St. Jude Thaddeus, by Georges de La Tour. c. 1615-1620
One of my other hobbies is James and Jude in early Jewish Christianity. But I confess that I've been absorbed mainly with Jesus and Paul in recent times, plus the odd exile out to Ephesus and Patmos to hang with John. So I haven't always given Jesus' two brothers the study time that they are due. But I'm planning on doing a series of chapel talks about Jude starting on Friday. Here is why I think we should read Jude:
Jude is one of the least read books of the entire New Testament. I speculate that many Christians know far better the words to the Beatles’ song "Hey Jude" than they know the message of the epistle of Jude. Well, its only one chapter, in fact a mere 25 verses, and if you happen to blink whilst flicking through the Bible you are quite likely to miss it. But what Jude lacks in length it makes up for in content. It is a powerful message for a church to cling to its precious faith, to persevere amidst a compromising age, to be inwardly renewed and outwardly effective and most of all, to glorify in God and exalt in Jesus Christ.
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