Jude, a Letter to the Church, Page 1
As we get started today, I want to give you a little background. First of all, I’ve preached in different ways for different times. My first experience preaching was simply to pick a scripture and go with it. Do all the research, write a sermon, each one standing alone. Then I preached from the Revised Common Lectionary. The Lectionary is a three-year plan of scriptures, four per week, and the idea is that if you use all four scriptures, you’ll get parts of the whole Bible in three years (or, if you only use one scripture, you’ll hit it in 12 years). As an associate pastor, I was once handed a sermon to preach on a particular Sunday (which I found out later had been plagiarized to begin with). More recently, I have been doing a “series” style of preaching, where we follow a certain topic (we’ve done such series as the Lord’s Prayer, Emotional Health, the armor of God, signs and wonders from the book of John, the Fruit of the Spirit). But I realized that there’s one thing I haven’t done. I haven’t simply taken a book of the Bible and preached through it.
So let’s get started in Jude!
Jude: A Letter to the Church, Page 1
I was a senior in high school, ready to graduate, and I got a strange letter. There was no return address, but for some strange reason, I recognized the handwriting – I just couldn’t place it. When I opened it, I found a single page, written in red ink in that same familiar handwriting. I quickly looked down to see who had written it, and for a moment I was surprised – I had written it! As an eighth grader, I participated in a class assignment to write a letter to myself. Our teacher sent those sealed letters out shortly before we graduated.
Now, if I can figure out how to write a letter back to the eighth grade version of myself and ask me to take that assignment a little more seriously…
But whenever I get a letter, the first thing I do is look on the envelope. Why? Because I want to know who it’s from. I recycle the paper at the post office, and it’s amazing how many “letters” are never even opened; we can tell when it’s an insurance ad or credit card application (as an aside, you know the economy is bad when you get credit card applications – pre-declined).
So we look at the book of the Bible which we entitle simply “Jude” and find the first question: who is it from?
The Judas we read a letter from doesn’t identify himself as Jesus’ physical brother. Why? Because all of this time as his brother, he didn’t believe. It was only after his resurrection that Jude believed.
This should come as a reminder that membership in Jesus’ family is not limited to bloodlines. Jude knew that his physical family relationship with Jesus didn’t mean anything. It didn’t all of a sudden make him someone special. In our celebrity culture, I often see someone whose claim to fame is that they are related to someone famous. I hear the same attitude expressed in church, whose grandfather built the building, whose great-grandfather was a Methodist pastor, etc. As far as all that goes, that and Jesus’ death on the cross will get you into heaven. Guess which bears more weight? (for those of you reading this, I’m being sarcastic – our family background most certainly does not bring about our salvation).
So what authority does Jude have to write? He pinpoints it in his opening: a slave of Jesus Christ. As I read this earlier, the NIV uses the word “servant” but the Greek word is doulos, which clearly means a “slave.”
But this is uncomfortable on a personal level as well. Jude refers to himself as a slave. A slave of Jesus Christ. With the a Greek or Roman viewpoint of slavery in mind, Jude is making an important statement. We try to present ourselves as powerfully independent and autonomous. We can make whatever decisions we want to whenever we want. We often cover this kind of decision making with Christian masks. We say things like: that’s not my spiritual gift. I can’t do it because it’s not my spiritual gift. In other words, “I’m not good at that” or “that makes me uncomfortable” or “I don’t really care that Jesus commanded that; I’m just not going to do it.”
Too many people say, “I don’t have the gift of…” and use that as an excuse to blatantly disobey Jesus’ commands. He commands us to make disciples. Commands. Not asks. He commands us to give – the Old Testament command is 10% (the first 10%), but the New Testament command is everything.
As Christians, we don’t have the option to pick and choose which of Jesus’ commands we will obey. As humans, we have a choice. Jesus doesn’t force us. But as we saw last week, Jesus makes the distinction: the ones who are in His family are the ones who hear God and obey him. So our choice is: do we accept or not? Where did we get the idea that we somehow can pick and choose which commands we will accept? That we can stand and shake our fists at God and say “this doesn’t match up with my culture, so I won’t obey.”?
