True & Beautiful Things About the Bible--New TestamentSample

Letter from Jude: For the Skeptic

If you’ve ever loved a skeptic, then you can empathize with Jesus and His brother, Jude. Half-brother, really, but brother all the same.

Tucked at the end of the New Testament is a small but powerful message from the brother who once refused to believe Jesus was who He said. Imagine the years of heated family dinner conversations; feel the tension in their family dynamics. He said He’s what? No way. What a trophy Jude must have been for the evil one.

That is, until Jude watched Jesus die—and then saw Jesus alive again after He rose from the dead. That’s when all the self-righteous rejection melted from Jude’s heart and he confessed that (his brother), Jesus, was the Messiah. Jesus was the promised Savior, just as He said. It was no small moment when the years of stubborn refusal turned to real faith.

No wonder Jesus has a special place in His heart for those who struggle to believe. And no wonder Jude’s passionate 25 verses issue such an ominous warning to us all. His message was straightforward:

• We’re in this fight for faith. Any of us is prone to walk away. Don’t let it happen.
• Protect the church from false teaching that deceive people to hell.
• Stop the drift that erodes your passion for the Cross of Jesus.

Written 30 years after Jesus’ resurrection, Jude never seemed to get over the grace that saved him. Nor did his fervor soften to hinder the evil one from stealing what was most precious from those who believe.

Maybe you’re the one, like Jude, who once was on his way to hell, marching with Satan’s deceived into a damned eternity. But then, with nail-scarred hands, Jesus reached down and snatched you out of the fire. Satan must have screamed to lose you, such a trophy.

Jude was right to end this short message with a dedication to his brother, who was, more importantly, His Lord and Savior: “To Him who keeps us from falling” and finds great joy in presenting us to His Father. Here they are, the ones I died for.

It’s also not a reach to imagine that this tiny book from Jude is uniquely special to Jesus.

Next: The beautiful ending