These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
Jude is pulling no punches here. Look at the imagery: shepherds who only feed themselves, clouds without rain, trees without fruit or roots. Each image looks like it will provide for others, but looks are deceiving. When you come together with the community of faith, do you only think of yourself, or do you come to feed, water, and tend to others? Be careful, for God takes the gathering of His people seriously. ~ Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org
