Jude
Originally posted Monday December 8, 2008
General
Comment: It is impossible to be certain of the authorship of
this homily. He could be Jesus' younger brother, Jude (Judas in Greek),
therefore the brother of James (MK 6:3)
the leader of the Palestinian Church. Early Christian tradition mentions the
activity of Jesus' siblings in the churches of Palestine and Syria. There is a
Jude mentioned as one of the original twelve as the son of James (LK. 6:16) but according to John's
Gospel Jesus' brothers were not believers until after the
resurrection experience. In any case the internal evidence indicates the writer
of "Jude" was not an apostle. There is an interesting entry
in the writings of the Christian writer Hegesippus of the second
century, quoted by the historian Eusebius. He writes regarding the
grandchildren of Jude, the brother of Jesus. They were charged with being
descendents of David (as Jesus was assumed to be). The Emperor
Domitian had ordered that all David's descendents be killed but when the
Emperor had Jude's grandchildren examined he considered them "of
no account" and ordered their release. Later writings indicate the
descendents continued to be an active part of the leadership of the church well
into the 2nd century. Considering the traditional evidence it is
reasonable to accept that Jude and his offspring were active in the Church
through at least the 2nd century. The letter may have been written under his
name and authority by one of his decedents.
The recipients include one or more churches with
predominately Jewish Christian members. The text contains Jewish biblical and
extracanonical material presented without explanation and in a way that
indicates the audience's familiarity. Of special interest are references to the
Jewish apocalyptic book I Enoch,
Aramaic copies of which were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls uncovered in the
Essene caves of Qumran. Enoch was written in the late 1st century BCE or early
1st century CE and was widely read in Jewish as well as Christian circles. Its
visional imagery was of the same body of material used in Daniel,
Revelation and other apocalyptic writings.
Jude 1-2
Salutation
Jude identifies himself as the brother of James but not of
Jesus. It is doubtful that anyone, brother or not, would make such a claim
without being criticized for extreme hubris. To be the brother of James, a
highly regarded leader, may serve as a circumventive way to say the same thing
with acceptable humility.
Jude addresses the churches with three adjectives: called,
beloved and kept. These are matched with three blessings: mercy, peace and
love. The believer is called by the mercy of God; beloved (forgiven) by the
sanctification of God; and kept safe for eternal life by the love of Jesus
Christ. The term "beloved" is widely used in the Gospels to refer to
Jesus. In all of Paul's letters and later writings, it is used as
a reference to the members of the Church. Such an address is meant to
convey a believer's status as one loved "by" God not
"of" or "in" God.
Jude 3-4
Occasion of the Letter
Jude's intent was to write a teaching homily as a means of
rejoicing with his readers over what they have shared though their mutual faith
in Christ. However, he has learned that "certain intruders,"
itinerant prophets and teachers from outside the community, have
insinuated themselves into the community. He uses the word "stolen"
to convey the disguise used by the intruders to gain the confidence of the
community. They have "secretly slipped in." What they turned out to
be were false teachers and Jude now finds it necessary "to contend for the
faith." Here "faith" is the collective term referring to
Christianity as a body of belief. Jude's mission is to exhort the churches to
keep their confidence in the Gospel which has been preached from the very
beginning.
He is certain that these false teachers whose coming was
foretold are already condemned for their ungodliness and deceit. The reference
is to the prophets of Israel as well as Jesus' own words to his
Disciples warning them of false prophets. It was widely understood by
the Church that in the last days - to which this letter points, false prophets
would arise seeking to lead the people astray. This has been a rather
constant theme throughout the New Testament.
