“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.”
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander; instead, he said, 'The Lord rebuke you!' — Jude draws this tradition from the Testament of Moses, an apocryphal Jewish text, to illustrate the appropriate restraint even the highest angelic figure must exercise when confronting cosmic evil. Michael's refusal to pronounce a blasphemous judgment (krisin phoras blasphēmias) against Satan reveals that cosmic authorities recognize limits to their power and submit to God's prerogative of judgment. The formula 'The Lord rebuke you' redirects judgment to God alone, establishing a model of authority that governs through submission to higher power rather than autonomous assertion of dominion.
Church Fathers on Jude 1:9
Similarly to the same, he says, also those dreamers,--that is, who dream in their imagination lusts and wicked desires, regarding as good not that which is truly good, and superior to all good,--defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of majesty, that is, the only Lord, who is truly our Lord, Jesus Christ, and alone worthy of praise. They speak evil of majesty, that is, of the angels. When Michael, the archangel, disputing with the devil, debated about the body of…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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