Jude 1:12-25 (NASB)
12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Last week we looked at the first half of the book of Jude. This week we pick up where we left off at verse 12. In these next verses, Jude writes some very interesting prose to describe the depth of trouble these people are causing. He says these people who are acting like Cain, Balaam and Korah, “12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.”
These metaphors are all describing things that are ultimately deadly or, at the very least, are useless. A hidden reef sinks ships. The waves may look calm and perfect for smooth sailing, but hidden underneath the water, just out of view, can be deadly sharp reefs. Boats don’t realize they are there and sail right over them. In the process, those boats get ripped to shreds and sink. He says these people who are causing trouble, they are hiding out within our love feasts.
That term, love feast, is what the early church called their gatherings where they would eat food and also celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or communion as we call it today. In Greek, it is agapais. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says, “agapae, love-feasts, feasts expressing and fostering mutual love which used to be held by Christians before the celebration of the Lord’s supper, and at which the poorer Christians mingled with the wealthier and partook in common with the rest of food provided at the expense of the wealthy.”
Jude is saying that there are people who are like “hidden reefs” attending these gatherings, eating the food and taking communion. Not only that, but they are taking it without fear. It could mean they don’t have fear of being discovered, but I also think that could be in reference to the warning we find in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.” Maybe Jude is saying these “hidden reefs” are taking communion, but they are doing so without a proper fear of the Lord.
These “hidden reefs” are dangerous, for they are like a shepherd who cares only for himself. A shepherd is supposed to be in charge of a flock. They are supposed to care for their sheep and protect them from wolves and danger. Jude’s use of that metaphor means that these self-appointed leaders do not care what happens to those who are following them. They don’t care they are leading them down paths of destruction. They are not concerned about the sin that is destroying their lives or the lives of the people around them. They only care about themselves. They must not think it’s in their best interest to warn people about sin, and so they either turn a blind eye to it or choose to pretend sin causes no danger.
Not only that, but they are: “clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.” All of those things are useless. They aren’t doing what they are supposed to do. We need clouds to provide water. Trees to produce food. Wild waves accomplish nothing except churning dirty foam. Wandering stars would offer no help. It’s because stars are fixed in the sky that we are able to navigate by them. Jude is saying that these people who “have crept in unnoticed,” they have infiltrated the Church, and they are not contributing to the body of Christ in a beneficial manner. They appear to be fruitful, appear to be productive, but they are empty and fruitless.
The problem is worse than just the fact that they are empty and useless, though. I say that because he says, they are “for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.” These people are causing harm. If clouds don’t produce water, there is drought. If trees don’t produce fruit, there is famine. Wild waves of the sea sink ships and drown people. If stars moved about the sky, there would be no way to chart course and all navigation would be lost.
Jude continues in verse 14, “It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”
Just like the first half of Jude, here he references another text that is likely unfamiliar to most people. This quote of Enoch’s is from the apocryphal book by his name. Enoch was Noah’s great-grandfather. He was the one who Genesis 5:24 describes as: “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” I don’t know why the book of Enoch was not included in the canon of the Bible. I do know that when Jude would have written this letter, the Bible as we know it did not exist.
The textbook, The New Testament in its World, discusses this book and says, “Jude might consider these texts to be illustrative rather than authoritative, [or…] Jude may well have regarded these texts as on par with scripture!” (p. 752).
We have no way of knowing, but what we do know is the Holy Spirit directed Jude’s writing, and so this quote of Enoch is true. The Lord will come with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgement on all people. This judgement of God is going to happen. No matter how many times people insist otherwise, Jude is making it clear that God’s word tells us judgment is coming. The people who are hiding out, having infiltrated Christianity, their deeds and false ideas will all be exposed. All the “ungodly” will be judged and convicted. These are all the people he has been describing in this letter and he continues describing them in verse 16, saying, “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
I don’t know about you, but for some of this letter, I’ve been feeling pretty good about myself, but then we get to this description of these infiltrators and, of course, I find myself guilty of these things. I know how to grumble and find fault with others. I’m prone to following my selfish desires and have spoken arrogantly. I’m sure I have flattered someone for selfish reasons before. This verse tells me I shouldn’t be content to give myself a pass to do all those things, though. If grumbling, fault finding, following the desires of my flesh, arrogance, and being insincere become part of my regular personality, then I’ve got a real problem.
I need to ask myself: am I grumbling or am I thankful? Am I finding fault in others or showing mercy? Am I living to fulfil my desires or am I serving other people? Am I prideful or humble? Am I authentic or insincere? Is the Holy Spirit molding me into someone who reflects the fruit of the Spirit? Am I looking more like Jesus every year that I follow Him? Is He helping me and changing me? Or am I content to be all those things Jude mentions?
He says to the Christians he is writing to, and God is speaking through him to all of us today in verse 17, “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.”
Jude gives the warning and prophecy that in the last days there will be these mockers, following their immoral desires, causing divisions, loving the world, and lacking the Holy Spirit. We know that those people have always existed since the beginning of time, so why would Jude say it would happen in “the last time”? We know that wolves have always infiltrated the church in sheep’s clothing, but this verse is almost identical to 2 Peter 3:2-3, which says, “[…] remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,”. Maybe the point is, in the last days, it won’t be a time of world revival and widespread faith in the Church. In the last days, the Church will be divided, full of mockers, and full of people who look and live just like the world.
