Jude Series: Jude 9b-Michael Respected the Devil’s Authority

Jude 9 But when Michael, the highest ranking archangel, was arguing with the devil, he was disputing over Moses’ body, he absolutely did not dare present a slanderous accusation. In fact, on the contrary, he said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” (Lecturer’s translation)

Jude 9 is composed of a temporal clause which is followed by an emphatic adversative clause.

As we noted, this temporal clause in Jude 9 asserts that Michael absolutely did not dare to present a slanderous accusation against the devil while arguing and disputing over the body of Moses after his death.

The term krisis (κρίσις), “accusation” pertains to a charge of wrongdoing.

This interpretation is indicated by the meaning of the noun blasphēmia (βλασφημία), which means “slander” since it pertains to the act of defaming someone’s character as a result of bitterness towards them.

Specifically, this word speaks of Michael making a “slanderous” accusation against the devil while disputing and arguing with him over the body of Moses.

The noun blasphēmia (βλασφημία) functions as an attributive genitive, which specifies an attribute or innate quality of the head substantive.

Thus, this word functions as an attributive genitive modifying the noun krisis (κρίσις), “accusation” and can thus be converted into an adjective and means “slanderous.”

Also, the verb tolmaō (τολμάω) speaks of being so bold as to defy or challenge the authority of another.

It is emphatically negated by the emphatic negative adverb ou (οὐ), which emphatically denies the fact of Michael making a slanderous accusation against the devil while disputing and arguing with him over the body of Moses after his death.

Therefore, these two words are expressing the idea of Michael “absolutely not daring” to present a slanderous accusation against the devil before the Supreme Court of Heaven as a result of disputing and arguing with him over the body of Moses after his death in the sense of being so bold as to disrespect the devil’s authority.

Furthermore, the verb epipherō (ἐπιφέρω) speaks of bringing charges or make accusations against someone in a court of law.

Therefore, it is expressing the idea of Michael daring to “make” or “present” a slanderous accusation against the devil before the Supreme Court of heaven as a result of disputing and arguing with the devil over the body of Moses after his death in the sense of being so bold as to disrespect the devil’s authority.

The emphatic adversative clause which follows this temporal clause asserts that Michael prayed to the Father that the preincarnate Christ would rebuke the devil.

Therefore, the emphatic contrast is between Michael making a slanderous accusation against the devil and Michael instead deferring to the Lord to rebuke him.

This emphatic adversative clause contains reported speech.

Specifically, it presents to the reader what Michael said to the devil while disputing and arguing with him over the body of Moses after his death.

The verb epitimaō (ἐπιτιμάω) pertains to expressing strong disapproval of someone or something a person is doing.

It means to sharply express constructive criticism of a person’s attitude or conduct.

Therefore, it speaks of the preincarnate Christ rebuking the devil rather than Michael presenting a slanderous accusation against the devil before the Supreme Court of Heaven.

The optative mood of this is a voluntative optative, which expresses an obtainable wish or prayer and is an appeal to the will.

Here it expresses the prayer of Michael to the Father that the Lord Jesus Christ in His preincarnate state would rebuke the devil.

It is also an appeal to the will of the Father that the preincarnate Christ would rebuke the devil.

That this was a prayer to the Father and not the preincarnate Christ is indicated by the fact that the Scriptures teaches that God the Father is the recipient of prayer from believers (Eph. 3:14) and from God the Son (Lk. 22:42; 23:34, 46).

The Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father (Lk. 11:2).

The referent of the noun kurios (κύριος), “Lord” is the Lord Jesus Christ since He is the referent of this word in Jude 4 as well as Jude 14, 17, 21 and 25.

This term emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the sovereign ruler over all of creation and every creature.

It also signifies the victory that He accomplished over sin and Satan through His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

It emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the sovereign ruler over all of creation and every creature.

It also signifies the victory that He accomplished over sin and Satan through His spiritual and physical deaths on the cross and His resurrection.

It indicates the following about Jesus Christ: (1) His equality with the Father and the Spirit. (2) His joint-rulership with the Father over the entire cosmos. (3) His highest ranking position as Chief Administrator in the divine government. (4) His absolute sovereign authority as Ruler over all creation and every creature. (5) His victory over the sin nature and Satan and His kingdom.

In His deity, Jesus Christ is “Lord” (See Luke 20:42).

However, in His human nature He received this title as a result of His obedience to the Father’s will, which called for Him to suffer a spiritual and physical death on the cross as a substitute for every member of the human race-past, present and future (See Philippians 2:5-11).

The noun kurios emphasizes the victory that Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, accomplished for the believer through His spiritual and physical deaths and resurrection. His spiritual death solved the problem of personal sins, which are produced by the sin nature through the function of human volition.

His physical death solved the problem of the sin nature, which resides in the genetic structure of the human body. His resurrection guarantees the believer that he or she will receive a resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which will be immortal and minus the sin nature.

This emphatic adversative clause in Jude 9, which records Michael appealing to the Lord’s sovereign authority over the devil to rebuke him rather than assert his own authority recalls the Lord rebuking Satan for accusing the high priest of Israel, which is recorded in Zechariah 3:1-10.

So therefore, Jude 9 is teaching that unlike the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. who disrespected Satan’s authority delegated to him to rule unregenerate humanity and the governments which rule over these individuals, Michael, the highest ranking elect angel and protector of the nation of Israel respected the devil’s authority.

Also, this verse teaches that Michael appealed to the Lord’s sovereign authority over the devil to resolve the confrontation between himself and the devil.

In other words, Michael did not assert the authority given to him by God over Israel, which would also give him authority over the body of Moses who led Israel for forty years.

Instead, he let the Lord deal with the devil.

In fact, Satan has a higher rank than Michael since he was an anointed cherub who once guarded the throne of God from anything unholy prior to his rebellion, and the latter was not.

Furthermore, Satan is the temporary ruler of the earth as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve.

He is called the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and in Luke 4 he offered the Lord Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the earth if He would bow down and worship him.

The devil’s offer would not constitute a legitimate temptation of the Lord if in fact Satan did not have such authority over the earth.

In fact, the Lord would have called him a liar for making an offer that he had no authority to make.

Thus, by refusing to make a slanderous accusation against the devil while arguing with him over the body of Moses and instead appealing to the Lord’s sovereign authority to rebuke him, Michael was demonstrating his respect for the devil’s authority over the earth.

He was also demonstrating his respect for the devil’s former position as the anointed cherub of God.