Hebrews 6 closed by noting that Jesus has become “a high priest forever according
to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 6:19-20). That last phrase returned the discussion to what had
been noted in Heb 5:6, 10-11. A parenthesis followed, challenging the readers to
sharpen their listening skills and press on to maturity. They – and we – must
not remain as babes or fall away into sin.
Now, with that in mind, we come back to the mysterious Melchizedek. He is
noteworthy both because of what is
said about him and what is not.
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These are lesson
notes, not written in a polished or finished manuscript form.
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7:1-10 The
Shadow of Jesus’ Greater Priesthood
Please read Heb 7:1-10 carefully
before proceeding. Sharpen your listening and thinking skills (Heb 5:11-14).
Write down significant words and statements.
That Christ would be both king and priest, was indicated centuries
earlier in Psalm 110, a messianic text. Ps 110:1 The LORD
says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool
for Your feet.” … 4 The LORD has sworn and will
not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek.”
The writer of Hebrews is inspired to develop this idea of Melchizedek as
a type (shadow or likeness) of Jesus as the antitype (reality or actuality). He
introduces Melchizedek and then compares and contrasts him with Christ.
What precious little we actually know about Melchizedek is recorded here:
Ge 14:17 Then after [Abraham’s]
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). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and
wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed
him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and
earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your
enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
As we see in Hebrews, this man was both king and priest. So is Jesus.
His name means “king (mechi) of
righteousness (zedek).” He was also
king of Salem, which is the same word as shalom,
“peace.” Again, all this fits Jesus.
He was a contemporary, not a descendant, of Abraham. So of course he
preceded Levi and Aaron. In fact his genealogy was not even listed. As far as
the record went, he had no birth certificate naming his father or mother or date
of birth. He had no death certificate officially dating the time of his death.
Yet he was a king and a priest. How? Why? Simply because God named him as such.
Likewise, Jesus is our king (Ps 110:1)
and priest (Ps 110:4) by divine decree.
Ironically, Gen 14 clearly implies that Melchizedek was superior to
Abraham, the ancestor of all the OT Levitical priests. Though Abraham was the number
one patriarch, and father of all the Israelites, Melchizedek was superior. This
is clear because of two facts. For one, Abraham (as the implied lesser) gave a
tithe (ten percent) of the spoils of battle to Melchizedek (as the implied greater).
For another, Melchizedek (as the greater) gave a blessing to Abraham (as the
lesser).
Therefore, the argument goes, since Melchizedek was superior to Abraham,
the “priest like Melchizedek” (Jesus) is superior to Levi, Aaron, and all the priests
who descended from Abraham. Since Levi was “in the loins of Abraham” (as his
future descendant) when Abraham gave the tithe to Melchizedek, one could say
that, in Abraham, Levi also gave that tithe. Implication? Melchizedek and his
priestly order are superior to Levi and his priestly order.
That’s the message of Heb 7:1-10. But before we go on …
Was (is) Melchizedek an angel? Or Christ himself before
his birth to Mary?
Some well-meaning students of Scripture have concluded, mistakenly I
believe, that Melchizedek was actually an angel or even the pre-incarnate
Christ in human form. No Scripture calls Melchizedek an angel or the second
person of the Godhead, yet some can be quite dogmatic about their conviction! On
what do they base their thinking?
They take Heb 7:3 to require that Melchizedek was never born and never
died. They believe that he literally had no father or mother or other human
ancestors. He is a priest “perpetually,” and they take this to mean that he is
still a priest serving eternally somewhere, perhaps on earth since they claim
he never died. The Bible never mentions him going into heaven. Where does he
now serve?
Let’s address these teachings.
Heb 7:4 calls Melchizedek a “man.” Though some insist that he was an
angel who appeared as a man (as in Gen 18-19), the Bible never says this. We
are undeniably safe to say he was a man.
As Martel Pace notes in the Truth for Today commentary on Hebrews (pp.
258ff):
Melchizedek was “without father or mother” in the priesthood. The
Romans spoke of one as being “without father” if there was no record of his
parentage. The Jews referred to those whose parents were unknown or who were
not found in genealogies as being without mother or father (Philo On
Drunkenness 14). A rabbi would say that a converted Gentile had no father (Robert
Milligan, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, New Testament
Commentaries (Cincinnati: Chase and Hall, 1876; reprint, Nashville: Gospel
Advocate Co., 1975, p. 249). Josephus told his readers that he himself was born
into a priestly family and that he could prove it by the public records (Josephus
Life 1).
