Year: 2011

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Bible

Who is Jude?

In the Bible, there is only one mention of a man named Jude.  That lone reference occurs in the opening greeting of the letter that he wrote.

However, Jude is a variation of Judas.  Apparently, Judas was a common name two thousand years ago:

  • Judas Iscariot: who betrayed Jesus
  • Judas (not Judas Iscariot): another follower of Jesus
  • Judas son of James
  • Judas the Galilean
  • Judas on Straight Street: whose house Saul (Paul) went to after his encounter with God
  • Judas (called Barsabbas): an early missionary
  • Judas, a brother of Jesus

We can rule out Judas Iscariot, because he committed suicide before this letter was written, while Judas the Galilean is an historical reference.  That leaves five others for possible consideration.

Another clue is that Jude is the brother of James.  There are also several James mentioned in the Bible.  Do any of those men named Judas have a brother James?  The answer is yes.  Jesus had four brothers (technically half brothers): James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.

It is quite possible that Jude is Jesus’ brother.  Regardless of who he is, it is his message — warning against ungodly people in the church — that matters.

[Jude 1:1, mentions of Judas, Matthew 13:55]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Are You the One?

John the Baptist is sitting in jail, about to be executed.  In a dark moment, his faith begins to waver.  Seeking assurance, he sends his followers to Jesus, with the simple question, “Are you the one?”

This query reminds me of the movie, The Matrix, where people keep asking Neo, “Are you the one?”  Some think he is, some aren’t sure, and some doubt, but all are wondering.  All that is, except for Morpheus, who plainly proclaims to Neo, “You are the one.”

Morpheus’s simple statement of faith to Neo reminds me of Peter’s confident confession to Jesus, when he plainly proclaims, “You are the Christ.”

Using movie references to illuminate a biblical passages are frequently employed and helpfully presented.  However, if someone were to consider an illustration like this 2,000 years in the future, or even a couple of centuries hence, they would be confused.

They would not know of Neo or Morpheus.  They would not have watched The Matrix and our modern cinema would likely be a mystery to them.

What clarifies today would be confusing later, just as some of Jude’s cryptic references in his letter where helpful back then, but are confusing today.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Cryptic References

The short book of Jude contains many examples to illuminate the main theme of his letter (concerning ungodly people in the church).  However, some of these illustrations fail to accomplish that goal for us in our world today.  They are more cryptic than clarifying.

The first is in verse 9, where Jude talks about the archangel Michael having a disagreement with the devil about Moses’s body. 

Now we may be familiar with the angel Michael. He is mentioned in the book of Daniel and Revelation, but there is no mention in the Bible about him and Satan verbally sparring about Moses. 

This verse is actually a reference to an ancient, non-biblical text, called “The Assumption of Moses.”

Similarly, in verse 14, Jude mentions a prophecy of Enoch.  We also know of Enoch from the book of Genesis, but there is no mention of him ever prophesying.  Again, this is a reference to an ancient non-biblical text, “The Book of Enoch.”

Jude was comfortable using examples from these two books because they would have been common knowledge to the people he was writing to.  As such, these familiar references would have helped readers, in that day, better comprehend the points he was making.

That is not to imply that these non-biblical books need to be elevated to the same level as the Bible or used as a viable source for forming our theology. 

There were merely communication tools, along the lines of Paul, in his letter to Titus, citing a local poet’s disparaging remarks about his own people of Crete.

While all these references may be confusing to us now, they were clarifying back then.

[Jude 1:9, “Michael” references, Revelation 12:7, Jude 1:14-15, “Enoch” references, Titus 1:12]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Jude’s Advice

In Jude’s letter, he warns Jesus’ followers to be on the alert for ungodly people in the church.

After detailing their characteristics, Jude tucks in a bit of advice at the end of his letter.  Implicitly, it is his recommendations on how followers of Jesus can avoid being ungodly, offering three prescriptions to promote godliness:

  1. Build up your faith.
  2. Pray in the Holy Spirit.
  3. Remain in God’s love.

These, then, are three essentials that we are to actively pursue: faith, prayer, and love.

Although some items on Jude’s list of ungodly behaviors may be far removed from us, other aspects might be quite close, such as speaking against things we don’t understand and being divisive.

What about grumbling and finding fault?  For those who follow Jesus, these are apparently all forms of ungodliness.

However, we can do much to avoid these errors as we actively seek to build up our faith, pray with the Holy Spirit’s power, and abide in the love of God.

By following Jude’s advice, we can avoid the error of ungodliness.

[Jude 1:20-21]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Hey, Jude

The book of Jude in the Bible is a short letter that is tucked in the back, just before Revelation.  Add to this the fact that it is a bit confusing with obscure references. 

Plus, Jude meanders his way through his message with many distracting examples and illustrations.  Given all this, it is little wonder that the writing of Jude is largely ignored.

