Summary
We find Manton’s Jude in the Geneva Commentaries a searching exposition of a short letter with sharp edges. He treats Jude as a vital word for churches facing doctrinal drift and moral compromise, and he shows how warning and mercy belong together.
Manton works carefully through Jude’s language, helping us see the logic of the letter, the nature of the danger, and the spiritual response Jude calls for, perseverance, discernment, and compassion.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this commentary when we want to preach Jude with weight and balance. Manton helps us warn against false teaching without feeding fear, because he keeps Christ’s keeping power and the church’s call to holiness in view.
We also benefit from the practical wisdom. Jude calls us to contend for the faith, but also to show mercy to the doubting and to rescue those entangled in sin. Manton helps us apply those commands in ways that are serious and tender at the same time.
For ministers and trainees, it is a valuable model of how to handle a difficult letter with doctrinal steadiness and careful pastoral instincts.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend this as an advanced expositional resource for preaching Jude, especially where we need depth on discernment, perseverance, and faithful pastoral care in the face of error.
As pastoral next steps, we can visit the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser working library.
Thomas Manton
Thomas Manton was an English Puritan of the seventeenth century, writing in a Reformed and warmly evangelical key, with a steady concern for the church’s holiness and comfort.
He is best known for sustained expository preaching and practical divinity, shaped by the Bible’s own argument and applied to the conscience. His sermons press the reader to hear the voice of Christ in Scripture, to repent without despair, and to pursue obedience as the fruit of grace, not its price.
Manton remains valued because he combines doctrinal seriousness with plain speech and searching pastoral wisdom, and because he keeps the gospel close to the affections and the will. Recommended titles include his Exposition of James, his sermons on Psalm 119, and his sermons on 2 Corinthians 5.
Theological Perspective: Reformed