New Testament Study Helps:
    Jude's Letter

Jude

1. Authorship

The writer introduces himself as "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James" (v.1) There can be no doubt that the writer intended his readers to think this James as the James of Jerusalem, the Lord's brother. This would have been a very natural assumption on the readers' part, since Jerusalem James was very well known. It is also natural to suppose that this lesser-known (than James) Jude wished to commend himself on the strength of his brother's wider reputation. If we assume that this identification is correct, we may suppose that Jude, as some of the other brothers of the Lord, engaged in itinerant preaching (1 Cor 9:5). It may well be that the people Jude has in mind in this letter are those among whom he has been preaching.

2. Date

The fact that the suggestions of scholars regarding the date of writing vary between 60 and 140 AD is a sufficient reminder that much of the so-called evidence on this subject amounts to little more than guesses. If Jude, the Lord's brother, was the author, the dating must naturally be confined to the reasonable limits of his life. Assuming then that Jude was born in the early part of the Christian era, it would seem necessary to suppose that the epistle could not have been written later than about 70 AD. Advocates of the theory that Jude combats developed Gnosticism naturally date the epistle well into the second century, but many who do not identify Jude as the Lord's brother are more cautious and date the epistle at the turn of the second century. Once one accepts an unknown author, the dating becomes more problematic. No tentative guess can, however, avoid the fact that the conditions reflected in the epistle are more favorable of an early rather than late date.

3. Outline

In progress

Chicago-North Shore Therapy.com