Sadly, in a lot of ways, I think that prophecy lines up with our world today. I think it’s easy to feel discouraged and hopeless at the state of our world and the problems within the Church. But we should not give up. Jude tells us what we should do. He says in verses 20 and 21, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
We must press on and build up our faith. To do that, we must spend time in God’s word. Through reading the Word, we come to understand God’s will and we get to know His ways. We also must spend time in prayer, praying in the Holy Spirit. He can lead us to pray for ourselves and for others that He places on our hearts. And, Jude says we are to keep ourselves in the love of God. That seems like unusual wording, doesn’t it? We are to keep ourselves in the love of God? How do we do that? Isn’t that something that God would do for us? The NASB is an accurate translation of that verse. The Greek word for keep is téreó and it means, according to Strong’s Concordance, “to watch over, to guard.”
Jude says, “keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.” In order to keep ourselves in God’s love, we must focus on the love of God so we respond to that love by obedience to His word. We must keep our eyes on the life that is to come, so we don’t fall away and follow the desires of our flesh.
I’ve found that when I focus on God’s love for me, and I am thinking about eternity, then it’s far easier to follow Him and respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, than when I am focused on myself and all the temporal things of this world. I think Jude is speaking about having a proper perspective. What really matters? Things that are temporary or things that are eternal? And when we stop and really think about how much God loves us, doesn’t that make you want to follow Him? And when we really consider and begin to comprehend just how much God loves us, doesn’t that make it easier to show that love to other people? For when we understand just how much love God has shown us, then we can share that love with people around us.
Jude then gives three really interesting directives on how to share the love we have experienced with other people. He says in verses 22 and 23, “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
Jude lists three different groups of people. The first group is those who are doubting. He says we should have mercy on those who are doubting or have weak faith. This word in Greek is eleeó, and it means, “to have pity or mercy on, to show mercy.” New believers, hesitant believers, people who are just beginning to follow Jesus, we should have mercy for them. We should encourage them, come alongside them and try to help them grow stronger in the faith. Just as Jesus has shown us mercy, we are to extend that same mercy. As Romans 15:1 says, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves.”
The second group is people who are being burned by fire. Jude says we should save them by rescuing them from the fire. They need to be snatched out of the fire. This speaks of immediacy. Why would we stand still and watch someone be burned? Watching someone be hurt is not merciful. So, it’s not that we don’t show mercy, it’s that this kind of mercy is physical, it is an act of mercy. Some people do not need pity. They need to be rescued. It’s not mercy to let someone slowly die in their sin.
The third group is people who we are to show mercy to, but we need to be careful how we do it. Jude says, have “mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” The NASB notes that the word for garment is actually the Greek word chiton, which is “a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin.” I think that means we should be extremely careful when showing mercy to some people that we don’t get too close to them. Even their clothes that have touched them are contaminated by them. We should have a healthy fear so we do not become infected with their sin.
God’s mercy is available to all people who would repent. All are invited to come to Jesus and find grace and mercy. We are to show the mercy of our God to all people, but some people are so far gone into sin that when we extend the hope of God’s mercy to them, we must be careful to not get caught in the same sin that caught them. I find it significant that Jude doesn’t use the word ‘love’ in these verses. He had just written that the believers should keep themselves in the love of God, but here in these verses about showing mercy to others, he doesn’t mention love. He mentions fear and hate. Notably, he does not tell the believers to hate the people, though. Rather, he says they should hate even the clothing that touches them. We should hate the sin, and be careful that we don’t become contaminated by the sin, but we are not to hate the people. Only, we should not be cavalier about how we extend God’s mercy to them. If we embrace this group of people without caution, we too could end up becoming infected by their sin. Therefore, the word of warning.
Jude stated, back at the beginning of his letter, that what he had to tell the believers was necessary. It was crucial to their faith that they realize what was happening in the Church, and the Church today must take heed of his warning. We would be wise to not overlook his words, but take them seriously and apply them to our lives today. For surely we do not want to be counted among those groups of people who have infiltrated the Church. Nor do we want to be people like Cain, Balaam, Korah or their like. How do we keep from becoming like them? The key is found in verses 20 and 21, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Let us build ourselves up in faith, pray and focus on the love of God and eternity. We should share the mercy of Christ to others, but we must be wise and careful as we do, so we do not fall into the same sins as those we are ministering to. For like Jude said when he quoted the words of Enoch, one day the Lord will come to execute judgment on all. No one can escape this. Will we be judged and condemned? Or will we find mercy through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? If we have found forgiveness and saving faith in Jesus, then we can echo the praise that Jude models for us when he concludes his letter by writing, “24 Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for forgiving us of our sins. Thank You for helping us not to stumble as we follow You. Thank You for dying on the cross for us so we can look forward to the day when we can stand in the presence of Your glory, full of joy at what You have done for us. We love You and praise You, for You are the only God, our Savior. Help us keep our focus on Your love and mercy, and the eternity that awaits us to spend with You. In Your name we pray, amen.
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