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Today we begin a series in one of the shortest letters in the New Testament ‑ the letter of Jude. It’s direct, it’s intense and it’s very relevant for the days in which we are living.

Let’s start with an overview of this letter.

Jude, the author, identifies himself and the people he is writing to.

He prays a short prayer.

He exposes false teachers and calls the Lord’s people to defend the faith.

He gives examples from the Word of God, showing that God consistently judges rebellion and unbelief.

He reminds us that the apostles, the Lord’s representatives, had warned us that false teachers would come among us.

He lets us know that there are positive things we are to do, like build ourselves up in the faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, remain in the love of God, and reach out to rescue others.

He ends his letter by giving glory to God.

We start with verse 1: Jude, the author of this letter, introduces himself in a very significant way. This letter is from Jude, a slave of Messiah Yeshua and a brother of James.

Jude is not the best way to translate Jude’s name from the Greek. The best way to translate it is Judah. Judah was and is a common Jewish name because Judah was one of twelve sons of Israel. The tribe of Judah was prominent among Israel’s tribes. It’s the tribe from which the Kings of Israel came and the tribe that King Messiah came from.

Judah means praise. Parents would name their son Judah because Judah was the originator of the tribe of Judah and also in the hope that their son would give praise to God, and that he would be someone who is worthy of praise.

Jude lets us know that he is a brother of James, whose real name is Ya’akov ‑ Jacob, which means someone who walks closely with God. James was a well‑known and respected leader in the early community. James was the leader of the Jerusalem congregation ‑ the central and most influential community among the early believers. He is also the author of the book of James. He is one of very few men God used to author one of the books of the Bible.

Both Jude and James were brothers of the Lord Yeshua. They grew up in the same devout Jewish home in Nazareth. They were descendants of King David, princes from the royal dynasty of the Chosen People. That makes Jude and James very special. And yet, even though he could identify himself as the brother of King Messiah and a prince of Israel, Jude does not identify himself in that way. He does not boast about his royal status. Instead, he identifies himself as a slave of Messiah Yeshua. He defines himself by his relationship to, and his submission to Yeshua.

The lesson for us? Our deepest, truest, most important source of identity should be our relationship to Messiah Yeshua, a relationship in which He is our Lord and we are His slave. That should be at the core of who we are and how we understand ourselves. In a world that defines us by what we do, what we own, who we are related to, how others see us, or even defines us by our failures, the Word of God enables us to understand that our truest identity is not found in our job, our wealth, our families, our successes or failures, or our reputation. Our identity is to be found in who we are in relationship to Yeshua the Messiah ‑ not as equals but as those who belong to Him, who are under His authority, and who live to serve Him.

If He is our Lord and we are His slave, then our desires, our plans, our priorities are to be brought under His rule. To be His slave is to embrace obedience, loyalty, commitment to Him above everything else.

Apart from our identity coming from our relationship to Yeshua, identity is fragile, changing with circumstances. But when our identity comes from Him, our identity is true, real, unchanging, eternal.

What else do we know about Jude? That he was very knowledgeable about the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tenach ‑ the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. In this letter, he refers to Adam. Cain. Enoch. Moses. Korah. Balaam. The archangel Michael. He refers to the exodus from Egypt and the destruction of the generation that died in the wilderness. He refers to the account in Genesis 6, where the sons of God ‑ fallen angels, had relations with human women. He refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And that raises an important question for us: How well do we know the Word of God? Do we know it well enough so we can discern truth from error like Jude did? Because if we don’t know the Word of God as well as we should, we may not be able to stand firm when false teaching rises.

After identifying himself, Jude identifies the people he is writing to. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Messiah Yeshua. Notice how Jude identifies those he is writing to. He does not identify them by the city or the nation they are living in. He does not identify them by their racial identity. He does not identify them by their gender, or their economic or social status. He identifies them entirely by what God has done for them and is doing for them now. And the things that Jude wrote to the Lord’s people 2000 years ago apply equally to us today, so in a very real sense, Jude is writing to us as well.

I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father. God the Father calls human beings. Called for what? Invited for what? For salvation. For eternal life. To become the friends and companions of God, to become the sons and daughters and heirs of God. To live forever with God. To enjoy God and be enjoyed by Him. It’s wonderful to be called by God.

I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you. Those who have been called by God are loved by God. Not barely accepted. Not reluctantly tolerated. They are loved ‑ truly loved, deeply loved, profoundly loved, eternally loved. And when we know that we are loved by God like that, it changes us.

Martha and I like watching romantic movies. One of the common themes is that people think that their lives will be fulfilled and they will find lasting happiness if they find the right person to love and the right person to love them. And over and over again they either don’t find the right person or they find the right person but the relationship doesn’t provide fulfillment and lasting happiness. The reason for this disappointment is that we are not designed to be fulfilled by the love of another human being. We are designed to find fulfillment in the love of the One who made us for Himself. It’s nice to love others and be loved by others but the truest fulfillment in love and lasting happiness only comes when we experience the love of God.

I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Messiah Yeshua. Love, care and protection are connected. When you love someone, you do not leave them exposed to danger. You keep them safe. You care for them. In the same way, God the Father loves us and given us into the care of Messiah Yeshua, who faithfully keeps us safe.