The Apostle Paul says it like this: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a). Do you realize what this means? It means you don’t just get to choose whatever you want. God’s people tried that once, and the result was this: In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. (Judges 17:6). This was not a positive thing at all. God’s people were meant to follow God’s commands. We weren’t supposed to be ruled by a king or a dictator or even a president. We were supposed to be ruled by God.
So let me make it abundantly clear: if we are Christians, we don’t get to pick and choose which commands we will follow. Though it’s not popular to call someone “Master” that’s exactly who Jude is saying Jesus is. His Master. Is He your master?
Now that we know who wrote this letter, let’s get on to the audience. Jude wrote this to someone: who was it? He says he wrote it To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.
Right away in the letter, we get into deep theological concepts. The letter is written to “those who have been called.” The word “called” is sometimes translated “invited.” Jesus used the same word in a story he told comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet: (Matthew 22:1-14)
I used to get upset about the guest who showed up without wedding clothes – why should he get thrown out? Because the guest didn’t provide the wedding clothes. The host provided them. So for the guest to not be wearing them would be a slap in the face of his host. Saying, “You invited me, and you provided me with these clothes, but I choose not to wear them.”
That’s exactly the attitude we have when we come to Jesus yet demand to do it on our own terms. And the response is chilling: tied up, thrown out into the darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many are invited, but few are chosen.
How does one get to be chosen? By hearing the word of God and obeying it! And Jude writes to those called. Meaning to the many. To those who have answered the call and even to those who haven’t.
As we ponder what it means to be called – recognize that we are called by someone who would be our Master. When I hear words like “Master” I immediately cringe, because it’s scary to lose my freedom to do whatever the heck I want. We don’t like to admit that we are slaves to anything or anyone, but to be perfectly honest, we humans all to often sell ourselves into slavery.
It’s easy to recognize the chains that bind alcoholics and other addicts, but how many of us are enslaved by other things? How about your stuff? You think you’re not enslaved by it? Then give it away. How about your money? If it’s not your boss, then give it away. This was the deal with the rich young man who came to Jesus wanting to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. Jesus wasn’t prescribing this for everyone; he was prescribing it directly to this certain rich young man. His money was his master, and Jesus knew that there was only one way to break the chains: to give it away. All of it.
What (or who) is your master? Is it your money? Your reputation? Your athletic accomplishments? Your TV schedule? Your job? Even your friends and family? Here’s the problem: none of these are good masters. And the question remains: Who or what is going to control me?
But Jude addresses his letter to those who are loved by God the Father. I want to pause for a moment because this is one of those things that can easily get rushed by. “God loves me. Yeah, yeah, we know that – let’s get to the other stuff.” But here’s the heart of the matter. God does love you. That’s the whole message of the Bible. God loves you. You are immensely valued by God. God knows you inside and out and still loves you.
Remember that God loves you. I threw out the verse earlier: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:16b-20a). It’s a scary thought that we are not our own. It’s a scary thought at what the price might be for a human being. So, how much are you worth? God thought you were worth the ultimate price: God loved you so much that he gave his only Son. (John 3:16) That’s the price he paid for you. Jesus traded his life for yours. That’s love.
Not only are we loved by God the Father, but we are kept by Jesus Christ. Jesus protects and preserves us! This is something our society is looking for; we want preserved. If you don’t believe it, just watch TV and see how many products promise youth. Some of them promise you’ll look younger, have young-looking skin, a full head of natural-looking hair, all with whatever shade you want. Others show young people having fun with the implicit promise that this is what will happen to you if you use their product.
All of these promises are empty, because none of that will keep you from dying. Some of us will get old and die; others will die young. And there’s nothing on this earth that can change this.
