Too Big for Your Britches

“And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains until the judgment of the great day” (v6).

Success is intoxicating. At some point, we start believing our own press. At some point, we begin to believe all of those great things people say about us. And why not? We’ve done some pretty sweet stuff. We get proud. We get cocky. As my grandma would say, we get too big for our britches. Jude lets us in on the fact that his big Brother had to deal with the same stuff. Not in Nazareth, but in heaven. There was a crew of angels that started believing their own press. And why not? They were hot stuff! They were fearsome, powerful beings that spent time serving the King of Kings. He would handpick them special assignments. The angels were His go-to guys. There’s only problem. One very BIG problem. They forgot who was really in charge. They certainly had authority. But they wanted more. In the end, Jesus handled it. He gave the rebel angels the boot from paradise, slapped them in cuffs, and tossed them in a holding cell until judgment day. These angels got too big for their britches. 

Let’s remember the entire reason Jude is jotting things down. He’s writing to fellow believers and warning them about a posse of spiritual hucksters invading local churches. They’ve infiltrated congregations and pervert the Good News into a you-can-do-anything-you-want-now card (Jude 4). For instance, wanna sleep around? Go for it. They go so far as to tell folks that Jesus isn’t in charge. They say He’s not our Master. He’s not our Lord. Jude’s purpose isn’t to give us a wanted poster so we can chuck these knuckleheads out the front door (that certainly doesn’t sound like such a bad idea!). What he’s doing is reassuring us that as our true Senior Pastor, Christ Jesus can and will handle it. Remember who Jesus is. Remember what He’s done for us. Keep our eyes on Him. Our job is to contend for the faith (Jude 3). Don’t worry so much about fighting AGAINST the false teachers. Contend FOR our faith in Jesus. Our Chief Shepherd will protect His flock. He’ll handle the pest control and rid the joint of these prowling wolves.

Jesus’ kid brother warns about the same ideas as Jesus’ number one apostle. Peter writes, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2Pet 2:4, 9-10). We’re not exactly sure of the connection between Jude and Peter, but they’re clearly singing from the same page of the hymnal. Jesus can handle folks when they get too big for their britches.

Folks get all hot and bothered trying to figure out exactly what sort of rebel uprising Jude’s talking about here. Is it that crazy story in Genesis where some sort of horrific sexual perversion was going down (Gen 6:1-5). Some people believe horny angels were jumping in the sack with the hottest chicks in town. Whatever it was, it was some pretty nasty stuff. It wasn’t long after that God decided to flush the toilet with the Great Flood and hit the reset button on His creation. Jude could be writing about that. Another possibility is Satan’s failed overthrow of God’s kingdom. Ezekiel pulls back the heavenly curtain for a moment on the day one of God’s personal bodyguard’s tried to seize power (Ezek 28:14-17). Jesus eventually quells the uprising and gives Satan the old heave ho from heaven. It could also be John’s version of the Archangel Michael kicking a little dragon tail (Rev 12:7-12). Mike whooped the devil and his evil rebel army and booted them out of the palace. In many ways, it really doesn’t matter which one he’s talking about. Each time, those angels certainly got too big for their britches. 

So just what do these rebel angels have to do with you and me? Glad you asked. You and I need to be very careful not to reject Jesus’ authority. He’s in charge. That’s what it means to be the Lord. When we see Jesus as Lord, we’re saying that we’ll do whatever He tells us to do. We can’t simply buy the fire insurance that He offers as our Savior. He’s the Lord. He’s the Boss. And our Lord calls us to submit to authority. To God. To others. To spouses. To the government. That’s because He’s ultimately in charge of everything. The big problem is that we want nothing to do with submitting to authority. We don’t like for anyone to tell us what to do. The rebel angels certainly didn’t. The false teachers certainly didn’t. Let’s be VERY careful. Let’s not get too big for our britches.