Original Meaning

ANCIENT LETTERS TYPICALLY began with an identification of the sender, an identification of the recipient, and a greeting. Jude follows this convention, but expands and modifies each part. Thus, he not only identifies himself and his recipients, but he provides for each a brief description that helps us understand what this letter is about. Jude writes not as a private individual but as a representative of Jesus Christ, and his readers are people who belong to Jesus Christ. While a typical ancient letter greeting was usually the single word, “greetings” (chairein), Jude modifies it by turning it into a prayer-wish that his readers may enjoy the relationship with Christ they have already established. Moreover, his greeting is unusual even when compared with other New Testament letters. It is the only New Testament greeting that does not include a wish for “grace,” and it is the only one to include a request for “love.”

“Jude” translates a Greek word (Ioudas) that occurs forty-three times in the New Testament. Six different men bear the name, but we can be pretty sure that the Jude who writes our letter is the brother of the Lord mentioned in Mark 6:3 (see the introduction for details and argument). We know almost nothing about him. Like Jesus’ other brothers, he did not follow the Lord during his earthly ministry. But, as his self-description here indicates, that changed, perhaps during the time of Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry. Jude is now “a servant of Jesus Christ.”

“Servant” can also be translated “slave”—the Greek word is not diakonos (“[household] servant”) but doulos (“[bond]slave”). The word obviously indicates Jude’s subservience to the Lord whom he has come to know and to whom he now gives himself in service. But the title also carries honor. The great leaders of God’s people in the Old Testament were also called “servants” of God, such as Moses (Josh. 14:7; 2 Kings 18:12) and David (Ps. 18:1; Ezek. 34:23). We should not overlook the fact that Jude can now put “Jesus Christ” in the place of “God” or “the Lord” in this honorific title.

We can well understand why Jude would identify himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ.” Like Paul (cf., e.g., Rom. 1:1) and Peter (2 Peter 1:1), who do the same thing, Jude uses this title to establish his right to address Christians with an authoritative word from the Lord. He does not write as simply a fellow Christian, but as one who serves and therefore represents Jesus Christ himself. Significantly, unlike both Paul and Peter, Jude does not call himself an “apostle.”

But if calling himself a “servant of Jesus Christ” makes perfect sense, it is harder to understand why Jude goes on to add the designation “a brother of James.” Without any further description, this “James” must refer to the most famous James in the New Testament—the brother of Jesus (Gal. 1:19), who attained a high position in the early Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13–21; 21:18; Gal. 2:9) and who wrote the letter we now have in the New Testament. Perhaps Jude adds this reference to distinguish himself from other early Christians with the same name: He is that Jude who is the brother of the famous James. Or perhaps Jude is writing to Christians who know and have a high regard for James. Perhaps even more interesting is the question as to why Jude does not here claim to be “a brother of the Lord.” But, as we have noted, Jude’s physical relationship to Jesus did not bring him any spiritual benefit. The title is therefore irrelevant to what he is doing in his letter.1

Jude identifies his readers as Christians. The key word in the description is “called” (kletois). This word reflects the New Testament conviction that being a Christian is a product of God’s gracious reaching out to bring helpless sinners into a relationship with himself. “Call” does not mean, then, “invite”—as if God were asking people to a party and they can either accept or decline. It means “choose” or “select,” and God’s “choosing”—because it is he, the sovereign Lord, who is doing it—is effective. All this lies in the background. The critical point here is that “those called,” like “saints,” becomes a standard way to describe Christians, who make up the new people of God (see also Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1).

If this much about Jude’s description of his readers is clear, not much else is. The Greek of the last part of verse 1 is difficult to piece together, though the general rendering found in the NIV and followed by almost all the other modern English translations, seems best: “[Those] called” is the main designation, and two parallel descriptions elaborate it:

who are loved by God the Father

and [who are] kept by Jesus Christ.2

The exact meaning of these elaborations is unclear. Instead of “loved by God the Father,” we could also translate “loved [or beloved] in God the Father” (NASB; NRSV; REB).3 In this case, Jude is emphasizing not the source of the love we experience—God the Father loves us—but the context in which we experience love—love is the product of our being “in,” being in fellowship with God the Father.4 On balance, the NIV rendering seems preferable, for the alternative does not identify who is doing the loving.5 As those who are called and therefore who belong to the people of God, we enjoy the experience of God’s constant love for us.6

The second description poses a similar problem. The Greek construction used here (the dative case) can indicate either that Jesus Christ is the one who is doing the “keeping” (NIV) or that Jesus Christ is the one “for” whom we are being kept (see, e.g., NRSV: “kept safe for Jesus Christ”). Translating “by” is attractive, because it then keeps the two descriptions parallel. But perhaps the other option is better.7 Normally God himself is the one who “keeps” Christians, and the idea of being “kept” or “preserved” for Christ is one we find elsewhere in the New Testament. Note 1 Thessalonians 5:23b: “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Being kept for Jesus Christ” means that God throughout this life exercises his power on behalf of Christians to preserve them spiritually intact until the coming of Jesus Christ in glory.8 Believers have much to go through in this life: temptations, trials, and onslaughts from Satan and his minions. But God promises to watch over us at every moment, keeping us safe for Christ’s sake. Not, of course, that God’s preserving power means we can just relax and leave it all to him. Note how Jude beautifully comes back to this same idea at the end of the letter: “But keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (v. 21). God “keeps” us, but we must also “keep” ourselves.

