HistoricalChristian.Faith

Jude 1:9

9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Commentaries
Tyrannius Rufinuson Jude 1:9AD 411
You can search them out for yourself from sacred Scripture without my help. And it will become clearly evident to you that this likely is the age of which it was said, “Believe not in friends and trust not in princes,” and that the prophecy is now being fulfilled: “The leaders of my people have not known me; they are foolish and senseless children. They are wise to do evils, but to do good they have no knowledge.” We should rather pity such people than hate them and should rather pray for them than revile them. For we were created to bless and not to revile. Thus also Michael, when he was arguing with the devil over the body of Moses, did not dare to bring an accusation of blasphemy against him even for such a serious offense but said, “May the Lord rebuke you.” Even in Zechariah, we read something similar to this. “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan, and the Lord that chose Jerusalem rebuke you.” And so we also pray that those who refuse to be rebuked by their friends with humility may be rebuked by the Lord.
Jeromeon Jude 1:9AD 420
For he does not say to blaspheme no man: but absolutely no one: not an angel, nor any creature of God. Because everything that was made by God is very good. For when Michael the Archangel disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a judgment of blasphemy, but said, "May God rebuke you” (Jud. 9). If Michael therefore did not have the audacity to bring judgement upon the devil, certainly deserving of a curse, for blasphemy: how much more should we be pure from every curse? The devil deserved a curse: but it should not have come out through the mouth of an archangel.
Peter Chrysologuson Jude 1:9AD 450
The angels were present at the death of Moses, and God himself took care of his burial.
Source: SERMONS 83
Oecumeniuson Jude 1:9-10AD 550
Yet Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the Devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not think to pronounce a condemning judgment against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these people blaspheme what they do not understand, and they are destroyed by those things that they, like irrational animals, understand instinctively.
Since he remembers the blasphemy, he restrains not only them alone, but also all men, so that they may have pure tongues from such evil, and do not use it against those who are worthy of blasphemy, saying: "Michael the archangel," etc. But what does this mean? That these indeed rashly and intemperately use blasphemies against all. However, this should not happen, since it is not even fair to attack those who are worthy of blasphemy with curses, as is evident from the archangel Michael. For when there was a dispute between him and the Devil about the body of Moses, an opportunity was given to him to attack him with a blasphemy because of his boldness, But the archangel did not dare to bring a railing accusation against the Devil, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" How do these men dare to blaspheme the glorious beings?
It is written in another way: If the archangel was in this condition, we should not heap up blasphemies and curses against the brother of a man of the same condition as us. And indeed, these things have been said about them. Furthermore, this is the judgment concerning the body of Moses. It is said that Michael the archangel provided ministry in burying Moses: the Devil could not bear this but brought an accusation because of the killing of the Egyptian (Ex. 2), as if it were Moses' own, and therefore did not allow him to obtain an honorable burial.
But also wishing to signify through this, the Apostle presents in the open that the law is prescribed to all men after their departure from the body, and that the same God is of the Old and New Testament. For when God wished to reveal the hidden things to men who were then more grossly affected, namely that the Devil, with his wicked demons, rises against our souls after they have been freed from here, wanting to hinder their journey to the heavens (and indeed he resists, but the good angels of God are there to assist them: as blessed Anthony also saw): He permitted these things to happen at that time. Nevertheless, Michael then dared to repel the Devil, not with the authority to rebuke, but he granted judgment to the Lord of all, and said: "May God rebuke you, O Devil." But these do not know what they speak. Michael indeed acted so, nor did he bring any accusation against a man or Moses: but these compose slanderous speeches about doctrines they do not understand; those who, by natural motion or judgment, as beings experienced in reason, pursue these things like maddened horses towards mares, or like swine.
Andreas of Caesareaon Jude 1:9AD 614
Here Jude shows that the Old Testament agrees with the New and that they were both given by the same God. For the devil objected, claiming that the body was his because he is the lord of matter.… But Michael would not accept this and brought on the devil a punishment worthy of his blasphemy, though he abandoned him to the discretion of his own master. For when God brought Moses to the mount of transfiguration, the devil said to Michael that God had broken his promise, because he had sworn not to do such a thing. Michael is said to have taken care of the burial of Moses, and the devil is supposed to have objected to this. God then came to the rescue and wanted to show those who at that time saw only a very little that eventually our souls would be changed and we would all ascend into heaven. But the devil and the evil spirits with him wanted to cut off the way to heaven and tried both to do their evil deeds and at the same time weaken the righteous by this angelic warfare. This is what the blessed Antony saw in his vision.
Source: CATENA
Bedeon Jude 1:9AD 735
When Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil, etc. From which Scriptures Jude took this testimony is not easily clear. But it should be known that we find something similar to these things in the prophet Zechariah. For he says: Because the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan: The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you (Zech. III). But it is very easy to understand in this place that Jesus the high priest desired the people of Israel to be freed from Babylonian captivity and to return to their homeland. But Satan opposed him, not wanting the people of God to be liberated, but rather to be made slaves to enemies and nations; and therefore the angel who was the helper of the people rebuked him and removed him from the injury against that same people. But when Michael contended with the devil about the body of Moses, we have no certainty. However, there are those who say that the same people of God were called the body of Moses, because Moses himself was part of that people; and so Jude, having read what was done about the people, could rightly say it was done about the body of Moses. But wherever and whenever this dispute between the angel and the devil took place, it should be diligently considered, because if Michael the archangel did not wish to say a blasphemy to the devil opposing him, but restrained him with modest speech, how much more should all blasphemy be avoided by men, and especially lest they offend the majesty of the Creator with undisciplined words.
Theophylact of Ohridon Jude 1:9AD 1107
Since the apostle mentioned evil speaking, he reproves not only the blasphemers, but also persuades all people not to defile their tongues with such evil, not to employ it even against those who deserve it, and says: "Michael the Archangel," and so on. He speaks as if to say: they hastily and uncontrollably speak evil of everyone, but this ought not to be so. For it is unjust to speak evil even of those who deserve evil speaking, as is evident from the conduct of the Archangel Michael. Contending with the devil about the body of Moses, he could have reproached the devil for his shamelessness, yet he did not do so, but only said to him: The Lord rebuke you, devil! In another sense: if the Archangel acted this way, then we too, in a dispute with a man, our brother and kinsman, ought not to employ evil speaking. The dispute about the body of Moses was as follows. In the apocryphal writings it is said: the Archangel Michael ministered at the burial of the body of Moses; the devil would not allow this, but charged Moses with the guilt of killing the Egyptian, and on account of such guilt declared Moses unworthy of burial. The Apostle Jude recalls this in order not only to teach us not to be quick to speak evil, but also to show us that all people, upon departing from the body, must give an account of everything; that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same; that upon our passage from this world, the devil together with his evil demons rises up against our souls, wishing to cut short their blessed journey: he opposes them, while the good angels fight on their behalf, as the holy Anthony saw. So it could have happened then as well. Only Michael repelled the devil at that time by rebuking him, not by his own authority, but by committing the judgment to the Lord of all, saying: The Lord rebuke you, devil!
CS Lewison Jude 1:9AD 1963
There was never any question of tracing all evil to man; in fact, the New Testament has a good deal more to say about dark superhuman powers than about the fall of Adam. As far as this world is concerned, a Christian can share most of the Zoroastrian outlook; we all live between the 'fell, incensed points' of Michael and Satan. The difference between the Christian and the Dualist is that the Christian thinks one stage further and sees that if Michael is really in the right and Satan really in the wrong this must mean that they stand in two different relations to somebody or something far further back, to the ultimate ground of reality itself.
Source: Evil and God, from God in the Dock