Like a good detective, let's examine this book.

🔥 Overview

Jude is the half-brother of Jesus. He, like James, did not follow Jesus until after His resurrection. Of course. Can you imagine what you would do if you watched your brother die and then He comes back to life and tells you He's God? Yes sir! Lol

Jude is defending the Gospel against false teachers and showing us how to follow the same. In every culture, many have opposed Christianity. Jesus said the exact reason for this. People will always oppose Jesus because He came to tell us that our deeds were evil. We are broken and helpless. We need a Savior. That's what Jesus came to do. However, we cannot receive salvation if we do not think we need it.

Jude shows us how to defend our faith and balance truth and grace.

🙏 Jesus in this Book

(Every book reveals the glory of God, revealed in Christ Jesus)

Protects us from Stumbling

🔍 Things to Notice

Jude uses extra-Biblical sources such as the book of Enoch. We know that the early church read several books that were not considered inspired and authoritative.

👀 Themes

Exposing false teachers
Stand firm in the faith
Our ultimate hope

😀 Who?

Who wrote it: Jude, the half-brother of Jesus
Martyred: legend says Jude was beaten to death and beheaded, or hacked to death. This is often depicted with an axe or club.

Who is the original audience: The church

🪧 Where?

Where are we: We are unsure.

⏳ When?

When was it written: We are not sure. This letter has been notoriously difficult to date. We can safely estimate its writing between 67 and 80 A.D.

🤔 What?

What is the big idea: Jude has two purposes for writing his letter. He wants to expose the false teaching of false teachers who have crept their way into the church and to encourage believers to stand firm in their faith. Jude encourages Christians to stand up to these false teachers and to proclaim the truth.

🧐 Why?

Why is this book important: Jude challenges to church to know what they believe and then stand against those who teach error. This is often in stark contrast to what is taught in modern church contexts. People are quick to expose excesses in the church and that is a good thing. However, when is the last time you heard someone expose false doctrine, give a reasoned defense for why it is wrong, and then proclaim the truth with force and grace? It does not happen very often. People do not want to be seen as unloving, bigoted, or close-minded. Jude is saying that when we proclaim God's Word correctly, we should be seen as the exact opposite of those things. It is because we love that we proclaim God's Word. Know what you believe. Be encouraged. Share it with others.

📝 How?

How can I apply it?: Imagine you saw a blind person walking down the street. As you watched, you notice they are about to step into a deep hole. The hole is very deep. They could be injured or even die. Would you yell out and tell them they are going the wrong way or would you be more concerned with hurting their feelings and remain silent? Of course, you would risk their feelings to save their life. Hopefully, you don't add extra words like "you idiot." You can say what you mean without being mean. But, you still warn people so they do not fall. This is what Jude is saying. Know the way. Show the way. Warn about going the wrong way. What next step do you need to take?

From Insight for Living (Isn't it Awesome!)

Quick Thoughts on Each Chapter

Chapter 1
This is a letter written by the half brother of Jesus. In this letter, you can see Jude (Hebrew name- Judah) was eager to defend the faith from heretics. As you can tell, God uses this letter to lay the groundwork for all of us to stand strong in our faith and not back down from what we believe and know to be true.