Jude: The Man

The name Jude means ‘praised’.


We've already studied the book of James, written by one of Jesus's brothers. The book of Jude is the only other book written by a member of Jesus's immediate family.

Judes mentioned in the New Testament include:
(1) one of the Twelve Apostles,
(2) the brother of Jesus and James, and
(3) the son of James.


In verse 1, the author of this book identifies himself as Jude, which is a form of the Hebrew name Judah or the Greek name Judas, a common name among the Jews.

He does not claim to be an apostle, and even seems to separate himself from the apostles, and he describes himself as a brother of James.

Both James and Jude show themselves to be very humble and show their faith in the deity of Jesus by referring to themselves as ‘bond-servants’ of Jesus Christ rather than His brothers in the flesh.

It would have been more customary to describe himself as someone’s son rather than someone’s brother, but James had such a prominent role in the church at Jerusalem and was well-known. This is probably why Jude describes himself in this way.

Judas is among the family of Jesus mentioned by the congregation of the synagogue at Nazareth, when they were impressed by the wisdom and works of Jesus. Brothers are named: James, Joses [also called Joseph], Judas, and Simon. It also mentions sisters but doesn’t name them.

Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”KJV

Mark 6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?...”KJV

So we know Jude was a modest man who did not throw his weight around. Beyond this all we know is what we read in John 7:5 & in Acts 1:14

John 7:5 “For neither did his brethren believe in him.”KJV

Acts 1:13-14 “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alpheaus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”KJV

Neither James or Jude believed in Jesus as the Son of God during His earthly life, but became His follower after the resurrection. By this we know that the James and Jude who wrote the books of the New Testament were not the same as the disciples who walked with Jesus during His time on earth.

Jude probably knew Jesus better than the disciples. So why wouldn’t he believe Jesus was the Son of God?
As I mentioned in our study of James, he was His earthly brother! He had played with Him as a child and thought of Him as you and I see our siblings—equal to us. Wouldn’t it be easier to accept a stranger as the Son of God rather than our own sibling that we had known all of our lives?

Although this book is placed next to last in our New Testament Bible, Jude was actually among the first of the New Testament books ever written. It is believed this book was written somewhere between 43 AD & 80 AD. Possibly about 44 AD (during Peter’s imprisonment) or some think it was around 67 AD (when the *Gnostic beliefs began to surface).

No matter when it was written, the message is the same: a warning against heresy, false teaching, and immorality.

Although his letter is much like Peter’s second letter, and it appears that Jude and Peter were writing about the same problem, it cannot be assumed that they were writing at the same period of time or to the same people. From the first century, the problems of heresy and false teaching were widespread and occurred throughout the history of the church.

Verses 17-18 seem to indicate the intended readers of this letter had heard the apostles teach. Therefore, this letter could not have been written after the apostles’ demise.

Why did he write the letter? Evidently, according to the introduction, Jude had planned to write a more general statement about the Gospel to a group of churches (possibly in Asia Minor: same churches to which the books of 1st and 2nd Peter were addressed). But then news of the appearance of an alarming heresy with immoral tendencies (perhaps Gnosticism) prompted him to write this stern warning instead.

We know whoever Jude was writing this letter to, they were in trouble, not from outside sources, but from trouble on the inside of the church.

There were some professing to be Christians, but were leading disreputable lives and spreading around false and filthy ideas. It also looks as if they were doing it under the disguise of ‘higher’ or ‘more spiritual’ teaching.

The writing is urgent, powerful, and commanding.

* Gnostic Beliefs:
A group called the Gnostics taught there was a distinct division between the physical body and spirit; to the point that you could engage in immorality with your body without having anything to do with your spiritual holiness.
To promote this teaching, the Gnostics had to teach that Jesus wasn't fully human AND fully God. They promoted the idea that Jesus only "appeared" to have a physical presence.

I won't get into all the details of what they taught, but its helpful to know the background, which may have been the reason for this letter.

The Apostles had looked upon, seen with their eyes, heard, and handled with their hands, the living Christ... all unmistakable physical acts on a tangible, physical Savior. So much for Gnosticism.