Jude 9 But when the archangel Michael, disputing with the devil, was arguing about the body of Moses, he did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and all the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Verse 9 refers to something not found in the Old Testament but in intertestamental literature, based on the story of Moses’ death in Deuteronomy 34:1-12. Jude apparently drew upon a known Jewish tradition also found in a document called The Testament of Moses. In canonical Scripture, the archangel Michael is mentioned in Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1, Revelation 12:7, and in this verse. The name Michael means “Who is like God.” The obvious answer is, “No one.” Daniel 12:1 calls Michael “the great prince who protects your people.” Michael represents God’s power, which intervenes at critical times in the story of God’s people. Michael will intervene again at the end of time to lead the deliverance of all who have their names written in the book, possibly referring to the “Book of Life” (Revelation 3:5; 20:12). The word archangel occurs only here and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and has the sense of the highest angel.
According to Jewish tradition, the devil evidently wanted the body of Moses, which was against God’s will. Deuteronomy 34:6 implies that the angels were the ones to bury Moses. By slandering Michael, who was the one to bury Moses, the devil was indirectly slandering God, whose will Michael was following. The basic idea is that the devil was going against God’s word. For this reason, Michael rebuked the devil.
What the devil did is what the false teachers were doing by saying things they did not understand. They were following the way of the flesh and their fallen instincts. By following this way, they would eventually destroy themselves. They were no better than wild animals who also followed their instincts. The sinful nature of these problem people should have been obvious, but such people can also be deceiving.
Jude writes to warn his readers about such deception and heresy. Michael was the protector of the body of Moses and called on the Lord to rebuke the devil for possibly trying to steal the body. In the battle against evil and apostasy, early Christians could follow Michael’s example and seek God’s help. Michael shows someone calling on the Lord in humility in order to rebuke evil. The clear message to the readers of this letter is that since these opponents were heading towards destruction, why follow them? The way of obedience and eternal life is the way of the truth found in Jesus.