Jude
Bondservants
Jude tells us he was the brother of James. This would make him a half-brother of Jesus yet he refers to himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ as did James. The brothers of Jesus didn’t always believe Jesus regarding who He said He was, but after the death of Jesus on the cross, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus to Heaven, their lives were transformed. In this world we are taught to climb the ladder of success. In christianity we move down the ladder of success to the position of a bond servant. A bond servant is one who is in complete servanthood, body, soul, and spirit. His will is set aside and the servant is only concerned with the will of the master. We see this worked out in verse 3 where Jude says he had planned to write about their common salvation but his agenda was changed as he became aware of a very different need. Jesus said if we want to be great in the kingdom we must become a servant, God’s servant. Philippians 2:1-11
Just as John warned of deception coming into the Church Jude sees the same problem. He reminds them that those who are caught up in the deception will face the same fate as those God delivered out of Egypt in verse 5. What Jude sees is a pattern of deception, sin and rebellion, followed by judgement. Before he is done, Jude will use the examples of Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam, and Korah as examples to learn from. Cain went through the motions but did not have faith. Balaam was deceived by the promise of wealth. For Korah it was the desire for power that shipwrecked his faith. All these are deceptions that do not deliver on what they promise. But it is not like they are in uncharted territory and we have been warned about them from Enoch on.
Patterns repeat in the Bible. Since patterns do repeat in the Bible we can learn from them. It is only a fool that says, “Well that was then but things are different now.” The person who says this is doomed to repeat the pattern of deception that leads to judgement.
Starting in verse 17 Jude reminds us of the warning conveyed in the Word of God by the Apostles. He reminds us that we have been given the Holy Spirit who is a comforter, counselor, and our connection to God, to guide us as we wait for our blessed hope in Christ Jesus. While we wait we need to not only keep the faith, but encourage others to do the same in verses 22&23.
That is why Jude wrote this letter and what he is doing in verses 20&21.
Let’s keep the pattern of encouragement going.
Pastor Dave