Jude the Servant of Jesus Christ...

....and the brother of James.....

(this is in no way to be a critique of St. Jude's Hospital who does a wonderful job giving families hope in desperate times)

Last night I saw a commercial for St, Jude's Hospital on TV, and I wondered how Jude became a Patron Saint? I know the Catholic Church does these things, but to name Jude the Patron Saint of Lost Causes or some such seemed strange considering the very short Epistle he authored.

Anyway, I started looking into this, and quickly realized that there is much disagreement on who Jude even was, much less what he did or did not do to deserve to be named Patron Saint. Oddly, the most informative Articles I found were in Wikipedia. I know, I know, but, hey, if they do the best job............well?????

(excerpt)

also known as Judas Thaddaeus,[4] (Greek: Θαδδαῖος; Coptic: ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ ܫܠܝܚܐ)[5] was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, the brother of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Catholic writer Michal Hunt suggests that Judas Thaddaeus became known as Jude after early translators of the New Testament from Greek into English sought to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and subsequently abbreviated his forename.[6] Most versions of the New Testament in languages other than English and French refer to Judas and Jude by the same name.[7]

The Armenian Apostolic Church honors Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

Saint Jude's attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ, known as the Image of Edessa. In some instances, he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule.[8]

(found here

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrJ7JZ13BxcDjEAPjFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZmtndXNnBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDQjY1NzRfMQRzZWMDc3I-/RV=2/RE=1545424118/RO=10/RU=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Apostle/RK=2/RS=FMUviP7mLJjqVI_KAsnyEJ_OC0g-

I'm wondering who thinks Jude was actually the brother of Christ? of James? or the son of James? or some other person?

As far as Jude, the brother of Jesus, I think this excerpt from Ungers does a good job distinguishing the brother of Jesus from the apostle Jude.

Authorship (Book of Jude) According to the testimony of the book itself, it was written by “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1). Since James was one of the brothers of Jesus, Jude was likewise one of His brothers. Mt 13:55 and Mk 6:3 (“Judas” in both places in the NIV) indicate that Jesus had a brother by that name. Six other Judes or Judases are referred to in the NT, but the writer of this epistle is not to be confused with any of them. He differentiated himself from others of the same name by the mention of his brother, rather than his father. The reason for this is that his brother was much better known among his readers. Jude was not an apostle, as indicated by the omission of the apostolic title. Almost nothing is known about the life of Jude. He was apparently convinced of the deity of Christ after the resurrection.
Sent from PocketBible by Laridian, Inc.

And....... this from Anchor dictionary,

THADDEUS (PERSON) [Gk Thaddaios (Θαδδαιος)]. One of the twelve disciples of Jesus (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18). In Matt 10:3 variant readings include “Lebbaeus” or “Thaddeus, surnamed Lebbaeus.” The name is omitted from the Lukan lists of apostles (Luke 6:14–16; Acts 1:13), where the name “Judas son of James” is inserted instead. If Luke’s name is correct, the descriptions “Lebbaeus” and “Thaddeus, surnamed Lebbaeus” may have been added to avoid confusion with Judas Iscariot the traitor. They may be based on leb (“heart”), the Hebrew root of “Lebbaeus,” and be a term of endearment. The reference to Judas, not Iscariot, in John 14:22 probably refers to Thaddeus. See JUDAS (PERSON). No other person in the NT named James can be identified with any certainty with James the father of Thaddeus.
In extracanonical literature, Thaddeus healed, preached to, and converted persons in Edessa in Mesopotamia. The story is preserved in the Greek and Syriac versions of the Acts of Thaddeus and an earlier account by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 1.13; 2.1. 6–8). Eusebius also mentions Thaddeus as one of the Seventy (1.13.4, 11; cf. Luke 10:1).
JoAnn Ford Watson

Well...James was Jesus brother so if Jude was James brother than he was also Jesus brother.

But then spiritually, all who believe are brothers (or sisters) in Christ. I dont know if that helps us any, or gives us any insight into Jude, I would just say he was someone very close to Jesus. He tells us to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. From reading his letter..he probably walked with Jesus as a disciple. One of the original twelve.

In his letter, he could have conceivably been referring to Judas Iscariot, as the person who could be the certain men crept in unawares' but its seems he was referring to a whole bunch of false brothers. Maybe he is the patron saint of lost causes because in the letter he was referring to those who were in danger of becoming truly lost..going so far as to pull them out of the fire that was going to consume them.

Is some of this based on Catholic records/teachings? As they are the ones who said people prayed to him at his grave site and were healed or whatever.........

I'm pretty sure he was not one of the 12 chosen that are named in the Gospels.......but he still could have been with the entourage that followed Christ, and, possibly, one of the 70 Christ sent out?

The Patron Saint part came about as the Article stated.......that people prayed at his tomb, whatever, and received healing, or some thing they needed........

Still, he is quite a mystery apparently...........maybe others will have definitive evidence to share.

This particular set of dictionaries was produced
The Anchor Bible commentary series was begun in 1956 and published through Yale, supposedly with a cross section of scholarly & secular sources numbering near 1,000 contributors.

This particular set of dictionaries was produced
The Anchor Bible commentary series was begun in 1956 and published through Yale, supposedly with a cross section of scholarly & secular sources numbering near 1,000 contributors. I
Not as much factual stuff but a good deal of speculation.

THADDEUS (PERSON) [Gk Thaddaios (Θαδδαιος)]. One of the twelve disciples of Jesus (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18). In Matt 10:3 variant readings include “Lebbaeus” or “Thaddeus, surnamed Lebbaeus.” The name is omitted from the Lukan lists of apostles (Luke 6:14–16; Acts 1:13), where the name “Judas son of James” is inserted instead. If Luke’s name is correct, the descriptions “Lebbaeus” and “Thaddeus, surnamed Lebbaeus” may have been added to avoid confusion with Judas Iscariot the traitor. They may be based on leb (“heart”), the Hebrew root of “Lebbaeus,” and be a term of endearment. The reference to Judas, not Iscariot, in John 14:22 probably refers to Thaddeus. See JUDAS (PERSON). No other person in the NT named James can be identified with any certainty with James the father of Thaddeus.
In extracanonical literature, Thaddeus healed, preached to, and converted persons in Edessa in Mesopotamia. The story is preserved in the Greek and Syriac versions of the Acts of Thaddeus and an earlier account by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 1.13; 2.1. 6–8). Eusebius also mentions Thaddeus as one of the Seventy (1.13.4, 11; cf. Luke 10:1).

(2) Judes', one real, and one the counterfeit', our JOB, 'discern between the 'two'...
we, hub know whom we Love and accept...