Jude:1-25.  In the “Intro to Jude” we dealt with who write the book and who it was written to (v. 1).  You may want to read that too.  In verse 2 we see that Jude wants his readers lives to be filled with a lot of mercy, peace, and love.  In verses 3-4 we see that the letter is about some people who have come into the meetings of the believers (come into their church meetings which were probably small gatherings in a house at that time) and were telling the people they could live however they wanted to.  Also they were denying Jesus’ authority.

In  Galatians 5:22-23 we are told that the “fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.  In John 14:26 we learn that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God the Father (See “Three or One?”) to help us remember the things Jesus taught.  It is also important to notice in that verse that the Holy Spirit is sent in “Jesus’ name”, the idea there is that Jesus has authority and the Holy Spirit represents him and his authority.   So we see that Jesus is trying to help us have “self-control” through the help of the Holy Spirit.  Here in Jude, Jude tells us that these guys are telling us that since we are forgiven (“the grace of God”) we can do whatever we want to do (“licentiousness”, license is another way of saying permission and these guys were saying we have permission to do whatever we want to).  That is a direct challenge to the work of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus.

Verse 5 starts a section of the letter where Jude reminds us of the consequences of disobeying God.  God had chosen a certain family to live for him help the world understand who the one true God is, the Israelites.  They grew to be a large nation while living as slaves in Egypt.  In 1441 BC God used a man, Moses, to bring the people out of Egypt and intended that they live in land promised to their ancestor Abraham.  Just as they were going to enter the promised land they balked and a whole generation was banished to wander in the desert south and east of the promised land.  These all dies in the desert and their children eventually settled in the promised land.  In Genesis 6:1-4 there is a story of “sons of God” having children with the “daughters of men”.  There is some dispute over who the “sons of God” are but term “sons of God” is used in Job 1:6; 2:1 for angels and it appears it is only used that way in the Old Testament.  In that case we have angels in some way having children with women on earth.  The consistent Jewish understanding of that part of Genesis agrees with that idea.  In Genesis 6:4 Nephlim may parallel the mighty men of old, in other words they were the same thing.  Nephlim were giants and in this case were probably some sort of hybrid angel/human.  Angels were imprisoned for these actions (Jude 6).  In verse 7 we see two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, that were destroyed.  Verse 7 starts out with “Just as” comparing the angels with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their sexual sins including rape and homosexuality (Genesis 18:16-19:24).  In comparing the angels to these two cities we see support for the traditions about Genesis 6:1-4.

In verse 8 Jude returns to the intruders and says they “pollute their bodies”.  In the context of the examples this is probably a reference to sexual sins.  These men were living loose lives.  They had rejected God’s authority in their lives and were breaking his commandments.  The slandering of angels probably comes from them breaking the same kind of rules the angels broke.  In other words they are not honoring the angel who honored God but were mocking their obedience.  In verse 9 Jude uses an example from a Jewish tradition called “The Assumption of Moses” that is not part of the Bible.  In that story Michael, one of the head angels according to the Bible, evidently disputes with the Devil over the body of Moses (which according to Deuteronomy 34 God buried in a valley in the land of Moab).  Many scholars believe that the angels had three main leaders, head angels called archangels.  The three were Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer (the devil).  If that were true then we might see Michael and Lucifer as equals.  Of course Lucifer was demoted (kicked out of heaven for rebellion) but Michael and Gabriel retained their rank.  So, in theory, Michael could have ordered Satan (Lucifer, the devil) in that story, not that it would have done any good.  Instead Michael is seen respecting the power structure God had established by appealing to God to deal with the Devil.  The point is respect for authority, especially God’s.  In verse 11 they are compared to three men whose stories are in the Bible and all represent disobedience to God.  In verse 10 Jude describes the invaders as unreasoning, they are like animals following their desires or instincts.

It is interesting that later Gnosticism (See the “Intro to Jude”) believed that the physical world was entirely evil down to each atom, therefore they though it didn’t matter what you did with your bodies.  This attitude led to just the kind of actions Jude is describing here.  As we said in the introduction does not mean that these men were Gnostics they had just decided “if it feels good do it”.  In fact the Gnostics came to a point of justifying their actions, these men either were not thinking about it or were being actively rebellious.  In the end it doesn’t really matter they were in danger of destruction for their attitudes and actions (Woe means “Look out!”).

Verses 12-16 are both a warning to the people in the church who were trying to honor God and to those who were being rebellious.  The intrudes are called “reefs” dangerous shallow structures in the ocean on which ships are caught and destroyed.  By calling them this Jude is warning the faithful in the church.  In the rest of these verses Jude describes them as selfish and useless.  Then he warns that God was going to come and punish them.  Interestingly the quote of Enoch comes from another writing that is not considered part of the Bible.  Some people argue that truth only comes from God but here we see that there is truth outside of the Bible.  But be careful other sources may contain truth but the bible is truth.  We always want to compare what we hear with the Bible.  And remember that the Devil used the Bible when he tempted Jesus so we need to be sure to use it accurately.  In verse 16 we see a further description of the intruders, they complain all the time, are posers (saying things people want to hear), they have no humility (are always right), and do whatever they feel like doing.

Verse 17-23 are advise to the true believers in the church.  They need to remember that the original founders of the churches, the Apostles (“sent ones”) had warned them theses kind of people would come.  The advise is to stay faithful to God, remember what they have believed in.  that would include the sinfulness of mankind (sin is disobedience and rebellion), the need for someone to pay the un-payable price for our sins and help us overcome them, and that Jeus and the Holy Spirit are those solutions.  We need to live lives influenced by and filled with the love of God as we wait for the mercy of God which comes because of who Jesus is and what he has done.  Verse 22 is a contrast to verse 15.  In verse 15 the intruders who have rejected God’s authority, God’s truth, and God’s plan are headed for judgment (at a future time) but those who have submitted to God’s authority, truth, and plan are headed for an eternity with God (“Eternal life”).

In verse 22-23 we are encouraged to not only save ourselves by showing respect for God (“keep[ing] yourselves in the love of God”) but we are encouraged to share Gods’ love with others helping them find God’s forgiveness (mercy).  Perhaps verse 23 is the verse behind the idea “hate the sin but love the sinner”.  It is interesting that some of the sins in these intruders lives may have involved homosexuality (one of the major sins in Sodom and Gomorrah) so the idea of “hate the sin but love the sinner” is particularly appropriate for Christians to hear today because we tend to hate the sin and sinner both when it comes to homosexuality.  It is very clear that we cannot pretend that sins like homosexuality, adultery, fornication (sex between people who are not married nor married to others) is OK.  But we cannot hate the sinners either, we need to have mercy on them with respect both to God and them.

The closing of the letter contains very important ideas.  God can help us and it is he who will remove all our spiritual dirt, he alone can make us without blame.  God is our savior through Jesus and for that we need to honor him, praise him and respect his authority.  God deserves respect in all time past, present, and future.

God Help me show you respect.  Thank you for saving me.  Thank you for paying the price of my guilt.  I have been rebellious and probably will fall down in the future.  Help me walk, help me be obedient and respectful.  Thank you for your mercy help me help others find it.  Help me stand up to sin and love the sinner.