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Who was
Melchizedek?
Who was the mysterious Melchizedek
mentioned only a few times in the Bible? Surprisingly, his name is more of a
title than a personal reference. It comes from two Hebrew words, melek
and tsedeq. The word melek means 'king' and tsedeqmeans
'righteousness' (Strong's Concordance #H4442). Because a king is preeminent
in his jurisdiction, he had to be preeminent in righteousness. Before
reviewing our first scriptural reference, note that this priest in the book
of Genesis, chapter 14, was the king of SALEM. The word Salem, as defined by
Strong's #H8004, means 'peace.' This makes Melchizedek the "King of
Peace" (Hebrews 7:2). His name means "king of righteousness" Notice that Melchizedek was king
of Salem. That is the city of Jerusalem. "Salem" comes from the
Hebrew word meaning "peace." That
would make Melchizedek the "King of Peace" (Hebrews
7:2). The Hebrew name Melchizedek itself means "King of
Righteousness" (Hebrews 7:2). The same individual is
mentioned in Psalm 110:4. Speaking prophetically of
Christ, David stated: "The Eternal hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." This verse is quoted
again in Hebrews 5:6, 10.
Melchizedek Was
God's Priest
First, notice from both Old and
New Testaments that the man of mystery, Melchizedek, was a priest of the Most
High God. During the war between a number of ancient
city-states in Canaan and Mesopotamia, Abraham's nephew Lot had been
captured. He and his family and goods were carted off. One of their number
escaped and brought the news to Abraham, who armed 318 of his own servants
and pursued the invaders to what was later named Dan and beyond. Abraham
rescued Lot and his family and returned them safely to the Canaanite cities.
On Abraham's return a man of mystery bursts upon the scene. Abraham was
ministered to by Melchizedek.
"Then
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest
of God Most High.
And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of
heaven
and earth;
And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your
hand.'" (Genesis 14:14, 16-18,
God revealed himself to
Abraham, but we don't know how Melchizedek learned of the true God. Monotheism,
or worship of one god, was rare in the ancient world. Most of the people
worshiped several gods. Some even had dozens of local or household gods,
which were represented by manmade idols.
The
second reference to this priest of God is in the book of Psalms: "The
Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool . . . The Lord has
sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order
of Melchizedek.' " (Psalm 110:1-4) Melchizedek was one appears
only briefly and is mentioned as an example of holiness and right living.
The startling fact about
Melchizedek is that although he was not a Jew, he worshiped God Most High,
the one true God. Melchizedek blessed Abram, later to be renamed Abraham, after Abram rescued his nephew Lot from enemy captivity and brought back other people and goods.
Abram honored Melchizedek by giving him one tenth of the plunder of battle,
or a tithe. Melchizedek's graciousness is contrasted with the
rudeness of the King of Sodom.
The Bible does not shed any
light on Melchizedek's religious rituals either, except to mention that he
brought out "bread and wine" for Abram. This act and
Melchizedek's holiness have led some scholars to describe him as a type of
Christ, one of those Bible people who show the same qualities as Jesus Christ, Savior of the World. With no
record of father or mother, and no genealogical background in Scripture, this
description is fitting. Other scholars go a step further, theorizing that
Melchizedek may have been a theophany of Christ, or a manifestation of deity
in temporary form.
Did Jesus say He was NOT inherently GOOD?
'Why
do you call Me good? NO ONE IS GOOD BUT ONE, that is, God.'" (Matthew
19:17). Melchizedek was the epitome of righteousness, and since no human is
inherently righteous, it is evident that he could not be human. If he had
been human, he would have been the same as Aaron or anyone else, As the King
of Righteousness, he was the image of God's Spirit (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews
1:3). He is also in Psalm 10:4.
Malachi
refers to Melchizedek indirectly when he said that the SUN of Righteousness
would arise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). Malachi did not use the
term "SON" for him because that would have suggested that Jesus was
in some way a son or a descendant of the priest. This would have implied that
the One who became Jesus Christ in the flesh was someone other than the king
of Salem.
