples of evildoers and warnings about their fates are given in rapid succession. The epithets contained in this writing are considered to be some of the strongest found in the New Testament.

The epistle concludes with a doxology, which is considered to be one of the highest in quality contained in the Bible.

The fact that the Epistle of Jude is notably similar to Second Epistle of Peter indicates the possibility that the writing of one of the epistles was influenced by the content of other. Because this epistle is much shorter than 2 Peter, and due to various stylistic details, the scholarly consensus is that Jude was the source for the similar passages of 2 Peter.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brown, Raymond Edward, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland Edmund Murphy. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990. ISBN 9780138598365
• Green, Michael. The Second Epistle General of Peter, and the General Epistle of Jude; An Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968. OCLC 432449
• Laymon, Charles M. The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Abingdon Press, 1971. ISBN 068712994
• Lyle, Kenneth R. Ethical Admonition in the Epistle of Jude. Studies in biblical literature, v. 4. New York: P. Lang, 1998. ISBN 9780820438382

External links

All links Retrieved October 11, 2007.

• Jude (various translations) www.biblegateway.com
• Early Christian writings: Epistle of Jude. www.earlychristianwritings.com
• Examining the relationship between Jude and II Peter. www.biblaridion-online.net
• Jude in the Catholic Encyclopedia. www.newadvent.org
• Comprehensive study the Epistle of Jude www.watton.org.

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