“Forever” (7:17, 21) and “perpetually” (7:3) mean, as they often do in
the Old Testament, throughout the period to which the term is applied. The Romans
applied the title “dictator Perpetuus” as a more honorable office than that of an
ordinary dictator (Moses Stuart, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (London:
William Tegg & Co., 1856), p. 391). They realized that a dictator, or a
Caesar, could not live forever; but since no statute limited the tenure of a
Roman emperor, his rule was said to be “forever.”
Here are some questions for those who hold these other views. If Melchizedek
was an angel, why doesn’t the Bible say so? If Melchizedek is an “eternal”
priest, where and how does he now serve? And, if he is still God’s appointed
king and priest, why would Christ need to serve in that role? Has Christ not
superseded all priests who have gone before? Are there now two eternal priests,
Melchizedek and Christ? If so, doesn’t that contradict the whole theme of
Hebrews, that Christ is the final fulfillment of all that went before, making
them obsolete?
Conclusion: Nothing actually stated in Scripture requires that Melchizedek was
either an angel or the pre-incarnate Christ. He is specifically said to be a man
declared by God to be king and priest, even without genealogical records. In
this way he was a type (shadow or facsimile) of Christ, the antitype (reality
or substance).
7:11-19 The Succession
of Jesus’ New Priesthood
The need for a new priest, such as the priest promised in Ps 110:4, implied
that the OT system was broken and had to be replaced. After all, if the
Levitical priesthood had worked perfectly and permanently, no change would have
been necessary. This is the argument in Heb 7:11.
Well, if there had to be a new priest, there would also have to be a new
law as well. The OT law and the OT priesthood were interdependent. Neither
could stand without the other. And that fact plays right into what follows.
The previous OT law had established the Aaronic priesthood. It had specified
that all the priests had to be from the tribe of Levi and all the high priests from
the lineage of Aaron. But since both the priesthood and the law were to be
changed, those requirements would no longer apply.
Under those former stipulations, Jesus would not have been qualified to serve
as high priest. He was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. And because the OT
was silent about any priests being allowed from Judah, that silence was prohibitive.
However, God had promised that the future priest, Jesus Christ, would be
after the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron. This promise implied the removal of
the old Aaronic priesthood and the old law with their restrictions. Therefore,
there could be no objection to the new high priest having come from a tribe
other than Levi.
So, as Heb 7:16 declares, Jesus “has become such [the new high priest] not
on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an
indestructible life.”
So, see what follows in Heb 7:18-19.
18 For, on the
one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its
weakness and uselessness 19 (for the Law made nothing
perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope,
through which we draw near to God.
7:20-28 The
Superiority of Jesus’ New Priesthood
Remember that Ps 110:4 began by saying, “The LORD has sworn …” Yahweh’s oath in making Christ
the new priest is very significant to the writer of Hebrews. God did not swear
or take an oath when the former OT priests were appointed. This difference (the
unique declaration of God’s oath) makes Jesus the guarantee of a better
covenant.
There are other factors that make Jesus’ new priesthood superior.
The former priests were many in number, because their service ended when
they died. They had to be replaced continually. They could only provide a
partial, limited, temporary kind of salvation.
Jesus, on the other hand, continues forever and therefore holds His
priesthood permanently. As a result he is able to save eternally, “to the nth
degree,” “to the max.” He always lives to make intercession as the one
irreplaceable mediator for God’s people (7:24-25).
Also, unlike the former OT priests, Jesus is “holy, innocent, undefiled,
separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (7:26).
They offered sacrifices daily, first for their own sins, because they
were weak and sinful themselves. He, the sinless eternal Son, needed no
sacrifice for himself. Nor did he need to offer repeated sacrifices. Rather, he
accomplished through one sacrifice for all time – the sacrifice of himself – that
which an infinite number of OT priests and offerings could not achieve, our
eternal salvation. And his ministry for us continues forever, as he intercedes
perpetually for us in the true “tabernacle,” the true “Most Holy Place” in
heaven.
Therefore, let us draw near!
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