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Many "gods" compete for our attention, but there is only one true God. He is worthy of our
worship and obedience. If we keep our focus on God instead of frightening circumstances,
God will strengthen and encourage us so we can live a life pleasing to him.
Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6, 10, 6:20, 7:1-17.
FEW MYSTERIES of the Bible have
attracted more interest than the mystery of the identity of Melchizedek.
You will read in Hebrews 6:19-20
that Jesus Christ, after His
resurrection, is High Priest "after the order of Melchizedek." The
plainer English of the Moffatt translation words it: ". . with the rank
of" that is, equal status with "Melchizedek."
Remember that this mystery figure
is a mystery only to us. Abraham
and the King of wicked Sodom knew exactly who he was. They must have seen him
before. He could not have been a Canaanite, for they were steeped in pagan
customs. And furthermore Canaan was a descendant of Ham, whereas God basically
chose the descendants of Shem to accomplish His work.
Then who is the mystery man
Melchizedek?
One other hint before we proceed. The land of Canaan from ancient
time, before the days of Moses, was known among
the Gentiles as "the divine land" the Holy land" the land of the
place of worship!" Why? Was there someone in the Holy Land who was divine,
holy, worthy of worship?
Jesus Himself said: "There is
none good but one, that is, God" (Matthew 19:17).
Human self-righteousness is, before God, as filthy rags. None can be righteous
but God—or one made righteous by God's power—Christ in a person! And certainly
none but One of the Godhead the divine Kingdom
of God would be King of Righteousness. Such an expression, applied to
any but God, would be blasphemous. Why?
Righteousness is obedience to God's
Law. Since God made all laws (James 4:12),
He is Supreme Ruler or King. He determines what righteousness is. "All thy
commandments are righteousness" (Psalm 119:172).
When speaking of one of the points of that Law, Jesus placed Himself superior
to it. He is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
No man is Lord or King over God's Law. Only God could be! All human beings have
sinned and broken that Law of righteousness (Romans 3:23).
To continue with Hebrews 7. Note,
too, that this man was King of peace. "Salem" from which Jerusalem
was named means "peace." And remember, Jesus is called the Prince of
peace! No human being could be King of Peace. Men know not the way of peace.
Read Romans 3:10
and 17: "There is none righteous, no, not one.... And the way of peace
have they not known."
Observe further: Melchizedek was "without mother, without
father, without descent," or as the Phillips translation renders it:
"He had no father or mother and no family tree." He was not born as
human beings are. He was without father and mother. This does not mean that
Melchizedek's records of birth were lost. Without such records human priests
could not serve (Ezra 2:62).
But here Melchizedek had no genealogy. He must not have been an ordinary
mortal. He had no descent or pedigree from another, but was self-existent.
Notice the writer’s own inspired interpretation of this fact: "Having
neither beginning of days, nor end of life" (Hebrews
7:3). Therefore He has always existed from eternity! He was not even
created, like angels. But He is now eternally self-existing. And that is true
only of GOD deity, not humanity!
Not the Father Nor the Holy Spirit
Yet Melchizedek cannot be God the
Father. He was the "priest of that Most High God." Scripture says no
man has ever seen the Father (John 1:18,
5:37), but Abraham saw Melchizedek. He cannot be God the Father, but rather,
"made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually" (Hebrews 7:3).
And there it is! In the days of
Abraham, He was not the Son of God, for He had not yet been born of the virgin
Mary but He was made like unto the Son of God in His manifestation to the
ancients.
Notice again: Melchizedek, this
scripture reveals, abides that is, remains permanently, continually, a priest.
God the Father is not the Priest of God, but Christ the Son is! Shortly after
Jesus ascended to heaven as High Priest, the scripture states that even then
Melchizedek "abideth "—which means does now abide—"a priest
continually." The Moffatt translation states it: "continues to be
priest permanently" even while Jesus Christ is High Priest!
And notice that the order of
Christ's Priesthood is named after
Melchizedek. It is the High Priest's name that is placed upon an order just as
Aaron's name was upon the Aaronic priesthood. Thus Melchizedek was then High
Priest, in Paul's day, and even now, and He will rule forever! And at the same
time Christ was, is today, and shall be forever High Priest!
