Jude 17–23

17–18 After focusing largely on what the false teachers are like, Jude now shifts to explain how his readers should respond to this threat. As God’s “beloved,” they must “remember . . . the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The OT repeatedly commands God’s people to remember (Deut. 5:15; 7:18; 8:2; 24:9), and the NT does the same (Eph. 2:11; 2 Tim. 2:8). Jude has in mind more than mere “predictions”; woodenly, he refers to “the words spoken beforehand by the apostles.” Such words must be remembered because they come from “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The apostles were the authoritative witnesses to the life and teaching of Jesus, commissioned by Christ himself to pass along the good news, both orally and in the writings that eventually formed the NT.

The apostles warned that “in the last time there will be scoffers.” The phrase “last time” refers to the entire period stretching from the first advent of Christ to his second coming. The epithet “scoffers” refers to those who make fun by mocking¹ with a dismissive attitude of self-assured arrogance. As scoffers, they are “following their own ungodly passions.” Jude echoes language from the 1 Enoch citation (Jude 15) in the apostles’ warning (v. 18) in order to cement the link between those prophecies and the false teachers.

19 The mention of scoffers prompts another list of descriptions of the false teachers. First, they “cause divisions.” Through their false teaching and immoral lifestyles they divide the church, creating unrest. Second, they are “worldly people.” This adjective (psychikos) has a wide range of meaning; here it refers to the “life of the natural world and whatever belongs to it, in contrast to the realm of experience whose central characteristic is” the Spirit.² To be “worldly” is to have one’s life oriented to and dictated by the values of this fallen world (James 3:15). Third, the false teachers are “devoid of the Spirit.” Although they claim to know Christ, their lives demonstrate that God’s Spirit does not dwell in them, which is the defining characteristic of the eschatological people of God (Gal. 3:1–5; Eph. 1:13–14).

20–21 Jude has already called his readers to remember the apostolic teaching (vv. 17–18); now he gives further positive instruction for dealing with the false teachers. He exhorts his readers to “keep yourselves in the love of God” as those who are “kept for Jesus Christ” (v. 1). It is not clear whether Jude means God’s love for the believer or the believer’s love for God. Both ideas are present in Jude, but on the whole, God’s love for the believer seems to be the preferable reading (cf. John 15:9–10; 1 John 4:16).

Believers keep themselves in the love of God by doing three things. First, by “building yourselves up in your most holy faith.” This verb (epoikodomeō) means “to build something on something already built.”³ Believers are “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith” (Col. 2:7), and God is building Christians into a temple for his presence to indwell (Eph. 2:19–22). In contrast to the false teachers, who divide the body, believers must work together for their corporate growth in godliness.⁴ Believers build on their already-existing “most holy faith.” The true faith of the gospel sets the believer apart and produces a life of holiness (2 Pet. 1:5–8), in contrast to the immoral lives of the false teachers.

The second way that believers keep themselves in the love of God is by “praying in the Holy Spirit.” Whereas the false teachers are “devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 19), believers have the privilege of praying in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:26). Paul exhorts believers to pray “at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18).

Finally, believers keep themselves in the love of God by “waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus.” The verb “waiting for” (prosdechomai) regularly has an eschatological sense, as it does here (Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25; Titus 2:13). The object of our expectation is the “mercy” we will receive on the last day from Jesus Christ, who because of his saving work has already borne the judgment we deserve for our sins. The ultimate result will be “eternal life,” an unending experience of the riches of God’s grace in a new heavens and new earth.

Woven into these verses are two triads. The first is the Trinity, with the Father, Son, and Spirit each being mentioned. The second is the triad of faith, hope (i.e., “waiting”), and love, commonly found in Paul’s letters (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13).

22–23 In light of all that Jude has said about the false teachers, he now issues three final commands for his readers concerning others affected⁵ by the false teachers.⁶ Believers must first “have mercy” on them. Because God is merciful (Ps. 116:5) and has shown us mercy through Christ (Eph. 2:4–7), we must be conduits of God’s mercy to others. The verb rendered “doubt” (diakrinō) can also be rendered “dispute”—the same verb describes Michael’s disputing with the Devil (Jude 9). Hope remains for those who doubt or dispute, if they repent.

Second, believers should “save” them “by snatching them out of the fire.” God can use his people to rescue even the false teachers from the “fire” of eternal destruction, the same fate that befell Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 7). Before the flames of eternal judgment overtake the vulnerable, God’s people are called to “snatch” (harpazō) them from the fire, a verb often carrying the sense of forceful action.⁷ Too much is at stake for believers not to take decisive action to rescue others from the destruction awaiting the false teachers.

Third, believers must “show” them “mercy with fear.” Whereas the first command to show mercy identifies the recipients (v. 22), this one explains how mercy must be shown (v. 23). Fear is necessary because it is all too easy to be drawn into the same kind of sin (Gal. 6:1). Believers show this mercy while “hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” The “garment” in view is the chitōn, a robe-like article of clothing worn next to the skin, often running from the neck down to the knees or even ankles. By describing it as “stained,” Jude pictures a soiled undergarment.

Jude draws his language from Zechariah 3:1–4, where, before the Lord’s presence, Satan reproaches Joshua the high priest for his filthy garments.⁸ God rebukes Satan, calling Joshua a “brand plucked from the fire” (Zech. 3:2).⁹ Joshua receives new clothes to symbolize God’s forgiveness. For Jude, this is a picture of what could happen for the false teachers if they repented.