Jude loves to group what he says into “threes.” In verse 1 he has described Christians as “called,” “loved,” and “kept.” Now in verse 2 he prays that his readers may be filled with “mercy,” “peace,” and “love.” “Filled with” is a more literal rendering of the Greek than we have in the NIV, though “be yours in abundance” certainly captures the idea. “Mercy” is not often found in New Testament prayer-wishes (see, however, 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; 2 John 3); “grace” is usually found in its place. But the meaning is much the same: God’s unmerited favor bestowed on sinners for their salvation. By “peace,” Jude may mean the inner contentment that comes from a restored relationship to God in Christ—the “peace of God.” But it more likely means our “peace with God,” that is, the new status of reconciliation that God provides in his Son for us. Similarly, then, “love” means not our love for others, but God’s love for us.9

Jude knows, of course, that believers enjoy these wonderful blessings in Christ. But his prayer is that they may truly appreciate them and benefit from them in their day-to-day lives.

Bridging Contexts

THE GOAL OF the translator is to render an ancient text into a modern language in such a way that the impact on the modern reader is the same as it would have been on the ancient reader—a goal that can never be attained. Why? Because the original text is part of a whole world that the ancient readers were a part of but which the modern readers are not. This is why even the best translations are ultimately inadequate and must be supplemented by commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and so on, all designed to fill in the ancient background so that the modern reader can “experience” the full meaning of the original. But even with all these resources, we will never really be “in” the ancient culture the way the original readers were, though we must try to convey something of what the language meant for them.

Consider in this regard the simple phrase “servant of Jesus Christ.” The meaning is pretty clear and does not seem to need much explanation. Perhaps it is useful to note that (as we have done) the Greek word carries connotations of “slavery.” But persons from that culture who knew the Old Testament (as Jude’s readers apparently did) would have detected an important overtone in this phrase that we can easily miss. For, as noted, “servant of the LORD”/“servant of God” is a standard Old Testament phrase. When Jude puts “Jesus Christ” in place of “the Lord” or “God,” then, he is communicating something of immense importance about Jesus—that he has a relationship to Jude similar to the relationship of the Lord to Moses and David.

This was an amazing step for a Jew like Jude, steeped in his people’s strict monotheism. But his associating Jesus with God is all the more impressive when we remember that Jude had grown up in the same household as Jesus. Surely an event as spectacular as the Resurrection was necessary to have led Jude to view his own brother as one who was in some sense equal to God.

We must, of course, not press the implications of Jude’s “servant of Jesus Christ” too far. We must not imagine that he had worked out all the theological implications inherent in speaking of Jesus in these terms. Jude was not at the point of formulating the doctrine of the Trinity! But when later Christians hammered out the concept of the Trinity, they built their theology on the almost casual kinds of indications that we find in this verse. Early Christians had an experience of Jesus that led them to begin applying to him language they had in the past reserved for God. Only gradually did they work out the theological implications of this transfer of language. But the point, again, is that we need somehow to “hear” these theological overtones in the language Jude uses if we are fully to appreciate the significance of what he says.

Contemporary Significance

THE PROSAIC DETAILS of the opening of a letter would not seem to be fertile ground for contemporary significance. But, as we have seen, Jude provides more than just bare details of identification. His descriptions of himself and of his readers have import for Christians today.

Once we recognize the theological overtones in the phrase “servant of Jesus Christ,” we can find in the phrase a reminder of the exalted nature of Jesus. His exalted status is something that, after centuries of orthodox teaching, most of us take for granted. But many do not, and many who do give him a unique status fail to give him “equal billing” with God the Father (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses; Mormons).

True, we cannot use Jude’s description of Christ as a proof text for his deity. But the phrase clearly moves in that direction. It is, in fact, in just this transfer of language about God in the Old Testament to Jesus that we find some of the best New Testament evidence for Jesus’ deity. Specific texts in which Jesus is called “God,” such as John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13, and so on, are important. But even more impressive is the abundant New Testament evidence that the early Christians, most from rigidly monotheistic backgrounds, came to act toward Jesus and to speak of him as if he were God. They worshiped him (e.g., Matt. 14:33; 28:9, 17; cf. Heb. 1:6); they applied Old Testament verses about Yahweh to him (e.g., Rom. 10:13); they prayed to him (e.g., Acts 7:59). Though much less direct than a proof text and harder to use in arguing with Jehovah’s Witnesses on our doorstep, these indications of how the early Christians viewed Jesus are some of the most valuable arguments for his full deity.

In Jude’s description of his readers, I want particularly to focus on the significance of their being “kept for [or by; see comments above] Jesus Christ.” What Jude says is true of Christians is precisely what Jesus himself prayed for: “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect [or keep; tereson] them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11). We naturally pay great attention to the grace of God in conversion, and we joyfully anticipate the day when God’s grace will be manifested again in the return of Christ. But it is easy for Christians to forget about God’s grace of preservation, as he is daily and powerfully at work in and among us.

We read about this work of God on our behalf in many places in the New Testament. Peter assures Christians who are being persecuted that they “through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last day” (1 Peter 1:5). And writing to Christians who were disturbed by false teachers and apprehensive about their relationship with God, John says, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God [= Jesus10] keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”

Christians have many reasons to be anxious. But one thing we do not need to worry about: God’s faithfulness in maintaining us in our faith. This is not to say, of course, that we have no part or responsibility in the matter. Jude makes clear that we do (v. 21; see comments there). And note what Peter says in the verse just quoted, that it is “through faith” that we “are shielded by God’s power.” But we begin, as we always should in the Christian life, with God and his grace. He protects both from human onslaught (persecution) and from spiritual onslaught (Satan). Nothing on earth and nothing in heaven, these verses teach, can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

Such reminders are important because it is easy, in the midst of depression, temptation, or crisis, for the Christian to forget about God’s preserving grace. Yet it is this amazing grace, as we sing in the famous hymn, that “hath brought me safe thus far, and … will lead me home.”