JUDE THE APOSTLE

The Apostolic Community lived in anticipation of the imminent Second Coming of the Lord. Therefore, apart from the canonical Scriptures of the New Testament, where the words about the Apostles were written down by the Holy Spirit, very little information about the biographies of Christ’s disciples has been preserved.

It is from the Scriptures that we know that the Apostle Jude was one of the twelve disciples. The name “Judas” was very popular and loved by the biblical people of that time. It was widespread to such an extent that even among the Apostles of Christ there were two disciples with that name. One of them, Judas Iscariot, turned out to be a traitor. Scripture and Tradition were especially careful to emphasize that the “other Judas,” not a traitor, was also known by other names: Lebbaeus and Thaddeus. Evangelist Luke calls him “Judas of Jacob,” that is, the son or brother of Jacob (Luke 6:16). Neither tradition nor biblical science give a clear answer to the question of whether it was one of the Apostles or just a person known to the author of the Gospel.

Among the canonical books of the New Testament, Judas has a separate Epistle. It has only one chapter and twenty-five verses. From the Epistle we learn about the coming judgment of the fallen angels (6), the prophecy of Enoch (14) and the mysterious dispute of Michael the Archangel about the body of Moses (9). The power of the moral conviction of the message is awe-inspiring.

Tradition says that after Pentecost, Judas Thaddeus preached Christ in Palestine and Mesopotamia, and was in the city of Edessa with the local King Abgar, who was converted to the faith by the Miraculous Image of Jesus.

The Gospel of John conveys the dialogue of Judas Thaddeus with the Lord at the Last Supper. “Judas—not Iscariot—said to Him: Lord! What is it that You want to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world” (John 14:23). In these words of Judas one can hear the thirst of the righteous of the Jewish people for messiahship. It is also obvious that there is a lack of understanding that the rejection that the chosen people had prepared for their Messiah had become insurmountable by the time of the Last Supper. This is what Jesus himself spoke about.

In response to Judas’ question, He spoke of keeping His words as a true manifestation of love. From now on, the divine word becomes not law, but love. “The word which you hear is not Mine, but that of the Father who sent Me” (John 14:24). Jesus’ suffering was not forced, but voluntary. The sign of this voluntariness was the Last Supper.

Discussing the Resurrection on the third day, the authoritative Church Father Gregory of Nyssa (335-394) believed that it was with the Last Supper that the “final countdown” to the three days and three nights of Christ’s death began.

Continuing his answer to the Apostle, the Lord announced to the disciples about the Coming of the Holy Spirit: “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have said to you” (John 14:26). It was the Holy Spirit, after the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, who answered the “messianic bewilderment” of Judas, and revealed Jesus not only to the disciples, but to the whole world.

“Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). This prophecy of the Lord in dialogue with Saint Jude must be fulfilled in the gracious church reality. It is a criterion of the truly New Testament character of the piety of the faithful and fidelity to God of the Church itself (cf. Rev. 2:9).

On the feast day of St. Jude, July 2 (June 19), the Church, as the Society of Believers, thanks the Apostle for his words at the Last Supper, which became the occasion for the great sayings of the Lord.

History has preserved the memory of the Apostle Judas from oblivion in various, often paradoxical ways. Thus, the medieval Catholic saint Brigid of Sweden (1303-1373) called on her contemporaries to honor the memory of the Apostle Judas Thaddeus. Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855), who died in 1855 in Constantinople, called his famous poem “Pan Tadeusz”, that is, literally “Mr. Thaddeus”. Thus, in paradoxical ways, the name of the Apostle entitled this culture-forming work for the formation of the Polish nation. This gave a strong impetus to the veneration of Saint Jude Thaddeus in popular piety.