Exposition of Jude, Exegesis of Jude · Verse 1
VER. 1.
Jude the ſervant of Jeſus Chriſt, and brother of James, to them that are ſanctified by God the Father, and preſerved in Chriſt Jeſus, and called;
VER. 2.
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplyed.
This Title containeth three principall parts:
1. The Perſon who wrote the Epiſtle.
2. The Perſons to whom he wrote it.
3. The Prayer: wherein the perſon writing ſalutes the perſons to whom he wrote.
1 The perſon who wrote this Epiſtle is deſcribed theſe three wayes.
1 From his name: Jude.
2 From his office: A ſervant of Jeſus Chriſt.
3 From his Alliance: the brother of James.
1 The deſcription of the Pen-man of this Epiſtle from his name: Jude. In the conſideration whereof I ſhall proceed by way
1 of Expoſition,
2 of Obſervation.
1 The name of the Authour of the Epiſtle conſidered by way of Expoſition: wherein two things are to be opened:
1 The ſignification of the name Judas, or Jude.
2 The ſubject of that name, or who the perſon was to whom it is here applyed.
1 For the ſignification of it. Its found fully expreſs'd Gen. Gen. 29.35.29.35. The occaſion of the firſt impoſing it, was Leah's apprehenſion of Gods goodneſſe to her, foreignin giving her a fourth ſon, whom therfore ſhe call'd Judah, ſignifying Praiſe, Confeſſion, or Celebration: She made his name a monument of her thankfulneſſe to God for him, as alſo of her ſons duty, to live to the praiſe of ſo good a God: a fruitful Wife to Jacob in children; and a fruitful Daughter to God in thankfulneſſe. In qua nominis impoſitione, non dubito quin eam direxerit Spiritus ſanctus, cùm Judah fuerit is qui inter Jacobi filios, pater futuri Meſſiae conſtitutus erat. Riv. in loc. Joh. 3.16.The learned Rivet well obſerves, that in impoſing this name, ſhe was directed by the ſpirit of God: this Judah being that ſon of Jacob, of whom Chriſt (according to the fleſh) was to come, for whom God is principally to be praiſed, he being the choyſeſt gift that ever God beſtowed; he turning every gift into a mercy: OnelyOnly thoſe who have him, and bear him, can praiſe God; to others God gives nothing (comparatively,) and they return nothing. God ſhews only how rich he is, in giving his Son; So God loved the world, that he gave his onelyonly begotten Son.
2 The ſubject of this name is to be conſidered, to which it's here applyed. It's applyed in Scripture to a threefold ſubject.
1 To a Tribe. Frequent mention is made of the tribe of Judah, 1 King. 12.20. Pſal. 76.8. &c.
2 To a Country or Region, 2 Chron. 20.3. Jer. 2.4. and 17.25.
3 and properly, To Perſons: and ſo in Scripture we read of ſix ſeveral perſons that had this name.
1 Judah the Patriarch, Gen. 29.35.
2 Judah in whoſe houſe Saul lodg'd at his firſt converſion. Act. 9.11.
3 Judas ſurnamed Barſabas. Act. 15.22.
4 Judas of Galile. A ſeditious perſon. Act. 5.37.
5 Judas Iſcariot the traytor. Mat. 10.4. Joh. 14.22.
6 Judas the Apoſtle, the Author of this Epiſtle. Concerning whom the Scripture intimates (beſides his Apoſtolicall office, and relation to Iames, of which anon)
1 His Parentage: his Father being Alphaeus ſpoken of Matth. 10.4. and Mark 3.18. and his Mother held to be that Mary ſpoken of Matth. 27.56. in regard that this Alphaeus and Mary are ſaid to be the parents of Iames, to which James in Luk. 6.16. Act. 1.13. and here in this Epiſtle this Judas is ſaid to be brother.In ſacra dodccada fuerunt duo qui nomen Judae geſſêre; unus fuit ſectator, alter inſectator. Aug. Tr. 76. in Joh. Unus nomini ſuo convenienter ſe geſsit (Judas enim Confeſſo rem ſignificat,) alter per anti praſin nomen iſtud à ſe gori ipſis operibus demonſtravit. Gerh. Har. in loc. Joh. 14.22.
2 The Scripture expreſſeth a manifeſt diſtinction between him and Judas Iſcariot, Joh. 14.22. calling him Judas, not Iſcariot; taking eſpeciall care that he might not be taken for him, their hearts and perſons being as different, as their names agreeable; for one was ſectator, the other inſectator Domini; the one following Chriſt as a Diſciple, the other as a Blood-hound; one confeſs'd him, the other betray'd him; the one carryed himſelf according to his name, the other was a meer living contradiction to his name. When the Evangeliſt ſaith, Judas, not Iſcariot, he intended a difference 'twixt him and this holy Jude.