Are there two High Priests'? No!
Impossible! The conclusion is inescapable. Contrary to many cherished
man-thought-out ideas, Melchizedek and Christ are one and the same! Some people
have stumbled on the statement that Melchizedek has no "end of life."
They contend that since Christ died, He had an end of life! If that be true
then Christ is still dead! But Christ is not dead. He is alive. It was not
possible for Christ to be held by death (Acts 2:24).
Melchizedek would never have fulfilled His office of High Priest if He had not
died for the sins of the people and risen again. It is the function of the High
Priest to lead the way to salvation.
Indeed, Jesus Christ is the Author
and Finisher of our salvation (Hebrews 5:9;
12:2).
He is "called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:10).
And no wonder. Melchizedek and Christ are one and the same Person!
The New Testament often quotes the Old Testament. One of
the most commonly quoted verses is Psalm 110:1:
"The Lord says to my Lord: `Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.'" The Gospels tell us that Jesus quoted this
verse as a scripture about the Messiah.
If we read further in this psalm, we will come to verse
4, which has a thought found nowhere else in the Old Testament. This Lord is to
be a Priest—not a Levitical priest, but a different kind of priest.
A priest without genealogy
It begins with a quick summary of the story in Genesis
14: "This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He
met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham
gave him a tenth of everything" (Heb. 7:1-2).
First, the unusual name is explained. The Hebrew word
melek means king, and tsedek means righteousness, so his name is explained as
meaning "king of righteousness." And since shalom means peace, he was
also the "king of peace" (v. 2). These titles are significant because
Melchizedek prefigures Jesus Christ.
Then we are told that Melchizedek was "without father
or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like
the Son of God he remains a priest forever" (v. 3).
From the grammar, it is not clear whether Melchizedek is
like the Son in every respect, or just in being a perpetual priest. We know
that Jesus had a Father, a mother, a genealogy, a birth and a death, so he was
different in these respects. Scripture does not say that Melchizedek was the
Son of God—just that he was "like" the Son. Hebrews 1:1-2
implies that the Son of God did not speak to the patriarchs.
However, Melchizedek had no parents that are mentioned
in Scripture. His position as priest did not depend on his parents or his
genealogy (unlike the Levitical priests). His priesthood was a different kind,
a different order. Similarly, Scripture says nothing about his birth or death
(unlike the patriarchs, who are carefully chronicled). He did not create a
dynasty of priests, each dying and passing the priesthood to a son.
We might say today that he came out of nowhere, and then
disappeared. Nevertheless, he remains known as a priest even today. "He
remains a priest forever ... is declared to be living" (vv. 3, 8). (A
similar thought may be in Luke 20:37-38—the
patriarchs are among "the living.") This mysterious Melchizedek is
the prototype of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 110 predicted that the Lord would be a priest in
the same way: not according to genealogy, but by special appointment. This
order of priests was significant in several ways: 1) it was more important than
the Levitical priesthood, 2) it implied that the Levitical priesthood was
temporary and 3) the new order was permanent.
Greater than Levi
Although little is known about Melchizedek, we can
discern that he was very important. Abraham gave him 10 percent of the spoils
of war (v. 4). The old covenant required the Israelites to give 10 percent to
the Levites, but Abraham gave 10 percent to Melchizedek even though Melchizedek
was not a Levite (vs. 5-6). He was getting priestly honors before Levi was even
born.
From this, the author constructs a hypothetical
argument: "One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the
tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in
the body of his ancestor" (vs. 9-10). The author knows that Levi didn't
actually pay tithes to Melchizedek, but in a figure of speech he did. The point
is that Abraham is greater than Levi, since Abraham is Levi's ancestor, and
Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, since Abraham paid tithes to him, so
Melchizedek is greater than Levi.
Verses 6-7 emphasize Melchizedek's greatness: He not
only received a tithe, he also blessed Abraham. "And without doubt the
lesser person is blessed by the greater." Abraham is the lesser person—but
the real point of comparison being made is with Levi.
