A Different Blessing

Wednesday, July 1, 2020
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: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1:1-2

A Different Blessing
Out of the 27 books in the New Testament, 21 of them are Epistles, or letters written by apostles or a family member of Jesus. These letters usually followed the same format, at least at the beginning of them. They all started with an introduction that included who the person writing the epistle was, followed by a description (by name or adjectives) of the person or group the letter was written to. The last part of the introduction was a greeting, or blessing.

The book of Jude is one epistle written by Jude, half brother of Jesus. In the introduction, Jude says the epistle was written for those who are called, beloved, and kept for Jesus Christ. He made this distinction because there were false teachers and those who had rejected the truth and turned away from God running around at this time, trying to persuade others to leave the faith. This whole book of the Bible is only one chapter and it is exclusively devoted to confronting these false teachers. Then Jude gives them a blessing – Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. This is a simple, heartfelt blessing to the believers. 

Mercy – Mercy is a strange word to be part of a blessing. The usual words you hear in a blessing are peace, grace, abundance, love, bless, and keep, etc… Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. These are believers that he is talking to so they have already received mercy from God, along with salvation.  But at the end of the letter, he challenges them to wait on mercy, to have mercy, and to show mercy. They have received mercy, but they will always still need mercy. We are always in need of mercy. When we remember the mercy we have been shown, it helps us to remember to show mercy to others.  The mercy of God is where it all starts. He has mercy on us, and we are given the gift of salvation. From there we receive all the good we have or hope for in Christ. As long as we are human, we will still be sinners.  And as long as we are sinners, we will have need of mercy. Mercy – the pardon of all their sins and acceptance by God – over and over again. What better way to remind us we always need mercy and always need to show mercy? And what better wish or blessing could we have for someone that to wish them mercy from God always?

Peace – this is an easy one, and a part of most blessings found in the Bible.  Peace with God and with each other.  Peace found in God. When we have been recipients of God’s mercy, peace follows.

Love – And from peace flows love – God’s love for us, our love for Him, and love for one another.

Not only did Jude bless these believers with mercy, peace, and love, but multiplied to you. Matthew Poole’s Commentary explains it this way: Be multiplied - mercy in the effects of it, peace in the sense of it, and either the love of God in the manifestation of it, or their love to God and their neighbors in the degrees and exercise of it. This is his way of saying I wish for you to have mercy from God over and over again – and mercy leads to sanctification. I wish for you to have peace – over and over again. I wish for you to have love from God, to God, and to others over and over again. All these things come from being called, beloved in the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.  When we are called, beloved, and kept, these blessings are ours always.  They never end.