An Introduction to Jude

Jude is a fascinating little book, often overlooked as it’s one of the shortest books in the Bible, one of the shortest letters in the New Testament. It’s tucked in right at the end, just before the mighty Revelation (can you believe we are nearly at the end of this epic five and a half year journey?).

There are a few queries around this little book too, which may make readers wary of it. However, the message is worthy of our attention, so this month, we’ll take a good look at this little letter.

Let’s start with the strange stuff though.

For a start, the letter is called Jude in our Bibles, but Jude was probably a Judas.  The suggestion is that most English translators have used the name ‘Jude’ to avoid connection with Judas Iscariot, the infamous man known for betraying Jesus. You can see why.

This letter was one of the disputed books of the biblical canon ie. there was serious discussion about whether it should even be included in what we have come to know as the Bible. There were concerns about its brevity and the overlap of material covered with Peter’s second letter. It’s also unclear about the identity of this Judas. Many Christians believe him to be the brother of Jesus as mentioned in Mark 6:3, but those who believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary (like Catholics) believe these relations to be step brothers and sisters or cousins. However, Jude would have been close to Jesus, would have grown up with him. And then some believe he was Jude the Apostle, a follower of Jesus during his time on earth, while others think that Jude only fully came to understand who Jesus was after his crucifixion and resurrection (see John 7:5 and Acts 1:14).

By the time Jude comes to write this letter, however, he describes himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. The background may be complicated and confusing, but there is no doubt about where he is now. In that one word ‘servant’, he asserts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and deserves to be served. He acknowledges his role as a servant of Jesus. This is more important to him than being seen as a blood relative of Jesus. This new spiritual relationship with Jesus is far more important than a human relationship.

I’ll leave you with that hint of a challenge for today. How do we define and identify ourselves? By our physical connections and actions or our spiritual connection and role in Christ?