Jude Drops Mic

“to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (v25).

I’m not sure hone or where it started, but comedians and hip hop artists began dropping the mic after dropping the truth. Jude ends his little letter with the first century version of the mic drop. He erupts in praise for God and all that He’s done through Jesus. He points to Christ. He applauds. He shouts a few incredible items from His divine resume. He’s the one and only God. He’s our Savior. Jesus is Messiah and Lord. He’s the only one who deserves the cheers. Glory! Majesty! Dominion! Authority! This ovation started before creation and will never, ever stop. THUNK! Jude drops mic.

This all starts when Jude reminds us that our applause are “to the only God” (v25). There is only one God. When you make a list of all the gods who’ve ever existed, it’s a rather short list. It’s an exclusive club. It’s one and done. It’s God. Period. All the other contenders are just pretenders. They are either demons or the don’t exist. Over and over and over on page after page after page of the Bible, God makes it clear that He stands alone (Dt 6:4; 32:39; 2Sam 7:22; 1Ki 8:60; 2Ki 5:15; 1Chr 17:20; Neh 9:6; Is 37:16-20; 44:6-8; 45:21; 46:9; Hos 13:4; Joel 2:27; Zech 14:9; Mk 12:29-34; Jn 17:3; Rom 3:30; 1Cor 8:4-6; Gal 3:20; Eph 4:6; 1Tim 1:17; 2:5; James 2:19). There is one God. Period. 

Our one and only God is “our Savior” (v25). He’s our Rescuer. He’s our Hero. Let’s face it, if you could ask anyone to save your bacon, it would be the most powerful Being in the universe. If you’re like me, I tend to limit my view of the Trinity and see Jesus as my Savior. But the Old Testament lets me know that He’s been in the rescuing business ever since we’ve been on the planet. God made it clear that dark day in Eden that He was coming to crush heads and kick butt (Gen 3:15). He busted His people loose from slavery in Egypt in spectacular fashion (Ex 3-15). King David wrote a hit song in which the opening lyrics try to describe his Hero in every way possible. “The LORD is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God, my Rock, in Whom I take refuge., my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold and my Refuge, my Savior; You save me from violence” (2Sam 22-3; Ps 18:2). Yahweh told the prophet Isaiah that He was not just the one and only God but our Savior as well (Is 45:21).  And He’s still in the saving business.

Jude connects the dots between God our Hero and his big Brother Jesus. God saves “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v25). Again, the author doesn’t play the “God is my big Brother” card. I can tell you that if I were in Jude’s sandals, I would have told everybody I met! But he doesn’t. He sees the One he shared a bedroom with back in Nazareth for whom He really is. He’s the Christ. This is the NT way of referring to God’s anointed Messiah. Jesus is the Hero that God has been promising since the garden (Gen 3:15). He personally executed the greatest search and rescue mission in all of history. He came to seeking and saving those who were lost (Lk 19:10). He’s talking about you and me. Not only is our God is our Hero, my God is my Hero. I could have never gotten out of this self-made mess without His supernatural help. And because that, He’s my Lord. He’s my Leader. Out of worship and thankfulness for His amazing rescue, I willingly submit myself to His authority. 

At this point, Jude explodes with a literary standing ovation for God. He’s the only One who deserves “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever” (v25). He unleashes a series of words like he’s got his finger pressed hard on the trigger of an automatic weapon. Glory. Majesty. Dominion. Authority. Just like Jude doesn’t hype himself by claiming a family tie to Jesus, the author makes sure all eyes are on the right Person in the room. He shines the spotlight on God. He alone gets the glory. He alone is majestic. He alone rules the universe. He alone is in complete control. God gets the applause because He’s only One worthy. He’s the only one who’s legit. And this is not a one time occurrence. Jesus is not just have a really good game, good series, or good season. He’s awesome forever. From “before all time and now and forever” (v25). Before anyone was around to worship Him, God was worthy. He certainly is now. And that’s never, ever going to change. For everybody else, the crowd eventually stops whooping and hollering. For God the cheers never stop.

Jude closes by saying, “Amen” (v25). This isn’t just the way to sign off a prayer. This isn’t just a super spiritual way of saying “over and out.” No, this ancient word means that something is absolutely and positively true. After unleashing this incredible list of praise for God, there’s really no reason to say anything else. This is the truth about the Truth (Jn 14:6). Not surprisingly, Jesus calls Himself “the Amen” in a letter to the church in Laodicea (Rev 3:14). Jude’s use of “amen” is a first century way version of dropping the mic and walking off stage. 

Do I see see God as my Hero? Do I worship Jesus as my Hero? Do I give Him the ovation, the applause, the credit, and the ovation He deserves? This standing O has been going on for as long as anyone remembers. And it’s not going to stop. When I think of all He’s done for me, I can’t help but stand and cheer.