“Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.”
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance — Jude's benediction invokes three divine gifts, with 'mercy' (eleos) preceding peace and love, suggesting that mercy is the foundation upon which Christian peace and love rest. The promise of abundance (plethyntheia) signals that these divine gifts are not rationed or conditional but overflow toward the faithful, providing spiritual resources sufficient for resisting the coming deception. This generous benediction contrasts sharply with the judgment that will fall on the deceivers, indicating that the community's security rests not in their own strength but in God's lavish grace.
Church Fathers on Jude 1:2
Jude, who wrote the Catholic Epistle, the brother of the sons of Joseph, and very religious, whilst knowing the near relationship of the Lord, yet did not say that he himself was His brother. But what said he? Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,--of Him as Lord; but the brother of James. For this is true; he was His brother, the son of Joseph. For certain men have entered unawares, ungodly men, who had been of old ordained and predestined to the judgment of our God; not that…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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