Jude, also known as Judas, or Judah is who writes this short epistle that gives us a brief but pointed exposition on how we must contend for the faith. Jude communicates with his fellow believers the need to be “on our toes” watching for and dealing with the false teachers that infiltrate our churches. The first verse identifies for us who he his, “a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James”, not to be confused with the person of Judas Iscariot
Have you ever identified yourself as a servant of Christ? The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines a servant as a “Person totally responsible to and dependent upon another person.” How much of our lives are totally dependent on Christ? Are we fully submitting to the responsibility we have in doing the will of Christ? These are some big questions that ultimately define who we are.
It wasn’t until after the resurrection that Jude and his brother James became servants of Christ. For me it seems so easy to think that someone so closely connected to Jesus would not have been a believer. Although we don’t get a lot of background information on Jude we begin to understand his story just a little bit.
It is amazing to me how in a couple of verses of scripture we can discover a testimony of hope for the lost, even those who may be in our own families. Was it the ministry and life of his older brother James that became a seed for the life that Jude was to have in Christ? Was it Mary and Joseph’s persistence as parents that spurred on the spiritual growth in His life?
Whatever happened in the life of Jude his identity in Christ is what led him to write this epistle. It was through the death and resurrection of his (half) brother that had him traveling from place to place sharing the gospel. We need to be in the same place as Jude, as servants of Christ our identity needs to be in Him, our strength needs to come through Him.
Steve.
steveworkingthroughtheword.com 