This raises some important questions: What do we need to be kept safe from? Why do we need Messiah Yeshua to keep us safe? Can’t we keep ourselves safe?

We need to be kept safe from a very unsafe world. This world is fallen, cursed, and in rebellion against God. Since the fall of man that took place in the garden of Eden, humanity is estranged from God, and the systems of this world are controlled by dark spiritual forces. Satan is the god and ruler of this world and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. He and the fallen angels are constantly working to deceive us in order to keep us far from God and salvation, and tempt us in order to corrupt us and destroy us. We are surrounded by real danger. We have real spiritual enemies who prowl around like roaring lions, seeking to devour us. Our enemies are smarter than us and more powerful than us. They are too much for us to handle on our own, so we can’t rely on ourselves. If we do, we will inevitably be defeated.

We need to be kept safe not only from external dangers but also from internal dangers. The human heart is fallen. As Jeremiah wrote, the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Our own ignorance, pride and self‑deception make us our own worst enemies. We don’t seek God the way we should. We ignore God and the Word of God, minimize and justify sin, and resist correction. We wander. We drift. We make foolish and destructive choices and pursue what is harmful.

This is why we can’t rely on ourselves to protect ourselves. Our nature is fallen, our heart is damaged, our strength is insufficient, our wisdom is limited. If our safety depended on us, we would fail. But the good news is that we have not been left to protect ourselves. God the Father has appointed Messiah Yeshua to be the guardian and protector of His people. He preserves us. He watches over us. He intercedes for us. He strengthens us. He guides us. He corrects us. He keeps us so that we do not fall away.

Yeshua keeps us safe from condemnation through His atoning work. He keeps us safe from the control of sin by giving us a new nature and a new heart. He keeps us safe from deception by giving us truth and His Spirit. He keeps us safe from the enemy by His authority and power. He keeps us safe for eternity by making sure that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Not only are we kept by Him ‑ we are kept for Him. We are kept so we can be His possession, His treasure, His inheritance, His bride, His friends, His companions, co‑rulers of the new universe with Him and joint inheritors with Him of all things.

So, Jude’s words are very comforting and encouraging: We are called and loved by God the Father, and are placed into the faithful, powerful, and tender care of Messiah Yeshua, who will not fail to keep safe the people God the Father has entrusted to Him.

Jude identifies himself and the people he is writing to. Now he prays one of my favorite kinds of prayer ‑ short and sweet. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

Jude prays that God would give us more and more mercy. Grace is giving someone something good he doesn’t deserve. Mercy is not giving someone the punishment he does deserve. When it comes to God giving us mercy, it means that He doesn’t punish us when sin and fall short and miss the mark. He withholds his righteous anger when we disobey. He doesn’t reject us when we fail. He is patient with our slow growth. We need mercy every day. Without it, we would be consumed by the consequences of our sins. And not only do we need mercy from God, we need His help so that we can be merciful to others. His mercy doesn’t just pardon us – it changes us. As we receive His mercy, we become more merciful and we are able to be merciful to those around us.

Jude prays that God would give us more and more peace. Peace is not just the absence of conflict. It’s shalom – wholeness, completeness, well‑being. It is a healthy kind of life that God intended.

More and more peace includes peace with God: We are no longer in a state of war with Him. Instead, we are reconciled and brought into a state of favor with Him. There is no longer hostility or separation, but acceptance, access, nearness, rest, security.

More and more peace includes peace with ourselves: We are no longer dominated by inner turmoil, guilt and chaos. Although we live in a dangerous and uncertain world and still face trials, struggles, challenges – we have a quiet confidence, we have an inner calm that does not depend on circumstances.

More and more peace includes peace with others: Our attitude toward people is transformed. We no longer want to hate, hurt, wound, attack, take revenge, but instead pursue reconciliation and harmony. We try to have peaceful relationships with everyone we can.

Jude prays that God would give us more and more love. Love is an emotion but it’s more than an emotion. It’s a commitment to seek the good of others, to care for them, to try to do what is best for them, to help them be the best version of themselves, to help them become the person God intended them to be. We need God’s love because God designed us to want to be loved and to love, to receive love and to give love. We need God’s love because a good relationship is characterized by love and we want to have a good relationship with God. We need God’s love because apart from God’s love, we are unable to love others the way we should. Human love apart from God is limited and inconsistent. God’s love expands our hearts so we can love everyone. God’s love enables us to forgive, motivates us to help, serve, bless. The more we experience God’s love, the more we can love God and love others.

May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. Jude understands that our walk with God is not sustained by a one‑time experience, but by a continual and increasing supply of what God alone can give, a continual, increasing supply of what we can’t produce on our own.

And God is generous with His mercy, peace and love. He delights to give His children more and more mercy, peace and love.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your servant Jude. Thank You for the wisdom that You gave him. Thank You for calling us, loving us, and placing us securely in the care of Messiah Yeshua. We admit our great need for Your protection in this fallen, deceptive and dangerous world, and we acknowledge that we are too weak to protect ourselves. Root our identity firmly as slaves of Your Son. Give us more and more mercy, peace and love. Strengthen us through Your Word and Spirit to stand firm, grow in faith, and walk in obedience. Keep us faithful until the end. Amen.