Jude 1:9 – 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.

Hello readers! New blog time today, and on an unusual verse in Jude. What does it mean, why were Satan and Michael having a confrontation about the body of Moses? What does it mean to us? Moses was a great man in the Bible, a godly man, God used him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and to the promised land. But Moses never entered the promised land himself. The law was given by Moses. That same law which was written in our hearts, but was written down in tables of stone at Mt Sinai, and the basis upon which a covenant was struck between God and man, a covenant based on man keeping the law of God. The law was good, the law was great, and reflects the purity and holiness and righteousness of God. But keeping the law to make it to heaven would never work. Because man is a fallen sinful creature. So the old covenant couldn’t get it done. No man was able to keep it, every man was born in sin, and sinned, noone was worthy, noone could keep the covenant. Until God himself entered his creation. Jesus is God in the flesh, God with us, God walked the earth as a man, and fulfilled that old covenant, and in fulfilling it, he could thus make a new covenant with mankind, which was so much better for us! Jesus fulfilled the old covenant where no other man could, he kept the law perfectly. And thus through his death and victorious resurrection and everlasting life, God struck a new covenant, a better covenant with mankind, a covenant not based on what we can do (which we can’t and can never do! … keeping the law, a law which we have automatically broken by birt as we all come from Adam’s seed and thus inherit his sin – and by nature, we all sin)… God instead made a new covenant based on what Jesus has done. So if we believe on Jesus, confessing our sin, acknowledging our guilt, and coming to Jesus Christ and believing on him that he lived, died and lives for us, then we will be saved and we can go to heaven. We are only acceptable coming to God on the basis of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. You can’t understand the Old Testament without the New, neither can you understand the New without the Old.

So Moses was the man God chose in which to reveal and order his law to Israel, and made a covenant with Israel on the basis of performance of the law. The law itself was good, but mankind is sinful and a lawbreaker, so there were problems! The law was never given to save us, but rather to show us that we are so guilty and that we need a Saviour… Jesus Christ. It reveals mankind’s sin and darkness and lostness and shows us why we need Jesus Christ. The law never was done away with, it was never destroyed, but Jesus came and fulfilled it. And in fulfilling it he made a new covenant with us, saying believe in me that I have done it, and done it for you, in your place! He died the death for us, and lived and now lives the life for us. Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land, but that generation did not go in, and him included. Because they did not believe, nor did they obey God and thus they did not go in. The Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God. And they didn’t. The Bible says the gospel did not profit them, because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it. Without faith you won’t make it. And we have no faith, we are incapable of it. You’ll never find faith until you find Jesus Christ, because our faith comes from his faithfulness. You’ll find faith when you find Jesus Christ. He is called Faithful and True. Their behavior finally got to Moses, and he got angry, he struck the rock the second time and God said you’re not going in. Moses saw the promised land, but he died outside of it. Moses is a picture of the law to us. And the law will not take you into any promised land for your life. You need Jesus Christ, and through him you will get in.

And this is where we come to Jude and Satan contending with Michael the archangel about Moses’ body. Satan is an accuser of the brethren. He won dominion over mankind in the beginning. The kingdom which man was put over was passed to Satan, and even today Satan is the god (little g!) of the world. The kingdom was lost through sin. And through death and fear of death, Satan rules mankind. Satan murdered humankind in Eden. Death and hell, separated from God, separated from heaven. Imprisoned, in darkness, hopeless, with Satan as the boss. This world is his kingdom, but when we are saved, we are translated out of his kingdom, spiritually we enter a new kingdom, even while we are here on earth and in this present evil world. Satan had some great grounds to accuse people. He points out our sin to God, and we are guilty. He doesn’t want anyone entering the promised land, he wants you dying out in the desert as Moses did. Moses couldn’t go in… and didn’t. The law will not take you there, because you can’t fulfill it, you can never atone for your own sin, you cannot redeem yourself from Satan’s clutches, you cannot save yourself, you cannot make it. Even the best of us, our best efforts… they’re filthy rags. But then, we see Moses again, and we see him in the promised land! At the Mount of Transfiguration talking with Jesus. So he did make it, and Satan couldn’t stop it, and no amount of debating, disputing, and accusing could prevail. Moses made it through the Lord Jesus Christ to the promised land. Moses made it to heaven because of Jesus Christ. Satan thought he had mankind, just like he thought he had Moses, but through Jesus Christ we go through the Red Sea that Satan himself is drowned in, and we are carried beyond his power, beyond his grasp forever. 1 John 5:18 – We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And now when Satan disputes, we don’t need to get caught up arguing with him, we just say the Lord rebuke thee Satan. Because the Lord Jesus Christ conquered the devil! Satan is a powerful enemy, and the only way you can beat him, is through the Lord Jesus Christ, who has bruised his head. Because through Jesus dying and raising from the dead victorious over sin, death, hell… he won back the kingdom, and hence all power is given unto Jesus in heaven and earth, and there is coming a day when Jesus will take that kingdom … in Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Satan was disputing the body of Moses. Saying, hey Moses can’t be going into the promised land. His body belongs in the wilderness forever, never to enter in. I’ve got him, I’m entitled to him, he’s mine. But no, through Jesus Christ, Moses, and all of us can be set free, forgiven, washed, cleansed and go to heaven! Look at the man of the Gadarenes whom had the Legion of devils… but Jesus arrived on the scene, he said go, and they went! Jesus trumps Satan’s claim to our souls. Jesus fixed up the big mess we got ourself in. No arguments from us needed, we rest in Jesus Christ’s work, because Satan flees from him, Satan was killed by Jesus Christ… our debts have already been paid, our lives purchased with Jesus Christ’s blood. We were in the slave market of sin, and Jesus bought us out of it. Do you want out of Satan’s kingdom? We are sold under sin. When you were born into this world, you were born into captivity, captive to sin. And unless that sin is addressed, not with a bandaid, not by ignoring it, not by pretending there isn’t a problem… you will die in your sins, and Satan will win forever over you. He wants to keep you imprisoned, lifeless, dead, lost, in darkness, if you’re of the world, he is your ruler, your king, and he is cruel to his subjects. And his deception, the way he works, is far past our ability to compete with him. He is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Satan is upset by Jesus Christ. Think of how much he rues his role in getting Jesus Christ  crucified. Because Jesus is God, Satan is a a created being, he thought he was pretty smart, but he didn’t realize what he was doing. Now, Jesus was in complete control of his death, his life wasn’t taken from him, he laid it down. Because he never sinned, Jesus would never die, death is a consequence of sin, we age and die because of sin. Jesus was beaten so bad his image was marred beyond recognition as a human being, yet he was still alive until he gave up the ghost himself. Sin is a deep corruption of our entire being, a cancer that we are born with, a cancer of our spirit and soul and body. But Satan was keen to get Jesus killed, and thought he was done with Jesus when Jesus died on the cross. But when Jesus rose from the dead, it was game over. Not only did Jesus break Satan’s hold on humanity through death, but he destroyed Satan, he inherited all things, Jesus has complete victory over Satan. That’s why Satan has no hold on Moses’ body, and that’s why Michael resists him through the name of Jesus Christ, because Jesus has won the battle. The accuser, the resister, the adversary is cast down forever. Satan is like hey, you’re mine, but no, when we are saved, he has no hold on us, that power, that hold, that darkness, that vice like grip is broken. Jesus came to set us free, while Satan does not open the door of his prisoners. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today.

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