While I’m on the gloomy part of the message, hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear a doom and gloom prophecy, whether it’s a Christian one or a secular one. I’ll admit that when I hear disaster reports from around the world about earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, mudslides, and so on, I wonder: is it just that the world has gotten smaller with all of the available news, or are these some of the signs of the end?
There have always been people who separate themselves. It’s great to separate yourself for a while – even Jesus went apart for 40 days. I went to seminary in a small town: Wilmore, Kentucky. We called Wilmore “the bubble” – where we could imagine that everyone was Christian (in reality, 40% of the county was unchurched). It’s nice to be in a place where people enjoy sitting down over a cup of coffee to debate theodicy, where everyone is supportive and loving, where everyone is growing in faith and good works.
But we all knew that some time, we would have to leave the bubble and go out into the real world. Even Jesus came back from the wilderness. But there are people who decide that the Christian duty is to pull away and live in bunkered compounds. They do this so they won’t be polluted by the world while they wait for the end. Reading Biblical Apocalyptical literature can be scary, and it’s a shame that Jude isn’t read more.
Paul puts it this way: Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to he slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39).
So no matter what the world has to throw at you, even when Satan does his best, none of that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So when you are tempted to worry about the state of the country or the state of the world and are tempted to bunker in and hide from the world, Jesus has you covered. He’s got your back. And your front, and your sides. He keeps you and preserves you.
Next week we will continue in Jude’s letter, starting with verse 2.
One thing I do as I put my sermons on the internet is categorize what scriptures I’ve referenced. And I figured out that although I’ve given the benediction from this book, not only had I never preached from Jude, but I haven’t referenced the book whatsoever. So I’m setting out to remedy that!
The book of Jude is one of what is known as the “General Epistles” – or general letters to the church. It was written by Jude, the brother of Jesus, and he write about false teachers who have entered the church. His purpose is to condemn the false teachers as well as to encourage the believers to fight for their faith.
So let’s get started in Jude!
Jude: A Letter to the Church, Page 1
I was a senior in high school, ready to graduate, and I got a strange letter. There was no return address, but for some strange reason, I recognized the handwriting – I just couldn’t place it. When I opened it, I found a single page, written in red ink in that same familiar handwriting. I quickly looked down to see who had written it, and for a moment I was surprised – I had written it! As an eighth grader, I participated in a class assignment to write a letter to myself. Our teacher sent those sealed letters out shortly before we graduated.
Now, if I can figure out how to write a letter back to the eighth grade version of myself and ask me to take that assignment a little more seriously…
But whenever I get a letter, the first thing I do is look on the envelope. Why? Because I want to know who it’s from. I recycle the paper at the post office, and it’s amazing how many “letters” are never even opened; we can tell when it’s an insurance ad or credit card application (as an aside, you know the economy is bad when you get credit card applications – pre-declined).
So we look at the book of the Bible which we entitle simply “Jude” and find the first question: who is it from?
Thankfully, because of the way letters were written back then, we find that out first. It was written by Ioudas, a common name in the Bible – referring to Judah, the son of Jacob (brother of Joseph) or to the territory in Israel also called Judah. In the New Testament, there were a couple of Judases – the most famous being Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus. This isn’t our author; the author of this letter was Judas, the brother of Jesus. There are some striking points of contrast between these two Judases. One was a physical brother of Jesus, but we read in John 7:5, (For) even his own brothers did not believe in him. The other was unrelated to Jesus but certainly believed in him and was even picked to lead ministry with him as part of his inner circle, even to be known as his brother. But the brother who didn’t believe later came to believe and ended up leading the church. The brother who did believe betrayed Jesus and killed himself.
The Judas we read a letter from doesn’t identify himself as Jesus’ physical brother. Why? Because all of this time as his brother, he didn’t believe. It was only after his resurrection that Jude believed.
