Jude 1:1
Matthew 13:55
Jude 1:1
v.1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Matthew 13:55
v.55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
1.0 Jude Brother of Jesus and the Book of Jude[1]http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Jude.html
Author:
Jude 1 identifies the author of the Book of Jude as Jude, a brother of James. This likely refers to Jesus’ half-brother Jude, as Jesus also had a half-brother named James (Matthew 13:55). Jude likely does not identify himself as a brother of Jesus out of humility and reverence for Christ.
Date of Writing:
The Book of Jude is closely related to the book of 2 Peter. The date of authorship for Jude depends on whether Jude used content from 2 Peter, or Peter used content from Jude when writing 2 Peter. The Book of Jude was written somewhere between A.D. 60 and 80.
Purpose of Writing:
The Book of Jude is an important book for us today because it is written for the end times, for the end of the church age. The church age began at the Day of Pentecost. Jude is the only book given entirely to the great apostasy. Jude writes that evil works are the evidence of apostasy. He admonishes us to contend for the faith, for there are tares among the wheat. False prophets are in the church and the saints are in danger. Jude is a small but important book worthy of study, written for the Christian of today.
Key Verses:
Jude 1:3 “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
Jude 1:17-19 “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 men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”
Jude 1:24-25 “To him who is able to keep you from falling 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.”
Brief Summary:
According to verse 3, Jude was anxious to write about our salvation; however, he changed topics to address contending for the faith. This faith embodies the complete body of Christian doctrine taught by Christ, later passed on to the apostles. After Jude warns of false teachers (verses 4-16), he advises us on how we can succeed in spiritual warfare (verses 20-21). Here is wisdom we would do well to accept and adhere to as we go through these days of the end times.
Connections:
The Book of Jude is filled with references to the Old Testament, including the Exodus (v. 5); Satan’s rebellion (v. 6); Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 7); Moses’ death (v. 9); Cain (v. 11); Balaam (v. 11); Korah (v. 11); Enoch (vv. 14,15); and Adam (v. 14). Jude’s use of the well-known historical illustrations of Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam, and Korah reminded the Jewish Christians of the necessity of true faith and obedience.
Practical Application:
We live in a unique time in history and this little book can help equip us for the untold challenges of living in the end times. Today’s Christian must be on guard for false doctrines which can so easily deceive us if we are not well versed in the Word. We need to know the Gospel—to protect and defend it—and accept the Lordship of Christ, which is evidenced by a life-change. Authentic faith always reflects Christ-like behavior. Our life in Christ should reflect our very own heart-knowledge that rests on the authority of the Almighty Creator and Father who puts faith into practice. We need that personal relationship with Him; only then will we know His voice so well that we will follow no other.
2.0 Jude, brother of Jesus [2]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude,_brother_of_Jesus
Was one of the four brothers of Jesus (Greek: ἀδελφοὶ, translit. adelphoi, lit. ‘brethren’)[3].Greek New Testament, Matthew 13:55: “οὐχ οὖτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ … Continue reading, [4].Mark 6:3. according to the New Testament. He is traditionally identified as the author of the Epistle of Jude, a short epistle which is reckoned among the seven general epistles of the New Testament — placed after Paul’s epistles and before the Book of Revelation — and considered canonical by Christians.[5]Thomas Patrick Halton, On Illustrious Men, Volume 100 of Fathers of the Church:a new translation, CUA Press, 1999 p.11, [6]See Richard Bauckham, Jerome and the Early Church Fathers. Generally Catholics believe this Jude is the same person as Jude the Apostle and that Jude was a cousin, not a brother, of Jesus.[7]Bechtel, F. (1907). “The Brethren of the Lord”. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55 record the people of Nazareth saying of Jesus: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?”. Some Protestants, such as R.V. Tasker[8]Tasker, R.V., The Gospel according to Saint Matthew (InterVarsity Press 1961), p. 36 and D. Hill,[9]Hill D., The Gospel of Matthew, p80 (1972) Marshall, Morgan and Scott:London generally relate these brothers and sisters to the Matthew 1:25 indication that Joseph “knew her not until after she brought forth her firstborn” and the implication that Joseph and Mary had customary marital relations thereafter. But K. Beyer points out that Greek ἕως οὗ (until) after a negative “often has no implication at all about what happened after the limit of the ‘until’ was reached”.[10].Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah (Doubleday 1999 ISBN 978-0-385-49447-2), p. 132.
Many Christians (Roman Catholics, Eastern Christianity, and some Protestants) believe that “brothers of Jesus” are not biological children of Mary, but step brothers or cousins, which is part of the doctrine of perpetual virginity of Mary.
According to the surviving fragments of the work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis, who lived c. 70–163 AD, Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus would be the mother of Jude, the brother of Jesus that Papias identifies with Thaddeus:
Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph…(Fragment X)[11]of Hierapolis, Papias. Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. Fragment X. earlychristianwritings.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
The bishop of Salamis, Epiphanius, wrote in his work The Panarion (AD 374-375) that Joseph became the father of James and his three brothers (Joses, Simeon, Judah) and two sisters (a Salome and a Mary) or (a Salome and an Anna)[12]College, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus ; translated by Young Richard Kim, Calvin (2014). Ancoratus 60:1. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8132-2591-3. … Continue reading with James being the elder sibling. James and his siblings were not children of Mary but were children from a previous marriage. After Joseph’s first wife died, many years later when he was eighty, “he took Mary (mother of Jesus)”.[13]Williams, translated by Frank (1994). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis : Books II and III (Sects 47-80, De Fide) in Sect 78:9:6. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 607. ISBN 9789004098985. Retrieved 18 … Continue reading, [14]Williams, translated by Frank (2013). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. (Second, revised edition. ed.). Leiden [u.a.]: Brill. p. 36. ISBN 9789004228412. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
The Epistle of Jude has been attributed to him, on the basis of the heading “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1) where “brother of James” is taken as brother of James the brother of Jesus.
