Jude 1:21

1:21-36 The tribes of Israel failed to keep the covenant; their complacency was rebellion against the Lord, as the rest of the book of Judges shows.

1:21 Though the tribe of Benjamin produced more than its share of heroes (e.g., Ehud, Saul), it was also the nadir of covenant unfaithfulness, in contrast to Judah (see 20:18). Like Judah in its first battle (1:4-8), Benjamin faced challenges from a great people dwelling in a great city, but Benjamin settled for sharing the city with them. Reference to the Lord’s personal presence is absent (cp. 1:19, 22). The Jebusite city remained in Canaanite hands until David’s day. • The phrase to this day highlights either ongoing historical circumstances (here and 6:24) or the survival of certain customs to a later time (1:26; 10:4; 15:19; 18:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jud 1:21. Ἑαυτοὺς, yourselves) He who defends himself first, is able then, and not till then, to preserve others. The following verses.—προσδεχόμενοι, waiting for) They, who build themselves up, are able to wait with confidence.—ἔλεος, mercy) Opposed to fire, Jud 1:23.—εἰς, unto) To be construed with waiting for.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jud 1:21 . ἑαυτοὺς ἐν ἀγάπῃ Θεοῦ τηρήσατε . In Jud 1:1 the passive is used: those who are addressed are described as kept and beloved ( cf. Jud 1:24 , τῷ δυναμένῳ φυλάξαι ): here the active is used and emphasised by the unusual order of words; each is to keep himself in the love of God, cf. Jas 1:27 , ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν τηρεῖν , Phi 2:12 , τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν κατεργάζεσθαι · Θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν . Again in Jud 1:2 the writer invokes the divine love and mercy on those to whom he writes: here they are bidden to take steps to secure these. Compare Rom 5:5 , ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν , ib. Rom 8:39 , πέπεισμαι ὄτι οὔτε θάνατος οὔτε ζωὴ … οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ , Joh 15:9 . καθὼς ἠγάπησέν με ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ ὑμᾶς ἠγάπησα , μείνατε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῆ ἐμῇ . ἐὰν τὰς ἐντολάς μου τηρήσητε , μενεῖτε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ μου . The aor. imper. is expressive ot urgency, see note on ἡγήσασθε , in Jas 1:2 .

προσδεχόμενοι τὸ ἔλεος . Cf. Tit 2:13 , προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰ . Χ ., and 2Pe 3:12-14 . The same word is used of the Jews who were looking for the promised Messiah at the time of His first coming, Mar 15:43 , Luk 2:25 ; Luk 2:38 .

εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον . Some connect this closely with the imperative τηρήσατε , but it seems to me to follow more naturally on the nearer phrase, πρ . τὸ ἔλεος : cf. 1 Pet. 1:37, εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς … ὁ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἀναγεννήσας ἡμᾶς εἰς κληρονομίαν ἄφθαρτον … τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς τοὺς … φρουρουμένους … εἰς σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In Jde 1:20-21, Jude combines the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: and faith, hope, and love.

Keep yourselves--not in your own strength, but "in the love of God," that is, God's love to you and all His believing children, the only guarantee for their being kept safe. Man's need of watching is implied; at the same time he cannot keep himself, unless God in His love keep him.

looking for--in hope.

the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ--to be fully manifested at His coming. Mercy is usually attributed to the Father: here to the Son; so entirely one are they.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God] By building up yourselves on your most holy faith, and praying in the Holy Ghost; for without this we shall soon lose the love of God.

Looking for the mercy of our Lord] For although they were to build themselves up, and to pray in the Holy Ghost, and keep themselves in the love of God, yet this building, praying, and keeping, cannot merit heaven; for, after all their diligence, earnestness, self-denial, watching, obedience, &c., they must look for the MERCY of the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring them to ETERNAL LIFE.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. Keep yourselves in the love of God. He has made love as it were the guardian and the ruler of our life; not that he might set it in opposition to the grace of God, but that it is the right course of our calling, when we make progress in love. But as many things entice us to apostasy, so that it is difficult to keep us faithful to God to the end, he calls the attention of the faithful to the last day. For the hope of that alone ought to sustain us, so that we may at no time despond; otherwise we must necessarily fail every moment.