But what was this false teaching that uses the grace of
God as a license to ignore and pervert the grace of God? In Paul's letters he
warns believers against mistaking the idea of freedom in Christ
and freedom from the law as a license to sin. Jude uses the
sexually loaded word "licentiousness" as an apt description of the
sexual immorality he has in mind. To be set free from the restraints of the
law, for these purveyors of the perversion of grace, is to disregard God
and adopt an "anything goes" view of personal behavior. What
they have forgotten - or ignored, is the law of Christ, the law of the
imitation of Christ in all things. The false teachers do not stop at ignoring
God's grace. They deny "the only
master and Lord..." While Jude does not elaborate on the shape of such a
denial, the meaning is clear. To deny Christ as the "only" Lord and
Master is to accept that there are other lords and masters -:such as
Caesar and pagan deities, to be worshipped and obeyed.. For these interlopers
Christian behavior is only one option among many. It can be applied or set
aside as the need arises - that need being the desire to act in ways of self
interest, self serving and unloving acts. Without shame they have rejected the
authority of God. They have rejected the notion that a disciple of Christ is a
servant of Christ and all those whom God loves. The narcissism of these
false teachers leads them to see themselves as the earth around which the
sun revolves.
Jude 5-16
Judgment on False Teachers
Jude has already pronounced God's judgment as having been
spoken long ago. Here he provides three parallel examples of judgment from the
Old Testament and Talmudic Halakah. He reminds them of what they
and the Gentiles among them already know of the scriptures. The Israelites
had murmured against God (had no trust) during the wilderness wandering.
Setting up idols to worship, "they rose up to revel." They were
judged and destroyed and did not enter Canaan. The angels who left
heaven to cohabit with the daughters of men (Gen. 6:1-2; 2 Pet. 2:4) were judged and chained in "the
deepest darkness." Sodom and Gomorrah were also judged and destroyed
because of their sexual indulgences, "going after other flesh." Taken
from the Genesis story of Lot, the men of Sodom sought to sexually attack the
two angels who appeared as men (Gen.
19:1-5). Jude equates the sexual immorality in each of these
examples with the "dreamers" (prophet visionaries), the false
teachers of his day. They "defile the flesh, reject authority" and
slander the angels." How they slander the angels is not made clear. In the
Rabbinic tradition the angels delivered the Law to Moses. Insofar as these false
teachers reject the very idea of law they are slandering, acting against the
angels who acted on God's behalf..Jude compares their slander of angels with
the story of the Archangel Michael. In the "Testament of Moses," a
1st century Jewish apocalyptic writing, Michael disputed with Satan over the
possession of Moses' body. Michael wanted to honor Moses with a proper burial
while Satan thought he should have the body because Moses had sinned by killing
the Egyptian who was beating a fellow Hebrew. (Exod. 2:11-12). Michael did not think it was his place to rebuke
Satan ("a condemnation for blasphemy" vs.9). Instead he uttered the words,
"The Lord rebuke you," thus avoiding usurping God's authority to
judge.
By comparison with Michael, these false teachers
"slander whatever they don't understand." By their rejection of a law
they do not understand they are destroyed by the very licentiousness
that:"freedom" from the law brings upon them - acting instinctively
like an "irrational animal" satisfying its lusts. Jude
uses three Old Testament examples as a prophetic statement referring to
the actions - and condemnation, of the false teachers. They "go the way
of Cain" who is a condemned murderer (Gen. 4:2-12) and in Jewish tradition teaches others to sin. They
"abandon themselves to [the prophet] Balaam's error" (Num. 23-25). According to Jewish
tradition (not well attested in the Old Testament story) Balaam was a false
prophet guilty of acting out of greed and leading the people of Israel
into idolatry and sexual impurity. They "perish in Korah's
rebellion." Korah led a rebellion against Moses (and, therefore the Law)
and as a result was swallowed by the earth (Num. 16:1-3; 26:9-11). In each case Jude associates the actions of
the false teachers/prophets with that of the three Old Testament characters.
Like Cain they lead others to sin (rejecting the law and God's authority). Like
Balaam they are greedy prophets who lead the church members to idolatry and
sexual impurity. Like Korah and his associates, they will perish in their rebellion
against God and Christ.