Clement of Alexandria who lived c. 150–215 AD wrote in his work “Comments on the Epistle of Jude” that Jude, the Epistle of Jude’s author was a son of Joseph and a brother of the Lord (without specifying whether he is a son of Joseph by a previous marriage or of Joseph and Mary)
Jude, who wrote the Catholic Epistle, the brother of the sons of Joseph, and very religious, while knowing the near relationship of the Lord, yet did not say that he himself was His brother. But what said he? “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,”— of Him as Lord; but “the brother of James.” For this is true; he was His brother, (the son) of Joseph.[15]of Alexandria, Clement. Comments on the Epistle of Jude. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
Both “Judas” and “Jude” are English translations of the Greek name Ιουδας, which was a very common name in the 1st century. Over the years the identity of Jude has been questioned, and confusion remains among biblical scholars. It is not clear if Jude, the brother of Jesus, is also Jude, the brother of James, or Jude the Apostle, son of Mary mother of James the less and Jude.
There is an Apostle Jude in some lists of the Twelve, but not in others. He is called Jude of James. The name “Jude of James”, as given in Luke 6:16, is sometimes interpreted as “Jude, brother of James” (See King James Version), though such a construction commonly denotes a relationship of father and son. Other lists of the twelve include Thaddaeus, which may be nickname for the same apostle. His nickname may have occurred due to a resemblance to Jesus or to avoid confusion between Jude and Judas Iscariot.[16]John 14:22, [17]Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor’s Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978, [18].Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, Anchor Bible p. 641 A local tradition of eastern Syria identifies the Apostle Jude with the Apostle Thomas, also known as Jude Thomas or Judas Didymus Thomas (Thomas means twin in Aramaic, as does Didymus in Greek.)
Hegesippus, a 2nd-century Christian writer, mentions descendants of Jude living in the reign of Domitian (81-96). Eusebius relates in his Historia Ecclesiae (Book III, ch. 19-20):
“But when this same Domitian had commanded that the descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Jude (said to have been a brother of the Saviour according to the flesh), on the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to Christ himself. Hegesippus relates these facts in the following words.
“Of the family of the Lord there were still living the grandchildren of Jude, who is said to have been the Lord’s brother according to the flesh.
“Information was given that they belonged to the family of David, and they were brought to the Emperor Domitian by the Evocatus. For Domitian feared the coming of Christ as Herod also had feared it. And he asked them if they were descendants of David, and they confessed that they were. Then he asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. And both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them;
and this property did not consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only thirty-nine acres, and from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labor.”
Then they showed their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callousness produced upon their hands by continuous toil as evidence of their own labor. And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works. Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church. But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were witnesses and were also relatives of the Lord. And peace being established, they lived until the time of Trajan. These things are related by Hegesippus.[19][1] http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm
Eusebius also relates (in Book III, ch. 32,5f.), that they suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Trajan.
Epiphanius of Salamis, in his Panarion, mentions a Judah Kyriakos, great grandson of Jude, as last Jewish Bishop of Jerusalem, that lived beyond Bar Kokhba’s revolt.
James, Joseph (Joses), Judas (Jude) and Simon as brothers of Jesus.
Also mentioned, but not named, are sisters of Jesus
SOURCES
1.0) Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Jude.html
2.0) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude,_brother_of_Jesus
3.0) Source: bibleresources.americanbible.org | Tittle: “A Guide to Key Events, Characters and Themes of the Bible”
Related: Biblical Overviews List of Key Old Testament Characters
References
| ↑1 | http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Jude.html |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude,_brother_of_Jesus |
| ↑3 | .Greek New Testament, Matthew 13:55: “οὐχ οὖτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἰάκωβος καὶ ἰωσὴφ καὶ σίμων καὶ ἰούδας;” |
| ↑4 | .Mark 6:3. |
| ↑5 | Thomas Patrick Halton, On Illustrious Men, Volume 100 of Fathers of the Church:a new translation, CUA Press, 1999 p.11 |
| ↑6 | See Richard Bauckham, Jerome and the Early Church Fathers. |
| ↑7 | Bechtel, F. (1907). “The Brethren of the Lord”. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. |
| ↑8 | Tasker, R.V., The Gospel according to Saint Matthew (InterVarsity Press 1961), p. 36 |
| ↑9 | Hill D., The Gospel of Matthew, p80 (1972) Marshall, Morgan and Scott:London |
| ↑10 | .Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah (Doubleday 1999 ISBN 978-0-385-49447-2), p. 132. |
| ↑11 | of Hierapolis, Papias. Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. Fragment X. earlychristianwritings.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015. |
| ↑12 | College, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus ; translated by Young Richard Kim, Calvin (2014). Ancoratus 60:1. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8132-2591-3. Retrieved 22 September 2015. |
| ↑13 | Williams, translated by Frank (1994). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis : Books II and III (Sects 47-80, De Fide) in Sect 78:9:6. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 607. ISBN 9789004098985. Retrieved 18 September 2015. |
| ↑14 | Williams, translated by Frank (2013). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. (Second, revised edition. ed.). Leiden [u.a.]: Brill. p. 36. ISBN 9789004228412. Retrieved 18 September 2015. |
| ↑15 | of Alexandria, Clement. Comments on the Epistle of Jude. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 24 September 2015. |
| ↑16 | John 14:22 |
| ↑17 | Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor’s Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978 |
| ↑18 | .Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, Anchor Bible p. 641 |
| ↑19 | [1] http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm |
