Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts once and for all) that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe.
Jude 1:5 NET
Jude wrote to an unknown group of believers, urgently urging them to contend for the faith. The church was under attack by men who had secretly sneaked in. These men were turning the grace of God into a license for evil. And they were denying the Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:3-4). Much of this letter is a strong condemnation of these men. And it is a reminder that the Lord would be their judge and deal with them.
This condemnation included a reminder of how God had previously dealt with similar situations. This included Israel herself, rebellious angels (maybe referring to the sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4), and Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 1:5-7).
Who Was Their Judge
But who was responsible for their judgment and punishment? Jude’s answer might be a little surprising. He tells us that it was Jesus who saved Israel out of Egypt. And who later destroyed those who disbelieved, likely referring to the generation who failed to enter the promised land.
Most English translations say “the Lord” saved and destroyed them. But the manuscript evidence strongly favors this being Jesus (Iēsous) rather than Lord (kyrios). Jude tells us that it was the pre-incarnate Jesus who appeared to Moses at the burning bush, unleashed the plagues on Egypt, established a covenant with Israel at Sinai, and led the people through the wilderness.
But even if Lord (kyrios) is the word Jude used in this verse rather than Jesus (Iēsous), the message would be the same. In the previous verse, Jude identified Jesus as Lord (kyrios). Kyrios is also the word the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament used by the early church) used to translate YHWH, the name God gave for himself at Mt Sinai (Ex. 3:13-15). And it is the word the New Testament authors generally used for Jesus.
Jude, and the other New Testament writers, understood Jesus, the second person of the triune God, to be active throughout the story of redemption in both the Old Testament and the New.
