Verse-by-verse, sentence-by-sentence Bible exposition is very important to me. The idea is that we look at a few verses from the Bible a week and seek to examine their meaning in the light of Scripture itself. The best commentary for Scripture is Scripture. Thus, cross-references and the context of a passage are important considerations.
The last few days I’ve been thinking about what might be an appropriate passage to study all the way through. There are some enormous Books of the Bible, like Isaiah, and short texts, like 2 and 3 John. I opted for the latter category for this first study. The book I will – and hopefully we will – (the reader and myself) be studying is Jude.
This is a very short book of the Bible, but its message is nonetheless critical. This first post will deal with Jude verse 1.
Jude 1 – “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:” (NASB)
“Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,” This text announces the writer of this letter. There are two main theories as to which Jude wrote this letter. The first is that Judas (not Iscariot), one of twelve disciples wrote the letter. The second is that Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote the letter.
In Greek, the name “Jude” is literally Judas, which is important as far as accuracy is concerned. Matthew records in Matthew 13:55 – “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” (NASB)
The same word used for Jude is used for Judas in this passage. While Jude could refer to one of the twelve disciples, the more likely option is that it refers to the half-brother of Jesus. Jude identifies himself as the brother of James. The half-brother of Jesus also had a brother named James. Perhaps the reason Jude doesn’t identify himself as Christ’s half brother is due to his initial disbelief.
John 7:5 – “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.” (NASB)
Scripture later records in Acts 1:14 – “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (NASB)
This verse indicates that though Jesus’ brothers did not initially believe in Him, they did at a later point. Jude’s statement that he is “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ” was the only direct association with Jesus he though appropriate to mention. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus and brother of James.
“To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:” This indicates Jude’s intended audience. Called, beloved, and kept all indicate Jude was writing to Christians. While no specific region or church is mentioned, there are many Old Testament allegories mentioned that indicate the audience may have had a Jewish ancestry.
These statements should be encouraging to all followers of Christ – we are “the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.”
Jude’s letter begins like many letters in the Bible with who is writing and the audience. We’ll look at verse 2 and the rest of Jude in the coming days. My hope is to examine at least 1 verse or more a week. Here’s a challenge: try to read all of Jude before the next Scripture Study post.
