Why did the Devil want the body of Moses? (Jude 9)
Jude 9 raises the question, Why would the devil dispute with the archangel Michael over the body of Moses? That dispute is framed as part of a larger biblical pattern: the serpent’s deception in Genesis 3 and the “curse” that functions as the devil’s job change into the “dust eater,” the one who draws humanity toward death and Sheol. Moses’ body is a symbol of a larger contest over where humans belong in death—down in the realm of the grave, or up with God—especially in light of Christ, the Lord of life, who descends into Sheol, breaks it open, and opens heaven for the saints. The argument also draws on Second Temple literature (including the tradition associated with the Testament/Assumption of Moses) and places Michael’s restraint (“The Lord rebuke you”) alongside a warning to remain faithful and not follow the patterns of rebellion associated with Cain, Balaam, and Korah. The central exhortation is that the devil contends for the bodies of the faithful, too, so believers must keep Christ on the throne by allegiance to God’s kingdom and fidelity to Scripture, rather than by compromise, self-sovereignty, or the ethics of pagan worship.
Did the Father turn his face away? (The Crucifixion and Psalm 22)
Psalm 22 challenges the idea that the Father “turned his face away” from the Son at the cross. When read Christologically, David’s cry of forsakenness (“Why have you forsaken me?”) is resolved within the psalm itself: God did not hide his face. The Gospels follow this pattern. Jesus truly experiences anguish, yet Luke highlights trust and communion—“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”—as the temple curtain tears, revealing open access to God. The three hours of darkness are not evidence of divine rejection but a cosmic sign: the old-covenant veil gives way to new-covenant access as heaven opens.
This truth has pastoral weight. How we think the Father viewed the Son in his suffering shapes how we think the Father views us in ours. Scripture teaches that the Son bore our sins, not the Father’s rejection. So when believers feel forsaken, they can rest assured that God has not turned his face away. Psalm 22 moves from lament to praise and to mission—nations turning to the Lord—and the church is called to live and worship in that reality. It finds its culmination at the Lord’s Table, where communion with God and his people anticipates the day every tribe and tongue will worship the Lamb.