Never Beyond Belief

“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.”—Jude 1

Do you know someone whose heart is hardened to the Gospel? Unbelief is nothing new in our world; it has been there since the beginning. But just because someone may be an unbeliever now, it doesn’t mean that they will be forever. Who knows what God will use to bring someone to Him? It may be the faith of a child, a circumstance, a Bible verse, sin, life-change, who knows? God is immensely creative when it comes to how people come to know Him, and perhaps one of the first unbelieving skeptics to turn to the blessed Savior was one who was in Jesus’ own family.

Our text for today is from one of the smallest books in the entire Bible, the book of Jude. It’s a very small book with no chapter divisions, consisting of only 25 verses. And while it may be small, it is filled with some amazing theological truths, the first involving the author of the book itself. The author is Jude, who identifies himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James.” If he is the brother of James, then we must find out more about James. Who was he? James was actually our Lord Jesus’ half-brother. So, while Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, she did later have other children with Joseph her husband (cf. Mark 3:21, John 7:5, Acts 1:14). And, if Jude is actually James’ brother, then he is also Jesus’ half-brother. Why not then identify himself as Jesus’ half-brother? I think that was because he, like all of Jesus’ other brothers and sisters, did not believe in the messiahship of Jesus until after the Resurrection. Which is possibly why he identifies himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ” rather than His brother. “Servant” can also be translated “slave.” Christ had purchased him. The word obviously indicates Jude’s subservience to the Lord whom he has come to know and to whom he now gives himself in service. All of the relationships that he had before he came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior were different. I believe he wanted us to understand that it was not his old life of unbelief that mattered, but his new and transforming relationship with Christ that did. The earthly ties and relationships were transformed.

Why is this important? It’s important because we can see from other passages in Scripture that Jesus’ family largely didn’t believe in Him. They thought He was “out of His mind” and tried to stop Him from teaching (Mark 3:21). They didn’t believe in who He was or what He had come to do, but after the Resurrection, we find both James and Jude writing and testifying to Jesus as the Christ. What does that mean for us? It means that our son, daughter, sister, brother, mother, father, spouse, or significant other is not beyond the grace of God. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done. God can transform the most callous sinner to testify to His wondrous grace. For those who say we are out of our minds, God is waiting to reveal Himself to them, so that they may see and know who Christ is and what He has done. All of our earthly relationships, while important, pale in comparison to knowing Jesus Christ our Lord. He gives us a new direction and transforms us into His disciples.

Take comfort in knowing that God is in the business of transforming hearts and minds for His glory. There is no one beyond the amazing grace of Almighty God. Amen.