With such a description of these "intruders" Jude
calls them "blemishes on [their] love feasts" (Eucharist). They
"feast without fear (reverence for God), not having a care about or
recognition of their own utter sinfulness. The word for
"blemish" can be translated as a "reef" which is
hidden and dangerous to ships. These teachers hide their deceit and are
dangerous to the faith of the community. They are "shepherds who care only
for themselves" (vs.12b). Jude
uses four metaphors from nature to describe them. They are unproductive -
doing no good, like waterless clouds; like a tree in late autumn they bear no
fruit (good works); like the foam cast up form wild waves their
teaching brings them shame; like wandering stars they are forever destined
for the "deepest darkness"
Jude 17-23
Exhortations for the Last Days
Jude turns his attention to the coming judgment. He
cites the Jewish apocalyptic prophesy of 1 Enoch 1:9 as having been written concerning the final
judgment of these false prophets (vss.
14-15). He summarizes the text with the prophecy "See, the Lord came
with ten thousands of holy ones (angels) to execute judgment on all."
Note Enoch's use of the present tense - "the Lord came" as if the event had already
occurred. All apocalyptic imagery is visionary as "seen" by the
prophet as it happens.
This is the final judgment on the last day when all humanity
is to be judged. Yet Jude identifies the specific condemnation of the
false prophets who have committed "deeds of ungodliness" and
"spoken harsh things against [Christ]." The acts of ungodliness and
harsh words relate to the extreme distortion of what it means to be free in
Christ in vs. 4 where the false teaching is expressed as "anything
goes." Their speech is characterized as deceitful, meant to lead others
astray and to impress the members of the churches to think that these
prophets really know the truth by putting on airs of authority.
As an added witness that these false prophets are
ungodly, Jude reminds the "beloved" that the time of their
appearing was predicted by the apostles and by Jesus. The cited text of vs. 18 is not found in the New
Testament per se. It may be from a separate saying in the secondary oral
tradition. It certainly reflects the general understanding of the early church
regarding the turmoil and speculations expected in the last
days (see 2 Pet.3:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2
Tim. 3:1). Jude makes clear the disqualifiers distancing the false prophets
from anything resembling Christianity. They are "scoffers,"
ridiculing Christian belief as well as believers. They are of the world,
dreamers "devoid of the Spirit." This latter point regarding the
Spirit is in itself a condemnation of the teachings as well as the teachers.
Only visions and teaching which come from the Holy Spirit are valid
in the church. All others are of human origin and are divisive.
As for the beloved, Jude exhorts them to keep (contend
for) their faith, keeping it strong through "[prayer] in the
Holy Spirit (the inspirer of unspoken and spoken prayer);" to
remain in God's love for them through their godly lives (Jhn. 15:9-10); and to keep strong their
hope in eternal life (God's saving mercy through Christ's on the last day). The
concerns of the beloved are to extend beyond self interest (as
should be the case of all Christians). There are some who are wavering in their
faith (being enticed by the false prophets) and some who are already in
"the fire" and in need of being "snatched out of the
flames" before it is too late. How such a "snatching" is to be
accomplished is not given. Certainly it includes moral instruction over against
the false teaching on freedom from the law. In our time we have heard of
"deprogramming" members of cults "rescued by parents and/or
friends. Jude is probably advising the faithful to make a full faith effort to
turn the "lost sheep" back to godliness, to show them mercy just as
they once received God's mercy. In his last comment on the subject he allows
that the best that can be done for those who have irretrievably gone
over to "the dark side" is to pray for God's mercy while the
faithful keep their distance from the presence of such evil lest they be
spiritually contaminated (see Zech.
3:3-4).
Jude
24--25 Benediction
The Benediction is given as a doxology over what Jude has
been stressing as he writes of the stark distinction between the condemned
false teachers and the beloved. In the face of intrusive assaults by those who
have rejected the faith of the apostles the doxology reaffirms that it is only
God who can "keep [them] from falling," prepared to stand
"without blemish" on the last day and all of this through
"Christ our savior."
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