v.2 “Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.”
Before Jude gets on to the main part of his letter, he has one part of his opening salutation left. It’s very easy to pass over this part of the letter – especially as a recipient, wanting to rush on to the “important” part (if you’re anything like me, anyway) – but it is worth our while pausing and thinking upon these words for a few moments.
Jude certainly likes his triplets – which would have made him well loved as a preacher in Wales! Jude’s opening line was a three: “(1.) Jude, (2.) a bondservant.., (3.) and brother…” His second line was a three: “(1.) called, (2.) sanctified.., (3.) and preserved…”
Now we come to (1.) mercy, (2.) peace, (3.) and love.
Its impossible to know quite how much thought Jude had put behind these words. We find similar words to these in the greetings of Paul and Peter in their letters, so it would seem it was natural at the time to include something of this sort. When we consider these words in the face of the troubling subject to come, however, we can come to understand much better their preciousness.
Mercy
The mercy of God “is the spring and fountain of all the good we have or hope for”.[1] The original word translated as mercy also carries the connotation of ‘compassion’. Out of God’s compassion and loving concern comes His mercy for us.
In Matthew 20:29-34 we read of an account where Jesus healed two men of their blindness. They had called out to Jesus for mercy and we are told that Jesus looked upon them with compassion and touched their eyes, healing them of their blindness. To know that our Lord looks upon us with that same compassion and has mercy upon us is a wonderful comfort to the child of God!
Peace
It is God’s peace that comes to us out of the understanding of the compassionate mercy of God. It is God’s peace that is even given to us through the understanding of the compassionate mercy of God.
Jesus once told His disciples that the peace that He gives is a peace that the world cannot offer (John 14:27). There have been many doctors who have been confounded by the peacefulness of a Christian in the midst of the worst of terminal illnesses. When Jude asks for peace to be given to these Christians he is asking for this special peace – the peace that God alone can give.
Love
Again, the original Greek word for love carries a greater meaning than we get in the English word ‘love’ alone. It speaks of the love of being ‘cherished’. A loving parent of a beautiful new baby will understand this type of love, but it’s by looking again to Jesus that we can see this love in action.
In John 19:25-27 we are told of the quaint little side-story from when Jesus was upon the Cross. Jesus’ mother, Mary, was standing not far off looking upon the awful suffering of her precious Son as He hung dying upon that Cross. Its impossible to know the many anguishes that Mary would undoubtedly have been feeling, yet I wonder whether something like the following might have passed through her head at all at that time:
“There is the Lord of Lords, the Saviour of the world… and my own Son. I wonder what He really feels about me. Who am I that He should especially be concerned for me?”
We are told that when Jesus saw His mother He said, “Woman, behold your son!” and then he turned to John the Apostle, standing nearby, and said, “Behold your mother!” Jesus ensured that His mother would be cared for in His absence and Mary knew in that action that she was truly cherished by her Son. Such wonderful love from Jesus to His mother, even amid such agonizing suffering!
It is such wonderful love that Paul tells us is brought to, and shed abroad, in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
We can also remind ourselves of how Jude had already highlighted the true conversion and certain preservation of these Christian believers. The contrast to the apostate false teachers is clear:
Where the false teachers can expect the judgment that their wicked deeds deserve, the Christian is given mercy. Where the false teachers can expect enmity and fear before God, the Christian is given peace. Where the false teachers can expect to find the wrath of God, the Christian is given love.
The mercy, peace and love of God are things that are always needed by us, but we can understand in the context of false teachers and their judgement that these things were especially needful to these Christians. We can easily imagine how they might be worried, confused, anxious and perhaps even despairing – and there are genuine reasons for us to feel all of these things – but there is one thing that we never need be anxious over: God’s faithfulness in loving us and caring for us.
How often do we need to be reminded of that?! We can be fairly sure that it was something that these Christians needed to be reminded of in this moment, in the face of the anxiety that parts of Jude’s letter were likely to bring.
God's mercy, peace and love are things already in the Christian’s possession, but Jude asks for them to “be multiplied” to these Christian believers; that is to say, that they might not just possess these things, but that they would be given them “in abundance”.
May God be pleased to pour out His mercy, peace and love in abundance upon you too, especially when faced with anxiety of spirit.
[1] Matthew Henry, Commentary On The Whole Bible In One Volume, (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1970) p.765.