¹Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James …

The book of Jude is sometimes called “the book of the apostates,” whom the author says:

. . . have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)

That is quite the indictment, and Jude spends his letter warning the Christians about this threat. Because of this, the letter seems a bit depressing, for who wants to spend time devotionally reading such negative material? However, we learn much from passages like this. God loves us so much that He warns us about people and teaching that will undermine His truth, which sets us free and fosters peace among the community of believers. Jude is no pushover—he is not afraid to confront arrogant, false teachers—and we can thank God for giving us this example to follow!

But who was Jude? That was a common name in first century Judaism, appearing in various forms like Judas or Judah. By himself, he may not have been well known, so he namedrops his brother James, who was apparently well known to his readers. We can, of course, rule out the infamous Judas (virtually the same name) who committed suicide. He apparently was not the apostle “Jude son of James” mentioned in Luke 6:16, for the author of this letter implies he was not one of the twelve (Jude 17).

Most likely, Jude was a half-brother of Jesus (see Matt. 13:55 for the names of Jesus’ younger half-brothers by the same mother). Like his other half-brother, James, who wrote the eponymous NT letter of the same name, Jude likely refrains in his letter from exploiting the natural relationship he had with the Savior. However, his brother James was prominent in the Christian movement beginning in Jerusalem (see his prominence in the council deliberations of Acts 15 and his multiple prominent mentions in the book of Galatians). Jude, being lesser known than his brother, felt it advantageous to mention the connection.

More significantly, Jude self-identifies first and foremost as “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ.” Paul also calls himself a bond-servant of Jesus Christ five times. The epithet is also used of Timothy, Epaphras, Tychicus, James, and now Jude. They all took a denigrating term and turned it into a description of loyalty, gladly giving up their personal rights for a higher calling to the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself “took on the form of a bond-servant” (Phil. 2:7).

Lord, help me take my place as a fellow-bondservant of my Lord Jesus Christ.