Removing Jude’s supporting text, his essential message is to watch out for ungodly people in the church.  Their profile is that they…

  • pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord (v 4).
  • pollute their own bodies, reject authority, and heap abuse on celestial beings (v 8).
  • slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct — as irrational animals do — will destroy them (v 10).
  • are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm — shepherds who feed only themselves (v 12).
  • are grumblers and fault finders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage (v 16).
  • are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit (v 19).

Do you know anyone who acts like this?  Then watch out.  Do you ever act like this?  Then take corrective action.

[Jude]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Holy Communion

In my prior post, entitled Cannibalism, Communion (aka the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist) was seen as a spiritual invitation to salvation.

Communion is a symbolic rite reminding us of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us as the solution for the wrong things we have done.

This is all good.

However, Paul warns against the abuse of this important ritual.  He is critical of those partaking in the practice of communion in “an unworthy manner” and “without discernment.”  The result of this mistake is “judgment” and becoming “weak and sick,” even dying.

He advises the proper approach to Communion is via self-examination, the result of which will most likely be proceeding with reverence and humility.  Perhaps that’s why it is often called “Holy Communion.”

[Learn more about Communion and read 1 Corinthians 11:27-31]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Categories
Bible

Cannibalism

Jesus said many things that surprised and even shocked his followers.  One of his more appalling statements was that we needed to eat his body and drink his blood.  That’s a hard thing to swallow — literally and figuratively.  Gross.

He asserted that those who ate his body and drank his blood would have eternal life.  Jesus’ followers had trouble dealing with this and many stopped following him because of that.  I would have had second thoughts, too.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t issuing a call for cannibalism, he was speaking metaphorically.  However, ascertaining precisely what he meant is a bit challenging.

Just as we need food and drink for physical life, we need Jesus’ body and blood (his death) for spiritual life.

Eating his body and drinking his blood is a euphemism for accepting him and his death as the solution for the wrong things we have done.

Also, eating his body and drinking his blood foreshadows communion (aka the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist), which serves as a regular reminder of his sacrificial death for us.

Eating his body and drinking his blood was not a physical call to cannibalism, but a spiritual invitation to salvation.

[John 6:54-55 and John 6:60 & 66]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Don’t Drink Blood / Drink My Blood

Among the many “laws” (that is, rules and regulations for right behavior), that God — through Moses — gave the nation of Israel was an unconditional prohibition against drinking blood.

Every Hebrew would have been taught this from early childhood.  Breaking this law would have been unthinkable to them, a repulsive act to even consider.  Drinking blood was strictly verboten.

Then Jesus came along with his radical teaching that shocked many.  He told his followers that they needed to drink his blood.  His followers — all Hebrews — were appalled.  Viewing his statement as heresy, many turned their backs on him and left.

The idea was so repulsive to them that they were unable to get past the shock of a literal interpretation to consider that it might just have a figurative meaning.

In making this bold statement, Jesus was foreshadowing his sacrificial death.  Succinctly, his blood would be spilt as a redeeming, life-restoring sacrifice.

Jesus wasn’t contradicting the laws of Moses.  Instead, he voiced his intention to fulfill it.

[Leviticus 17:10-12 and John 6:54-55]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

You are In Christ, Crucified with Him

The apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia about being “crucified with Christ.”  In his letter to the church in Corinth, he states, “You are in Christ.”

That is a hard concept for me to grasp, yet, the phrase “in Christ” occurs some 90 times in the Bible.  It appears in about half of the New Testament books, from Acts to 1 Peter, encompassing the writings of Luke, Paul, and Peter.

What does it mean to be “crucified with Christ” and to be “in Christ?”

Watchman Nee, in his book Sit, Walk, Stand, offers a most helpful illustration.  He says, “If I put a dollar bill between the pages of a magazine, and then burn the magazine, where is the dollar bill?”

It is turned to ashes, along with the magazine.  What happens to the magazine also happens to the dollar.  “Their history has become one.”

“Just as effectively,” he continues, “God has put us in Christ.  What happened to him happened also to us.  All the experiences he met, we too have met in him.”

“Our history,” he concludes, was “written in Christ before we were born.” We were crucified with him.

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Bible

Jesus is the Reason

In studying the short letter to Philemon, we’ve looked at the central players of Paul (the author), Philemon (the recipient), and Onesimus (the subject).

There are also brief mentions of eight others: Timothy, Apphia, Archippus, Epaphras, Aristarchus, Luke, John-Mark, and Demas.

The foundational character, however, is Jesus.  He is mentioned more often than any other in this letter, a total of six times.

The reality is that without Jesus, none of this matters.  He is the ultimately the reason why this letter was written and he is the reason why each person was mentioned.

Without Jesus, Paul would not have been a missionary; without Jesus, Onesimus would have no desire to return to his master; and without Jesus, Philemon would have no reason to show mercy and offer forgiveness. 

And it is because of Jesus that each of the eight other characters are worthy of inclusion.

Jesus is the reason for the letter to Philemon — and the entire Bible.  Without him, nothing else really matters.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.