3 The Scripture expreſſeth an humble Queſtion propounded by him to Chriſt: Lord, How is it, that thou wilt manifeſt thy ſelf to us, and not unto the world? Concerning which Queſtion, although I meet with different opinions, yet I ſee not why (with Muſculus) we may not conceive, that Jude propounded it out of an humble and modeſt conſideration of himſelf and the Apoſtles, in partaking of the gracious manifeſtation of Chriſt to them, there being a paſſing by of others more famous, and better accompliſh'd then were the Diſciples. A Queſtion, which (thus underſtood,) as it ſheweth [1] the freeneſſe of him that gives; ſo [2] the humility of them that receive grace; who, in ſtead of inſulting over others that have leſs then themſelves, admire the goodneſſe of him, that gives more to them than to others: nay [3] the tender-heartedneſs and pity of the godly towards the ſouls of thoſe wicked ones, who are commonly cruel and unkinde to their bodies.
4. The Scripture expreſſeth concerning this Apoſtle, that he was foreign, and Act. 1.13. foreign, Judas trinominis.had ſundry names: for he that in Luk. 6.16. is called Iudas the brother of Iames, is in Matt. 10.3. called Lebbaeus, and Thaddaeus: concerning the reaſon whereof, I meet with ſundry opinions among Writers. Janſen. Harm. p. 220.1 Some conceive, that he had this diverſity of names from an uſuall cuſtom (they ſay) among the Jews, which was, that if any name had in it three or more of the letters of Iehovah, foreignit ſhould not be us'd in ordinary ſpeech, but that ſome other name like it ſhould be us'd in ſtead of it. foreignNow Iudah containing in it all the four letters in the name Iehovah, (having beſides the letter foreign) this Apoſtle had other names to be ordinarily called by: but this reaſon ſeems (what-ever is the ſuperſtition of the later Jews) not to have taken place in our Iude, or in any other that we read of; the Patriarch Iudah, the ſon of Iacob, had no other name but Iudah beſtowed upon him by his mother or friends, nor did the cuſtom appear upon Iudas Iſcariot. 2. Others conceive, that theſe names were conferred upon him, to difference him from Iudas (of the ſame name) the traytor, grown deteſtable for his execrable fact and heinous treaſon; for which cauſe our Apoſtle may in the title of this Epiſtle, ſtile himſelf alſo the brother of Iames; the name of Iudas being ſo odious in the Church, that (as a learned man obſerves) a Lorin. in loc. p. 320. Id verum doprehendi, abſtinere ferè Chriſtianos ab imponendo et uſurpando nomine Judae. Exe…rabile hoc nomen Chriſtianis ob execrabilem proditionem à Juda factam.Chriſtians have in all ages in a manner abſtained from impoſing it (though a good name in it ſelf) and that very rarely is it to be found mentioned in any Hiſtory. And there ſeems to be an exact care in the Evangeliſt, that when this holy Apoſtle [Joh. 14.22.] was named, he might not be taken for the traytor, ſpeaking thus, Iudas, not Iſcarior. Nor was it any change of his name that did ſerve the turn; for it was no leſſe wiſely then piouſly heeded, that thoſe other names (Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus) ſhould be ſutable to the perſon upon whom they were beſtowed; Thaddaeus ſignifying in the Syriack the ſame thing (Praiſe or Confeſſion) with Judah in Hebrew; the impoſers of this name intimating the conſtancy of this holy man in confeſſing Chriſt, what name ſoever he had. Nor is it to be thought, but that the other name (Lebbaeus) was applyed fitly and ſutably to him, as being derived either from the Hebrew word †from the Heb. foreign Videantur Junius in loc. Brugenſ. in 10. Matt. Janſen. c. 39. Lapide in loc. Juſtini. in loc. Lorin. in loc. foreignLabi, which ſignifieth a Lion (the cognizance of another Judah, Gen. 49. of which tribe this Jude was) to ſhew his holy reſolution and b Leo dicitur à foreign Leb, Cor, quaſi cordatus ſeu animoſus, quia à generoſitate & praeſentia animi imperterritus; cor enim ſedes eſt & ſymbolum fortitudinis: unde Ariſtomenes, qui to tam Graeciam ſtupefecerat audaciae miraculo, poſt mortem diſſectus, inventus eſt habere cor totum pilis hirſutum. Plin. lib. 11. c. 37.courage for God, in oppoſing ſin, and the enemies of the truth, even as with a Lion-like heart: or, from the Hebrew word Leb, which ſignifieth a heart; thereby noting (ſay ſome) that he was a man of much wiſdom and underſtanding in his place and carriage; for he who was of greateſt c Corculum dicebant antiqui ſolertem & acutum. Feſt. Qui valdè cautus & prudens, vocabatur Corculum. Plin. l. 7. cap. 31. Unde Scipio Naſica, ob prudentiam bis Conſul, appellatus eſt Corculum. Cic. Tuſc. 1.diſcretion and prudence, was of old wont to be called Corculum, from cor a heart; and a wiſe, underſtanding man is uſually termed homo cordatus, a man with a heart: or noting (ſay others) that he was Cordis cultor, a man that laboured much about his heart, ſtudying diligently the purity and ſanctifying thereof. This for the expoſitory part of the firſt thing conſiderable in the deſcription of the pen-man of this Epiſtle, viz. his Name; the collection of Obſervations followeth.