Who wrote the book of Jude? Who was the author of Jude?

We are not left in doubt who the writer is, for he mentions himself in the beginning of it. It is Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. But who is this Jude or Judas? Among the disciples were two by the name of Judas. There was Judas Iscariot, who ended his miserable career, after he had become the instrument of the devil, by hanging. In John 14:22 we read, "Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" The Spirit of God makes it plain that Judas Iscariot did not address Jesus by the name Lord, which expresses faith in His deity, but that there was another Judas in the apostolate who speaks here.

When we turn to the names of the twelve in Matthew 10:2-4, we find the name of Judas but once; it is the name of him who betrayed the Lord. The Judas whose words are recorded in the above passage in the Gospel of John, is called in Matthew 10:3 ... Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus." In Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13, his name is given as Judas of James; it must be noticed that the words in the authorized version "the brother" are in italics, which means that they are supplied by the translators. It is not so in the first verse of this epistle; here the writer calls himself "brother of James."

The author of this short epistle introduces himself at the beginning as Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James. There is only one Jude in the NT matching this description, one of the brothers of the Lord Jesus. The brothers of the Lord are mentioned by name in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3: James, Joseph or Joses, Simon and Judas. The Lord's sisters are mentioned there as well but not by name. At first the brothers (and relatives) of the Lord did not believe in him (John 7:5; Mark 3:21). But after his ascension we do find them with the other disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14).

There is a person called Jude who is mentioned in Acts 1:13 (compare with John 14:22) is elsewhere called Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus and is not otherwise known (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18). In verse 17 of the Epistle of Jude the author distinguishes between himself and the apostles. This proves that the author cannot be the apostle Jude. James the brother of Jude is explicitly called the Lord’s brother in Gal. 1:19. After James, the apostle, had died as a martyr, Jude was one of the spiritual leaders in the assembly in Jerusalem (see notes on the Epistle of James, 1.c).

But in genuine modesty these two men do not refer to themselves as the Lord's brother but as “servant” or “slave” only. The less known Jude however mentions the fact that he was a brother of the more well-known James. As we learn from 1. Cor. 9:5 both were known to the apostles as servants of the Word.

The author calls himself 'Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James.' Jude describes himself as a bondslave of Christ. His service in this letter would not be superficial but for the lasting benefit of the Lord's people. If, as is commonly deduced from the Biblical evidence. he is a half-brother of the Lord, he takes no advantage of this relationship when addressing his readers. The reference to the apostles seems to imply that the writer was not one of them, though modesty could have led him to write as he did. But the weighty issue of the day surely would have constrained him to assert the authority of his apostleship if he were one. The only Judas who elsewhere in the New Testament is said to have had a brother called James is Judas the brother of the Lord. James (Jacobus) was a half-brother of our Lord. (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3). While during His earthly life the brethren of the Lord Jesus did not believe on Him (Matt. 12:46ff. Mark 3:32ff, Luke 8:19ff & John 7:3-9), they are found among the disciples at the beginning of Acts (1:14) and James became a foremost leader in the assembly at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13, 21:18ff, Gal. 2:9).

Whether Judas the apostle was the writer of the Epistle bearing this name is a matter upon which difference of judgment exists. The writer introduces himself, not as an apostle (see also verse 17), but as "Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James," this James being the Lord's brother. It is certain that of the Lord's brothers there were two so-named, since they both are mentioned by Matthew and Mark (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3), and we know that the brethren of the Lord were at the apostolic prayer-meeting in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14), including James and Judas, if not Joses and Simon. There is no great difficulty therefore in supposing that Judas the Lord's brother wrote the Epistle known by that name.

Nothing certain is known of the writer of this epistle; beyond the description here given. He contents himself with two titles - "servant" (bondman) "of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." If the James referred to be "the Lord's brother," of whom Paul speaks (Gal. 1:19), rather than the apostle Judas, not Iscariot (John 14:22), who seems to have been the brother of James, the son of Alphaeus (Luke 6:16), then Jude also was, according to the flesh, a brother of the Lord. If so, what grace and humility are displayed in that he does not call attention to the fact. And what a lesson for all who take, or seek to take, a place amongst believers on the ground of human distinction or birth!

Nothing certain is known of the writer of this epistle; beyond the description here given. He contents himself with two titles — "servant" (bondman) "of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." If the James referred to be "the Lord's brother," of whom Paul speaks (Gal. 1:19), rather than the apostle Judas, not Iscariot (John 14:22), who seems to have been the brother of James, the son of Alphaeus (Luke 6:16), then Jude also was, according to the flesh, a brother of the Lord. If so, what grace and humility are displayed in that he does not call attention to the fact. And what a lesson for all who take, or seek to take, a place amongst believers on the ground of human distinction or birth!

But there is still another Judas found in the Gospels. His name is recorded in Matthew 13:55. "is not this the carpenter's son? is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" The James, the brother of the Lord mentioned in this passage, is the author of the Epistle of James. (See introduction to the Epistle of James). The question then arises, is the writer of the Epistle before us, the Apostle Judas of James, also called Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, or is it Judas, the one who is called one of the Lord's brethren, and therefore the natural brother of James, the writer of the Epistle of James? Some maintain that Jude is the Apostle Judas, while others see in Jude the brother of James, as given in Matthew 13-55. We endorse the latter view. We give the reasons why the writer of this Epistle cannot be the Apostle Judas.

[8] The bearing of Jude's language on the question of who the author of this epistle was makes it clear to me that we may certainly conclude he was the Lord's half brother and not one of the apostles called James.

Written by Jude the brother of James, and apparently the same person as the apostle JUDAS, q.v. The Epistle is addressed to "the called ones, beloved in God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ." Apostasy had set in, and the saints are exhorted to contend for the faith divinely delivered. Ungodly ones had crept in, who abused the grace of God, and denied their only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude is "bondsman of Jesus Christ," one totally in the possession of his Master: for though he is an apostle, he does not write as such. not with authority, but as a subject one, a moral lesson for us all In this immoral day. He is also "brother of James," evidently the son of Alphaeus (Luke 6:l5,16). He is named for the tribe of Judah, and is evidently typical of the mercy that guilty tribe will receive from the coming Messiah; in contrast to the false apostle Judas, who is a type of Judah's cold rejection of their Messiah through motives of greed. (Compare Judah in Gen.37:26-28.) James is the same name as Jacob, and the link with Jude here reminds us of God's counsels of grace triumphing over the failure and weakness of His servant. for Jacob was the "supplanter." Judah and Jacob will be reconciled when they bow to their true Messiah, as is beautifully seen in Judah's confession to Joseph (Gen.44:18-34).