1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who didn’t believe. 6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. 7Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having in the same way as these given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. 8Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings. 9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” 10But these speak evil of whatever things they don’t know. They are destroyed in these things that they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason. 11Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 14About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts—and their mouth speaks proud things—showing respect of persons to gain advantage.
17But you, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.” 19These are those who cause divisions and are sensual, not having the Spirit.
20But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22On some have compassion, making a distinction, 23and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
24Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy, 25to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
As is typical with Pauline letters, the epistle of Jude is named by its author—Jude, a common practice of first century Greek letters. That Jude identifies himself as “a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (vs. 1) is interesting. First, it is possible that Jude simply calls himself a brother of James, on the one hand, and a “bondservant of Christ” which literally means “slave” on the other. This humble expression of service and loyalty removes any focus on Jude’s identity as a half-brother of Jesus. Thus, Jude’s focus is on Jesus his Lord and not on himself or his sibling relationship with the Savior.
Moreover, to establish further the likelihood that Jude wrote this letter, there are only six persons in the NT named Jude. Scholars have concluded that only two of these individuals may qualify to be the author of the letter. One, spoken of in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13, we read was most likely the brother of the Thaddaeus spoken of in the gospel of Matthew, 10:13. Our second candidate is the brother of James, the half-brother of Jesus named in Matt. 13:55. Finally we have the opinion of Clement of Alexandria who refers to Jude as being the half-brother of Jesus.
As for the dating of this small epistle, a precise or even rough date is difficult. Jude mentions no known historical event within which to date our epistle. Thus, any date ranging from A.D. 65 to 80 is possible. Some speculate that it might have been written prior to A.D. 70 since Jude does not mention the destruction of Jerusalem. The same is true of John’s apocalypse. However, the fact that Jude seems to address a solely Jewish audience, evident from his Jewish history and the Book of Enoch, seems to rule out a sizable group of Gentile’s being a part of this particular church. Therefore if that is the case, then Jude may have been written early.
Jude’s recipients are "those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Christ" (vs. 1). Although these could be Christians anywhere at any time, Jude also referred to his audience as "beloved" three times, evidencing a close relationship with them. He also used Hebrew history and Jewish pseudepigrapha (the Book of Enoch), pointing to a Jewish-Christian audience. Beyond this designation, it is impossible to be more precise regarding Jude's audience.
This small epistle is one of the most powerful letters in the NT in its unqualified manner of calling out heretics. Jude does not hold back. He teaches that their days are few and numbered and a pending doom is coming. The message is one of standing against false teachers and their heresies. He identifies them, their errors, and warns of their impending doom, while encouraging his audience to deeper holiness.
Most interestingly, given divine inspiration, Jude writes that he had planned to write on salvation, but apparently got a report of false teachers infiltrating the congregation and threatening to lead them astray. He wanted to blunt these false teachers and encourage his readers not to fall into their evil ways.
Jude also encourages this body of believers to build themselves up in the most holy faith, always praying in the Holy Spirit, all the while keeping themselves in the love of God and in prayer looking for the mercies that are only available and attainable in the Messiah, who is able to keep them from stumbling forever more.