Jude 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those called, who have been loved by God the Father and have been kept for Jesus Christ;
The final letter in the General Epistles was written by Jude. The letter opens with the typical sender, recipients, and greeting. The opening of this letter is short but contains significant several important theological insights. Only two identifiers of the author are given in the opening verse. Several Judes are mentioned in the New Testament if we consider that another form of the name was “Judas.” According to tradition, the Jude of this letter was a brother of James and half-brother of Jesus and is mentioned in Matthew 13:55. He would have been the biological son of Mary and Joseph. Although Jude may have been related to Jesus through Mary and Joseph, Jude would not call himself the brother of Jesus but only the servant. The word for servant (doulos) can mean a bonded “slave.” Jesus was the Lord and Master of Jude. Everything Jude did was in service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jude uses three descriptions for the recipients. These descriptions are broad and inclusive, suggesting that the letter was meant to be circulated among different churches. As the letter progresses, we learn that it addresses several specific issues that many first-century churches could have faced, although it is also possible that Jude had a specific group in mind. The first description is that they were called (klētois). This verbal adjective comes last in verse 1, but the article that goes with it comes first in the clause, with eight words between the two, thus joining the whole clause together as a unit. The readers had been called by God’s grace. The word “church” shares the same root and can mean to be “called out” of the world. These believers had responded to God’s grace and had experienced new life through Jesus Christ. The implication is that the call was not just to a group but to individuals who responded to the call and became part of the group.
The next two descriptions further detail the call and come between the article and the adjective mentioned above. Second, they were loved by God the Father. The substantival participle have been loved (ēgapēmenois) is in the perfect tense, bringing together the recipients’ past experience of God’s love and the reality of it at the present time. They began to experience God’s love for them when they put their faith in Jesus. God’s love was real and powerful in their lives at the present time. God’s call and their response opened them to receive God’s love.
Third, they were kept for Jesus Christ. The participle used here (tetērēmenois) is also in the perfect tense, indicating the spiritual security that comes when one puts his or her faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. We can know we are saved when we put our trust in the one who saves us. True security is found in trusting in Jesus, not in human ability to keep the law or follow a set of rituals. We have nothing to fear if we keep our focus on Jesus. This statement should give us hope and peace while we await the coming of Jesus and his kingdom.