Since Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, he is also
greater than Levi, and—most important for the book of Hebrews—his priesthood is
more important than the Levitical priesthood. The Levitical priests die, but
Jesus has been made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, a
priesthood that is more important for our salvation.
New priesthood implies a new law
Now the author observes that "if perfection could
have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the
law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to
come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?" (v. 11).
Note in the middle of verse 11 that the law was given on
the basis of the priesthood. The law was designed with the Levitical priesthood
in mind—the law and the priesthood went together. But neither the law nor the
priests could bring people to perfection. That is why Psalm 110 spoke of
another priesthood.
The descendants of Aaron would be replaced by a better
priesthood, a better priest—and that has enormous consequences: "For when
there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the
law" (v. 12). What law is changed? The law that said only Levites could be
priests. Which law said that? The old covenant. But first, the author wants to
make certain basic facts clear. "He of whom these things are said belonged
to a different tribe" (v. 13). We are speaking about Jesus, of whom it is
said that he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek—but Jesus was not a
Levite. He belonged to the tribe of Judah, and no one from that tribe was ever
a priest, and Moses did not authorize anyone from Judah to be a priest (v. 14).
"And what we have said"—that is, that the law
has been changed—"is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek
appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his
ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life" (vs.
15-16).
Jesus was appointed as priest not by a law that focused
on genealogy, but because he lives forever at God's right hand. From this fact
alone, we can see that the Law of Moses is no longer in force.
"The former regulation is set aside because it was
weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is
introduced, by which we draw near to God" (vs. 18-19). The law that
restricted the priesthood to Levites was ineffective.
How much was "set aside"? Certainly, it was
the regulation restricting the priesthood. But no one expected that restriction
to produce perfection, anyway. There is more involved than just one regulation.
It is "the law" as a whole that is under discussion here. The law of
Moses did not have the power to make anyone perfect. The best that the old
covenant could offer was not good enough.
Instead of the law, we are given a better hope, and
since we have something better than the law, we are now able to draw near to
God in a way that was not possible under the law of Moses.
Guaranteed by an oath
The author then uses a small detail from Psalm 110 to
emphasize the importance of Jesus' appointment as priest. God himself makes an
oath to appoint Jesus as high priest (v. 20). The descendants of Aaron became
priests without any oath, but Jesus became priest by a special oath.
The old covenant was given by God, but here is a new
word from God—not just an oath but also a promise of permanence: "The Lord
has sworn and will not change his mind: `You are a priest forever' " (v.
21). The old priesthood is obsolete. The old regulation was set aside. A new
and better hope is given to bring people to a perfection that the law could not
give.
"Because of this oath, Jesus has become the
guarantee of a better covenant" (v. 22). Here the word covenant is used
for the first time in this letter, almost casually. It will be picked up again
in the next three chapters for more detailed comment, but even here it is implied
to be a replacement for the inferior, ineffective law of Moses. The discussion
is not just about a minor priestly regulation but a covenant, which includes
many laws.
The author then contrasts the mortality of the Levitical
priests with the immortality of Jesus Christ: "Now there have been many of
those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but
because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood" (vs. 23-24).
So the fact that there were many Levitical priests is actually an illustration
of their weakness, not of their effectiveness. The genealogy that
validated them also testified to the weakness of the entire system. Each high
priest held office only temporarily, and the entire priesthood itself was temporary.
In
contrast, because Jesus lives forever, he will forever continue to be our High
Priest, because his priesthood is effective in bringing us to perfection:
"Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through
Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" (v. 25). Understanding Jesus' status as
our high priest is a key point in the book of Hebrews. Just as Melchizedek was not
born into the Levitical priesthood but was appointed by God, so Jesus was named
our eternal high priest, interceding with God the Father on our behalf:
"Such
a high priest meets our need," the author says (v. 26). Jesus is exactly
what we need. He was human, so he knows our needs (2:14-18), and he is now in
heaven, in power, so he can effectively intercede for us. We can therefore be
confident that we can approach God through Him (4:14-16). He gives us access to
God in a way that the Levitical priests could only symbolize.
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