Summer Scripture Series: Melchize-Who?
This week, we continued our Summer Scripture series, where Pastor Robbie and others are going through the Book of Hebrews, verse by verse, to bring out their immediate meaning. This process of ‘exegesis’ is important to bring out the originally intended meaning of the author to their original audience!
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Pastor Robbie spoke out of Hebrews 7:1-10 saying, 'For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him, Abraham apportioned a tenth of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother in genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.’
Continuing in verse 4, ‘See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior, In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.’
Pastor Robbie began by going over who Melchizedek was, as mentioned in Genesis - he references Genesis 14:17-20 saying, “After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And 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 by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
Now, some see Melchizedek as what is called a “Christophany,” meaning an appearance of the Lord Jesus prior to his incarnation. You can see why right? Here’s a King of Salem, which later becomes Jerusalem. King of Salem literally means King of Peace. His name, Melchizedek, is a compound Hebrew word, from the words melek (king) and zedek/zadok (righteousness). And that is a key point: The text isn’t saying that Jesus is like Melchizedek, but that Melchizedek is like Jesus—that Jesus is the true and better Melchizedek, just as he is the true and better Temple, Lamb, Passover, Adam, Moses, David, and so on. This is a case of something we call typology, that this in the OT is about that in the NT, Melchizedek is a type, or a shadow of Christ, he’s not Christ. God wrote the story of Melchizedek in living history, to later teach us something of the Person and work of Jesus. So that is the origin of this designation, High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek.
There are 3 aspects of this living type that God wrote into the character of Melchizedek in Genesis 14 that establish the qualifications for Jesus to stand as High Priest in this order:
1) Jesus must be the King of Righteousness - referencing passages such as Jeremiah 23:5-6 and Psalm 132:11, the Kingship of Jesus was to be established through the Davidic line. This is where the Jewish categories for Messiah got a little messed up. See, they were waiting for a King. But, church, they were thinking too small. Jesus would be the true and final and perfect Prophet, Priest, and King! To the Jews, this would be the same idea as us claiming someone to be the President, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Speaker of the House, all in one—it just isn’t done! Where is the separation of powers? Well, you need that with sinful people. But God is righteous. This King is King of Righteousness, and so he exercises all power with perfect justice.
2) Jesus must be the King of Peace - Jesus is the true King of Salem, not just the King who sits on the throne of David, of the New Jerusalem, but also by translation, the King of Peace. As the Priest-King, he makes peace in two directions: vertical and horizontal. Referencing passage such as Colossians 1:19-20; Romans 5:1; and Ephesians 2:13-17 we see that Jesus came with a Kingdom, and his Kingdom makes men free, and his Kingdom makes peace among those free men. Jesus has given us new hearts, hearts filled with humility and meekness rather than pride and arrogance. And guess what? Jesus promised, Matthew 5:5, that the meek will inherit the earth. He is the King of Righteousness, the King or Prince of Peace - but you know, church, the trouble for many people is that they want the Peace, without the Prince. They want the warm and cozy peace in their life, without submitting to King Jesus. And I can tell you, friends, that’s simply not how it works. When we submit to King Jesus, we submit everything. If you want the peace and the righteousness that he freely provides, then you need to embrace him as king and lord over your life. He wants to be your King and your High Priest - but with that comes acceptance and submission.
3) Jesus must be uncreated and eternal, as the Son of God - I’m going to sit on this for a second because this (Heb. 7:3) is the main verse that some would use to point to the Christophany of Melchizedek. This is not saying, again, that Melchizedek was immortal and uncreated, but that he is without father or mother or genealogy or beginning or end in the text. Without father and mother simply means they were unknown for Melchizedek. In some of the rabbinical writings we have access to, expressions like this often mean that the father and mother had simply died and the child was an orphan. One theologian puts it like this: “Melchizedek was not an angel or some superhuman creature; nor was he an OT appearance of Jesus Christ. He was a real man, a real king, and a real priest in a real city. But as far as the record is concerned, he was not born, nor did he die.” Essentially, it’s fair to assume that he obtained his position not by genealogy, like most kings, but by divine appointment. He didn’t have the earthly credentials, but God saw something there in him. Something that would make him a precursor to Jesus.
You are not. I am not. And so we are unqualified for this office. So we have the origin of this order, the qualifications for it, and finally, in verses 4–10, we unfold the supremacy of the order of Melchizedek.
The point of Jesus’ cosmic High Priesthood is the steady anchoring of our souls in the very presence of God. The point is that, by identifying with us fully and coming down to truly dwell with us where we are, he could bring us to identify with him fully and bring us up to truly dwell with him where he goes. Jesus is our great, immortal High Priest after the order of Melchizedek—and he is so in order that we might be seated with him in the heavenly places.
So listen: I know this is high theology, talking about Christophany and typology, but this is good news, church! You have a Priest, the God-Man Jesus, interceding for you. He is the King of Righteousness and of Peace. His body is like bread, given to satisfy. His blood is like wine, poured out in covenant. And he has set a table for us now, even in the presence of the enemies the Father is putting under his feet and calls us to come and eat and drink—he has paid for this feast, and he welcomes us now!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Summer Scripture Series: Melchize-Who? - In these first ten verses of Hebrews 7, the author of the book teaches us the origins, the qualifications, and the supremacy of the Melchizedek Priesthood; The point of Jesus’ cosmic High Priesthood is the steady anchoring of our souls in the very presence of God.
Main Scripture Passages: Hebrews 7:1-10; Jer. 23:5-6; Psalm 132:11; Col. 1:19-20; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:13-17
The High Priest is the King Of Righteousness - ‘But Jesus is God. And he is Christ. And Christ is Prophet, Priest, and King. He is not a priest from the Levitical order, the Aaronic Priesthood, but the High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek. He is the King of Righteousness.’
The High Priest is the King Of Peace - ‘Jesus makes a vertical peace between God and men by the blood of his cross. He removes our sin from us, gives us his righteousness, raises us from death to life, and mediates peace with God on our behalf; He makes peace horizontally, peace between men who by their sin were at war with one another.’
The High Priest is the King Of Life - ‘The point of the author of Hebrews is that, while Melchizedek is like all of this in the text, Jesus is like this in reality. It’s a typological relationship, one that points from Melchizadek in the Old Testament to Jesus in the New Testament.’
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