Jude 11-13

Introduction

Bodyv.11 - they have disregard for God and His worship; they have disregard for God and His people; they have disregard for God and His leaders.

Jude 11 (UBS4)

11 οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς, ὅτι τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ Κάϊν ἐπορεύθησαν καὶ τῇ πλάνῃ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ μισθοῦ ἐξεχύθησαν καὶ τῇ ἀντιλογίᾳ τοῦ Κόρε ἀπώλοντο.

"Woe" = οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς, Jude pronounces a 'woe', which means that he expresses God's perspective upon them. What is a "woe"? particle of interjection; (1) expressing extreme displeasure and calling for retributive pain on someone or something woe! alas! (MT 11.21)

Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 287.

See Matthew 18:7!Three examples of rebellion and sacrilege."The way of Cain" = what way did Cain go?Genesis 4:1-9.Cain was a false worshiper.He did not care about atonement, righteousness, or God's holiness. This is seen in the fact that although he had known that God killed an animal in the place of Adam and Eve, and that God had accepted that in their place and allowed them to live, and that God continues to expect that and nothing less, he did not care.Disregard for God and His worship. "The error of Balaam" = what was his error?Numbers 22:1-21Balak called upon Balaam, the prophet for hire in the area. Balaam refused to go with Balak's men at first, hearing from God to not go.However, the men came back with even more money and possessions, and even though he said that though Balak should give his entire household, he still craved money since he decided to go back to the Lord and see what He says. What is the point? The point is that he already knew what God had said. There was no guess work. He should have been like Elijah or Isaiah and stood by what God wanted. It was really very simple. But, he was enticed by the pay, and apparently struggled in his heart about God's instructions. God then lets him go. And these oracles are some of the most important in Scripture.The error of Balaam then is to curse the assembly for pay. Of course, God did not allow him to do that. But that Balaam was willing to do that is incredible. Balaam was killed in Numbers 31:8, 16; cf. Joshua 13:22. He was known as the "diviner" (Joshua 13:22).Balaam's error was disregard for God and His people for money.The rebellion of Korah = Numbers 16That event wherein Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and On, incited 250 leaders of the people (men chosen to be leaders), to come against Moses and Aaron because of what happened to the man who was killed for gathering wood on the Sabbath. This was leadership rebellion. This apparently had been fueling for quite some time. Korah would have needed time to speak with all these leaders, and the others. Jude is remembering this event, as it appears in the OT, and using it as an example of apostates. They also incite rebellion against leadership.This rebellion is a rebellion against leadership, but also against the Lord (Numbers 16:25-33). Notice after this event, that Israel complained again (Numbers 16:41ff.). The rebellion Jude is speaking of is that rebellion which Korah led that worked against Moses and, most importantly, against the Lord. It is a rebellion that involves leadership that despises God's man. I can see this very same thing happening in the church.Men become jealous for leadership, preeminence, and "power". They want to take over the assembly.They cannot be allowed to do that. Disregard for God and His leaders. v.12 - They are self-indulgent, hidden, men who seek to destroy.

Jude 12 (UBS4)

12 οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐν ταῖς ἀγάπαις ὑμῶν σπιλάδες συνευωχούμενοι ἀφόβως, ἑαυτοὺς ποιμαίνοντες, νεφέλαι ἄνυδροι ὑπὸ ἀνέμων παραφερόμεναι, δένδρα φθινοπωρινὰ ἄκαρπα δὶς ἀποθανόντα ἐκριζωθέντα,

These same men are those who are like hidden reefs (immovable, and hence deadly, rocks under the surface of the shore) in your love feasts. They are unnoticed, hidden, and deadly. They eat right next to you. Although they share in the "love feast" (see 1 Corinthians 11), they are actually only caring for themselves. They are not afraid of what they are doing and from whom they are robbing. What are "feasts"?

"In the apostolic period the eucharist was celebrated daily in connection with a simple meal of brotherly love (agape), in which the Christians, in communion with their common Redeemer, forgot all distinctions of rank, wealth, and culture, and felt themselves to be members of one family of God. But this childlike exhibition of brotherly unity became more and more difficult as the church increased, and led to all sorts of abuses, such as we find rebuked in the Corinthians by Paul. The lovefeasts, therefore, which indeed were no more enjoined by law than the community of goods at Jerusalem, were gradually severed from the eucharist, and in the course of the second and third centuries gradually disappeared."

Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910).

Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor not long after the Apostle John died, wrote concerning the "Christians" in his jurisdiction and their practices. There was some pressure to recant in their commitment to Christ. Their only crime was that they met together for worship of Jesus Christ as "to a god.""[T]hey were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food–but ordinary and innocent food."

Pasted from <http://www.alanknox.net/2007/08/pliny-trajan-and-christians/>

This is highly instructive because it gives a window into the meeting of the early church and the things they considered dear, as delivered to them from the apostles and their associates. However, it also indicates that they typically met to partake in the "love feast" Schaff spoke of in the evening. Thus, these men, even in the time of the apostles entered into that love feast without fear of Christ and ate alongside the brethren. However, they were really simply working toward their goal-to shipwreck the faith of some. They are like clouds without water. Clouds are formed by moisture and usually promise rain to the parched earth. However, although these men look like saints, leaders, they really are not and hold no sanctifying work in themselves. This is important. These men must have been leaders. They look like those who can teach truth and instruct the brethren for the good of the church. However, they do not teach truth, but error and so the parched hearts of the saints are left still dryer. They are like trees without roots.These too are like those things that look like something on the outside, but indside they are dead/lifeless.This is referring back to the reality that they are hidden-you can't see in their hearts, although they look like the real thing.They are fruitless, and twice-dead. They are more than dead. How much more graphic can Jude be? Why don't we take these things seriously?!!!!v.13 - they produce shame in an out of control manner, and are unreliable.

Jude 13 (UBS4)

13 κύματα ἄγρια θαλάσσης ἐπαφρίζοντα τὰς ἑαυτῶν αἰσχύνας, ἀστέρες πλανῆται οἷς ὁ ζόφος τοῦ σκότους εἰς αἰῶνα τετήρηται.

These are (supplied from above):Wild waves of the sea: They cannot be captured and tamed.They produce shame in their hearts and lives in the same way that the sea produces a kind of foam upon the shore. It is good for nothing. Wandering stars:They are unreliable, and ever-changing. May indicate that they were in a position of reliability (i.e. teaching), and yet were not reliable. Thus, like stars that are no good, they will be cast into deep darkness that has been reserved for them forever. These indictments are meant to impose the most horrible description of the apostate/false teacher possible. Why does Jude use this kind of language?Because disregard for God is serious:Numbers 15:32-51.Acts 5:1-16: Ananias and Sapphira.Because disregard for God's people is serious:Matthew 23:23–33 (NASB95)

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Peter was told in 3 different ways to love the people of God. In John 21:15-17, Peter is exhorted to care for the precious lambs of Christ-the chosen ones whom the Father has given to Christ. God's people are to be cared for as God's precious gift for the Son.God's people are to be cared for as the object of Christ's love. God's people are to be cared for until Christ Himself returns to take them to be with Himself. Because disregard for ministry is serious:When a false teacher will not minister in the way that he ought:It destroys faith.It destroys unity.It destroys love.When a false teacher refuses to repent of his self-indulgence, it destroys the reputation of that fellowship in the community.

Conclusion

Phil. 3:1-3, 17-21