This should come as a reminder that membership in Jesus’ family is not limited to bloodlines. Jude knew that his physical family relationship with Jesus didn’t mean anything. It didn’t all of a sudden make him someone special. In our celebrity culture, I often see someone whose claim to fame is that they are related to someone famous. I hear the same attitude expressed in church, whose grandfather built the building, whose great-grandfather was a Methodist pastor, etc. As far as all that goes, that and Jesus’ death on the cross will get you into heaven. Guess which bears more weight? (for those of you reading this, I’m being sarcastic – our family background most certainly does not bring about our salvation).
So what authority does Jude have to write? He pinpoints it in his opening: a slave of Jesus Christ. As I read this earlier, the NIV uses the word “servant” but the Greek word is doulos, which clearly means a “slave.”
This is absolutely important. It’s not popular to talk about biblical references to slavery. I hear arguments that the Bible condones slavery. Because people in Bible times had slaves and because they don’t see Paul speaking out against slavery, they conclude that the Bible is pro-slavery. That couldn’t be further from the truth. For Greeks and Romans alike, a slave was not a person but a piece of property. Aristotle could define a slave as “a living tool, as a tool is an inanimate slave.” But within the believing community slaves as much as free persons were brothers and sisters “for whom Christ died.” (F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, NICNT). In other words, Paul demonstrates that a slave not only a person, but one who can even be a leader in the church, where there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Sythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:11)
But this is uncomfortable on a personal level as well. Jude refers to himself as a slave. A slave of Jesus Christ. With the a Greek or Roman viewpoint of slavery in mind, Jude is making an important statement. We try to present ourselves as powerfully independent and autonomous. We can make whatever decisions we want to whenever we want. We often cover this kind of decision making with Christian masks. We say things like: that’s not my spiritual gift. I can’t do it because it’s not my spiritual gift. In other words, “I’m not good at that” or “that makes me uncomfortable” or “I don’t really care that Jesus commanded that; I’m just not going to do it.”
Too many people say, “I don’t have the gift of…” and use that as an excuse to blatantly disobey Jesus’ commands. He commands us to make disciples. Commands. Not asks. He commands us to give – the Old Testament command is 10% (the first 10%), but the New Testament command is everything.
As Christians, we don’t have the option to pick and choose which of Jesus’ commands we will obey. As humans, we have a choice. Jesus doesn’t force us. But as we saw last week, Jesus makes the distinction: the ones who are in His family are the ones who hear God and obey him. So our choice is: do we accept or not? Where did we get the idea that we somehow can pick and choose which commands we will accept? That we can stand and shake our fists at God and say “this doesn’t match up with my culture, so I won’t obey.”?
The Apostle Paul says it like this: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a). Do you realize what this means? It means you don’t just get to choose whatever you want. God’s people tried that once, and the result was this: In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. (Judges 17:6). This was not a positive thing at all. God’s people were meant to follow God’s commands. We weren’t supposed to be ruled by a king or a dictator or even a president. We were supposed to be ruled by God.
So let me make it abundantly clear: if we are Christians, we don’t get to pick and choose which commands we will follow. Though it’s not popular to call someone “Master” that’s exactly who Jude is saying Jesus is. His Master. Is He your master?
Now that we know who wrote this letter, let’s get on to the audience. Jude wrote this to someone: who was it? He says he wrote it To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.
Right away in the letter, we get into deep theological concepts. The letter is written to “those who have been called.” The word “called” is sometimes translated “invited.” Jesus used the same word in a story he told comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet: (Matthew 22:1-14)
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
I used to get upset about the guest who showed up without wedding clothes – why should he get thrown out? Because the guest didn’t provide the wedding clothes. The host provided them. So for the guest to not be wearing them would be a slap in the face of his host. Saying, “You invited me, and you provided me with these clothes, but I choose not to wear them.”
That’s exactly the attitude we have when we come to Jesus yet demand to do it on our own terms. And the response is chilling: tied up, thrown out into the darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many are invited, but few are chosen.
How does one get to be chosen? By hearing the word of God and obeying it! And Jude writes to those called. Meaning to the many. To those who have answered the call and even to those who haven’t.
