Jude, the brother of James, is one of the Twelve, but many scholars conclude he is the half brother of Jesus, but I don’t agree, and I am not alone in this interpretation.[1] The scholars tell us that the writer of the Epistle of James was the Lord’s half-brother (see Mark 6:3; cp. Galatians 1:19), and, therefore, Jude, being the brother of James, must also be the half-brother of Jesus. Yet, neither Jude nor James ever claim in their epistles that they are the half-brothers of Jesus, concerning which, the scholars add both Jude and James were simply being modest, not willing to boast of their connection to Jesus through their natural lineage. I don’t know whether to be amused at such a claim to know the hearts of James and Jude or to be appalled with such **proof** of their conclusion.
Consider the reason why the epistle of Jude was written. He tells us he intended to write what may have been a Gospel narrative (Jude 1:3), but due to the dire circumstances that suddenly developed, he thought it more prudent to send out this letter of warning to believers that they need to contend for the faith that was delivered to them. Now, ask yourself, if you were in Jude’s place and the great falling away (2Thessalonians 2:3; cp. Matthew 24:9-10) seemed to be occurring at that very moment in time, would you even hesitate for a moment to use the fact that you were the half-brother of the Lord, as a special influence to gain the hearts and minds of your readers, in an effort to keep them out of the terrible fire of judgment, which was about to come upon the Jewish state (cp. Jude 1:23)? The idea that Jude would refrain from using any means available to him to help his brethren in such a time seems incredible to me, and to fall back upon the idea that he was simply too modest is simply untenable.
Another argument that is used that the author of this epistle isn’t Jude, the Apostle, is that he didn’t claim to be an apostle. So, in other words, he is too modest to use his natural relationship to Jesus, but he wouldn’t have been too modest to claim his office as Apostle and one of the Twelve? The argument isn’t consistent. The fact is, that only Paul and Peter actually claim the office of Apostle of Jesus in the New Covenant text. Most, if not all, scholarship claims John, the Apostle wrote the Gospel by that name and the corresponding three epistles,[2] yet he never claimed to be one of the Twelve in any of his works. Rather, he chose the title the Elder. Moreover, his name is mentioned five times in the Apocalypse, but not once does he claim to be one of the Twelve. Finally, even Paul, who doesn’t hesitate to call himself an Apostle of Jesus, fails to do so in Philippians, both letters to the Thessalonians and the pastoral, Philemon. Once more the argument of the scholars simply isn’t consistent, and, therefore, is not compelling.
As I stated in my previous study on Jude, Jesus said that, because they were with him from the beginning (John 15:27), they would be witness to him. The very fact that Jesus’ natural brethren were unbelievers (John 7:5) until after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:14) would exclude them from being witnesses! Therefore, Jude, the Apostle of Jesus and the brother of James, addressed the called out ones, the beloved of God, the Father, who were preserved in Jesus, the Messiah (Jude 1:1) in the same manner other writers of the New Covenant text did, by pronouncing upon them an overabundance of mercy, peace and love (Jude 1:2).
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[1] See Gill and Adam Clarke on Jude 1:1
[2] This is modern scholarship’s argument. However, I differ and have another argument. See my earlier study: Barnabas, Whom Jesus Loved!
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