But it ought to be noticed that he would not have us to hope for eternal life, except through the mercy of Christ: for he will in such a manner be our judge, as to have no other rule in judging us than that gratuitous benefit of redemption obtained by himself.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

21. keep yourselves in the love of God …] The words admit equally of being taken of our love for God, or God’s love for us, but the latter meaning is more in harmony with the general tenor of Scripture, and, in particular, with our Lord’s language (“continue ye in my love”) in Joh_15:9, and probably also St Paul’s (“the love of Christ constraineth us”) in 2Co_5:14.

looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ] The verb implies, as in Luk_2:25; Luk_2:38; Luk_23:51, that the “mercy” is thought of as in the future, and probably there is a special reference to the second coming of Christ as that which will manifest His mercy no less than His righteous judgment. There is no ground, however, for limiting it to this significance, and it may well include all acts of mercy to which men were looking forward in patient expectation, as in store for them during the remainder of their earthly pilgrimage.

The reference in this and the preceding verse (1) to the Holy Spirit, (2) to the Father, (3) to the Lord Jesus Christ, may be noted as shewing St Jude’s witness to the “faith once delivered to the saints.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Keep yourselves in the love of God,.... By which may be meant either the grace and favour of God, that love with which God loves his people; and then the exhortation to the saints to keep themselves in it is, to set it always before them, to keep it constantly in view, to exercise faith on it, firmly believing their interest in it; as also to meditate on it, give themselves up wholly to the contemplation of it, and employ their thoughts constantly about it, which is the foundation of all grace here, and glory hereafter; or to preserve themselves by it, for so the words may be rendered, "preserve yourselves by the love of God"; against Satan's temptations, the snares of the world, and the lusts of the flesh; whenever Satan solicits to sin, and any snare is laid to draw into it, and the flesh attempts to be predominant, saints should betake themselves to the love of God, as to a strong hold and preservative against sin, and reason as Joseph did, Gen 39:9, for the love of God, and continuance in it, do not depend on anything that can be done by men; nor is there any danger of real believers falling from it, or losing it, since it is unchangeable, and is from everlasting to everlasting; or else by the love of God we are to understand that love with which his people love him and of which he is the object, Luk 11:42; and then the meaning of the exhortation is, that though this grace of love cannot be lost, yet, inasmuch as the fervour of it may be abated, and the people of God grow cold and indifferent in their expressions of it, it becomes them to make use of all proper means to maintain and increase it in themselves and others; such as are mentioned in the context, as conversing together in an edifying way about the doctrines of the Gospel, and praying either separately or together, under the influences of the Holy Spirit, and looking forward for the grace and mercy of Christ unto everlasting life; all which, with many other, things, by the blessing of God, may serve to maintain and revive the grace of love, and blow it up into a flame: though perhaps this phrase may chiefly design that love, peace, and concord, which ought to subsist among saints as brethren, and which they should be careful to preserve; and may be called the love of God, just as the same thing is styled the peace of God, Col 3:15, because it is what God requires, what he calls unto, which is of him, and is taught by him in regeneration, and what his, love engages to, and without which there is no true love to him; and he takes, love shown to his people as if shown to himself; and this sense is favoured by the context, both by the words in the preceding verse, and in the following ones:

looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The mercy of Christ may be considered either as past, which was shown in eternity, in his covenant transactions with his Father, in engaging in the cause of his people, in espousing them to himself, and in the care of their persons, grace, and glory; and in time, in assuming their nature, in his tender concern for the bodies and souls of men, in bearing the sins and sorrows of his people, in the redemption of them, and in their regeneration and calling; and there is the present mercy of Christ, in interceding for his people, in sympathizing with them under all their afflictions, in succouring them under all their temptations, in suiting himself, as the great Shepherd, to all the circumstances of his flock; and there is the future mercy of Christ, which will be shown at death, in the grave, and at the resurrection, at the day of judgment, and in the merciful sentence he will pronounce on his people; and this seems to be designed here; the consequent of which, or what is annexed to it, and in which it issues, is eternal life; which is not owing to the works of men, but to the grace of God, and mercy of Christ; eternal life is in him, and is given through him, and to his mercy should men look for it. Christ himself is to be looked for, who will certainly come a second time; and eternal life is to be looked for by him; and this is only to be expected through his grace and mercy; and this is to be looked for by faith, in the love of it, with delight and pleasure, and cheerfulness, with eagerness, and yet with patience.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Keep yourselves in the love of God - Still adverting to their own agency. On the duty here enjoined, see the notes at Joh 15:9. The phrase “the love of God” may mean either God’s love to us, or our love to him. The latter appears, however, to be the sense here, because it is not a subject which could be enjoined, that we should keep up “God’s love to us.” That is a point over which we can have no control, except so far as it may be the result of our obedience; but we may be commanded to love him, and to “keep” ourselves in that love.

Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ - Particularly when he shall come to receive his people to himself. See the Tit 2:13 note; 2Pe 3:12 note; 2Ti 4:8 note.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Keep yourselves in the love of God; i.e. in love to God, or that love whereby ye love God; this implies love to each other, as the cause doth the effect.

Looking for; viz. by hope: and so in these two verses we have the three cardinal graces, faith, hope, and charity.

The mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; the merciful or gracious sentence of Christ the Judge, whereby he puts believers in possession of eternal life, Mat 25:34. This reward of eternal life is promised, but being promised freely, and out of mercy, it is called mercy, 2Ti 1:18, the effect being put for the cause.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

By these means, through his grace, keep yourselves in the love of God, and in the confident expectation of that eternal life which is purchased for you, and conferred upon you, through the mere mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

21. “ Keep yourselves in the love of God, receiving the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” These two verses contain the very counsel and admonition which we all need to fortify us against these false teachers, who everywhere abound. Unless we are emptied of sin, filled with the Holy Ghost, constant in prayer, we are in constant danger of Satan’s lasso, thrown out by an unscriptural teacher. In conclusion of this scathingly anathematizing prophecy of Jude against these counterfeit preachers, he divides them into three classes: denotes the sentence of a criminal judge. The conclusion is clear and explicit that this class is hopelessly reprobated and doomed to perdition. They have crossed the dead-line, grieved away the Holy Spirit and are out of mercy’s reach.

(2) 23. “And some save, seizing them out of the fire.” This second class is barely hopeful. There is one chance for them in a thousand, and that is by jerking them out of hell-fire. They are on the brink, the wreathing flames already curling round them. Run quickly and seize them out.

(3) “But others pity in their fear, truly hating the garment which is polluted by depravity.” This is the hopeful, savable class. They are already convicted and trembling with fear. Oh, what an inviting case for Christian prayer, sympathy and heroic efforts. “Hating the garment which has been polluted by depravity,” i.e., the Christian workers hate this garment of profession worn by the false prophet, and polluted with depravity. Beware and go under the black-flag. If you soften things and compromise with him (though he is a big preacher) you are responsible for his blood. You are full of love for his soul, and at the same time hatred for the carnal profession which almost sent him to hell. Here Jude winds up these terrific anathemas of the Holy Ghost against counterfeit preachers, raised up by Satan to antagonize the true herald of salvation in all coming ages, and especially the latter days, in which we know more. You see in the finale he consigns one class of them hopelessly to Satan. For another class there is a bare possibility of salvation by seizing them out of hell-fire. The third class are already penitent and savable.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. Keep yourselves in the love of God. By holy lives and prayer.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

21. προσδεχόμενοι τὸ ἔλεος as Symeon in Luk 2:25. Cf. Tit 2:13 προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα κ.τ.λ.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. ἑαυτοὺς ἐν ἀγάπῃ Θεοῦ τηρήσατε. God keeps them, ver. 1, yet they may be said to keep themselves; cf. 1Ti 5:22; Jas 1:27. The “love of God,” coupled as it is here with the mercy of Christ, almost certainly means the love of God for man; they are to keep themselves safe within the covenant by obedience. Some commentators take the words to mean “love for God,” as in 2Th 3:5. See note on ver. 1.

τὸ ἔλεος. Mercy is ascribed generally to God, as in 1Pe 1:3; in the addresses of 1 and 2 Timothy and of 2 John, to God and Christ; here to Christ alone. Here again there is a possible reference to Enoch 27. 3, 4, “in the last days … the righteous … who have found mercy will bless the Lord of glory, the Eternal King.” They will bless Him for the mercy in accordance with which He has assigned them their lot. Εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον is by many commentators coupled with πηρήσατε. In this case, “keep yourselves unto eternal life” may be thought to correspond to “kept unto Jesus Christ,” who is Life Eternal, in ver. 1. Others find the connexion in προσδεχόμενοι τὸ ἕλεος, but it is difficult to find a satisfactory explanation for εἰς either with the participle or with the substantive. With the former, it must be taken to mean “waiting until” or “waiting with your eyes fixed upon,” with the latter, “mercy that leads to”; and none of these renderings is easy.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.