1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
In the most important ways, the testimony of the people closest to us sum us up best. They see us respond and react to all of life's trials and temptations. You might be able to fool your friends, but it is more than impossible to fool your family members. Likewise, there is no greater witness to heed than having the people closest to Jesus, who grew up with Jesus, bow down and worship their savior and (half) brother, Jesus Christ. If there ever was to be persons who could have refuted the claims of Jesus, it would have been Jesus’ brothers. Instead, they led others to follow and worship Jesus, even unto death themselves.
Jude is the English variant of “Judas” - it was a common name. From the self-identification of Judas as the brother of James we conclude that Jude, the (half) brother of Jesus, is the author who wrote this epistle. Although both James and Jude introduce themselves not as apostles but as servants of Jesus Christ, they both refrain from calling themselves Jesus’ brothers (James 1:1). We assume that they do not wish to use their family ties to Jesus as a means to gain recognition. They prefer to identify themselves as servants of Jesus Christ, and recognize Jesus as their Lord and Master.
Jude addresses a specific group of the people of God: “To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.” Even as Jude wrote the epistle, he saw himself as a link in the answering of Jesus' prayer (John 17:12,15 & 1 Thess. 5:23) - to a people who were being supernaturally "kept" by God. By this, Jude is banking on God to take his message to the heart of God’s true hearers, which is usually not the case with us. All exhortation and correction is the work of God. We cannot shout or get impatient, as I often do, because when we do so, we are attempting to do it in our own strength. Moreover, we forsake the One who is faithful to accomplish all that he promised. Do you rely on the force of your arguments or on God to move through your words – which one do you believe is more effective?
Jude ends his initial greetings with “may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.” As we will see in the subsequent verses, Jude sees the true gospel and doctrine to be at the heart of receiving more from God and falling more in love with God. It is one thing to drive the speed limit when going for a leisurely drive. It is another thing to drive the speed limit when you are in a hurry. This is the point of Jude here: when we are faithful to keep God’s word in the moments of testing, something wonderful is “multiplied” to us – it’s not in vain. Don't forsake the truth of God's word to indulge the flesh - choose the hard sayings and remain faithful!