As we ponder what it means to be called – recognize that we are called by someone who would be our Master. When I hear words like “Master” I immediately cringe, because it’s scary to lose my freedom to do whatever the heck I want. We don’t like to admit that we are slaves to anything or anyone, but to be perfectly honest, we humans all to often sell ourselves into slavery.
It’s easy to recognize the chains that bind alcoholics and other addicts, but how many of us are enslaved by other things? How about your stuff? You think you’re not enslaved by it? Then give it away. How about your money? If it’s not your boss, then give it away. This was the deal with the rich young man who came to Jesus wanting to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. Jesus wasn’t prescribing this for everyone; he was prescribing it directly to this certain rich young man. His money was his master, and Jesus knew that there was only one way to break the chains: to give it away. All of it.
What (or who) is your master? Is it your money? Your reputation? Your athletic accomplishments? Your TV schedule? Your job? Even your friends and family? Here’s the problem: none of these are good masters. And the question remains: Who or what is going to control me?
But Jude addresses his letter to those who are loved by God the Father. I want to pause for a moment because this is one of those things that can easily get rushed by. “God loves me. Yeah, yeah, we know that – let’s get to the other stuff.” But here’s the heart of the matter. God does love you. That’s the whole message of the Bible. God loves you. You are immensely valued by God. God knows you inside and out and still loves you.
Remember that God loves you. I threw out the verse earlier: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:16b-20a). It’s a scary thought that we are not our own. It’s a scary thought at what the price might be for a human being. So, how much are you worth? God thought you were worth the ultimate price: God loved you so much that he gave his only Son. (John 3:16) That’s the price he paid for you. Jesus traded his life for yours. That’s love.
Not only are we loved by God the Father, but we are kept by Jesus Christ. Jesus protects and preserves us! This is something our society is looking for; we want preserved. If you don’t believe it, just watch TV and see how many products promise youth. Some of them promise you’ll look younger, have young-looking skin, a full head of natural-looking hair, all with whatever shade you want. Others show young people having fun with the implicit promise that this is what will happen to you if you use their product.
All of these promises are empty, because none of that will keep you from dying. Some of us will get old and die; others will die young. And there’s nothing on this earth that can change this.
While I’m on the gloomy part of the message, hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear a doom and gloom prophecy, whether it’s a Christian one or a secular one. I’ll admit that when I hear disaster reports from around the world about earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, mudslides, and so on, I wonder: is it just that the world has gotten smaller with all of the available news, or are these some of the signs of the end?
There have always been people who separate themselves. It’s great to separate yourself for a while – even Jesus went apart for 40 days. I went to seminary in a small town: Wilmore, Kentucky. We called Wilmore “the bubble” – where we could imagine that everyone was Christian (in reality, 40% of the county was unchurched). It’s nice to be in a place where people enjoy sitting down over a cup of coffee to debate theodicy, where everyone is supportive and loving, where everyone is growing in faith and good works.
But we all knew that some time, we would have to leave the bubble and go out into the real world. Even Jesus came back from the wilderness. But there are people who decide that the Christian duty is to pull away and live in bunkered compounds. They do this so they won’t be polluted by the world while they wait for the end. Reading Biblical Apocalyptical literature can be scary, and it’s a shame that Jude isn’t read more.
Because Jude makes it clear that we are kept in Jesus Christ.
Paul puts it this way: Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to he slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39).
So no matter what the world has to throw at you, even when Satan does his best, none of that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So when you are tempted to worry about the state of the country or the state of the world and are tempted to bunker in and hide from the world, Jesus has you covered. He’s got your back. And your front, and your sides. He keeps you and preserves you.
Not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Our greatest foe, death itself, is nothing when it comes to Jesus, because He showed us through His death and subsequent resurrection that death isn’t even something to be feared. Because when we die, we will receive the promises made to us. We are God’s beloved. And if have accepted God’s invitation, Jesus Himself will keep us and give us the gift of eternal life.
Next week we will continue in Jude’s letter, starting with verse 2.
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