The Epistle of Jude
Background

Author

Bibilical scholars identify that Jude, the half brother of Jesus as the one who penned this letter.  Jude identified himself as the brother of James (Jude1:1), who was also a half brother to Jesus.  Both men had Joseph as their father, but Mary, the mother of Jesus, was mother to all three men.  Jesus' father was not Joseph, however, because He was begotten of God, Who came to earth as a human through the virgin birth of their mother Mary. 

Both Jude and James did not place their faith in Jesus as the Christ while He lived upon the earth.  They simply saw Him as their brother.  They grew up together in the same household, were brothers in the typical sense, and simply saw Jesus as their brother.  Even during Jesus three-year ministry upon the earth before He died, his brothers did not believe He was the Son of God.  Only after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection did the scales fall from their eyes and both men became a follower of their half brother the rest of their life, recognizing Him to be the resurrected Son of God. 

• Both brothers were with Jesus during His 40 days before His ascension.  They were in the upper room at Pentecost and became strong advocates for Christ for the balance of their lives.   Our author Jude never claimed to be an apostle of Jesus because he did not follow him during His ministry, but simply as His servant.  

Date and place of Writing

There has been much debate as to the timeframe of Jude's writing because so much of his writing resembles that of 2nd Peter.  Peter preached to the Jews and he was crucified upside down under the Emperor Nero in 68 A.D.  The question then was Jude the source or was Peter?  If Jude was the source, and he referred to Peter in his writings, that would make the date of this writing sometime before 68 A.D.  If, on the other hand, Peter was the source, then Jude's writings would be after Peter's death in 68 A.D. and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.  Most biblical scholars give a very broad timeframe for this writing - from 65 A.D. to 80 A.D.

It is unclear where the letter of Jude was written from.  If it was written before 70 A.D. - before the fall of Jerusalem, it could have been written from Jerusalem because Jude refers to the apostate Nicolas in his letter who was a leader within the church in Jerusalem.  If it was written after 70 A.D., the whereabouts of the writing origin is unknown because Jude probably left Jerusalem after the fall of the city and became a missionary for Christ.

Audience

The Book of Jude is referred to as the General Epistles of Jude.  Adding "general" to the title emphasizes that Jude's audience was a general audience of both Jew and Gentile believers in Christ.  An additional thought may be that if Peter preached to the Jews, and if his writings in I Peter, chapter 2 were the source, Jude could have copied from Peter's writings so that the Gentile Christian audience could also benefits from Peter's teachings of what happens when someone disobeys God.

Purpose of Writing

Like so many of the apostle's writings, stressing obedience to the Word of God in a day when false doctrine and teachers was running rampant in the Church, Jude's writing was no different.  He saw apostasy everywhere he traveled.  He was constantly warning those in the Church to keep the faith, stay away from false doctrine, and like Peter, he stressed some of the severe consequences when someone disobeys God. It becomes apparent upon reading Jude's writings - he is not only referring to his present day, but is prophesying apostasy regarding the end of the end times.

We will continue in chapter 1.

Pastor Joyce Erickson
Believersbibleschool.com