Melchizedek

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all—first being translated king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace, without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually... Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. (Hebrews 7:1–8:1, abridged)

An obscure Old Testament king appears in just three verses—so why does Hebrews devote an entire chapter to him?

Wrestling With "So What?"

I have been wrestling with this passage for several weeks—not because I don't understand what the author (whom I believe was Timothy) is saying, and not because I don't see how it fits the larger argument of Hebrews. The struggle is that teaching every proposition here verse by verse could become incredibly academic. If I were teaching a Bible college class on Hebrews, that's exactly what I would do, and it could take several hours.

But as I prayed about it, I kept coming back to a simple question. It's the kind of question that arises when someone is explaining orbital mechanics, or the finer points of stoichiometry, and after the forty-fifth minute on valence electrons you stop and say, "So what? What does this have to do with me?" What do these twenty-eight verses about a character who appears in three verses of Genesis 14, and one passing line in Psalm 110, have to do with us?

I know some of you are noble Bereans who search the Scriptures daily, and I count it a privilege to pastor a church like that. You may have been hoping I would spend four weeks on this passage and the hour afterward under an umbrella debating Melchizedek. I'm sorry to break your heart—kind of. We're not going to dig as deep as you might want.

Why Hebrews Brings Up Melchizedek

I will say plainly: I do not believe Melchizedek in Genesis 14 is a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ. There's much debate about this, with good people on both sides, but I'm not going to settle it today. The more important question is why the author even raises Melchizedek and then spends an entire chapter on him.

To answer that we must remember why Hebrews was written. It is an apologetic—a defense of the faith—for a specific group of Christians 2,000 years ago who were coming out of Judaism. They were born and raised going to the temple, offering sacrifices, observing the feasts and the Law. They left that whole system to put their trust in Jesus, and now someone was tempting them to go back—back to the temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices.

The author writes to defend the primacy and supremacy of Jesus: that He is better than Abraham, than Moses, than the Law, than the priesthood. At several places—Hebrews 3, 4, 6, and 10—he seems to warn that if these believers abandon their trust in Jesus to return to what they formerly trusted, they forfeit the promise associated with that trust, which is salvation. That's why he is so committed to preaching that Jesus is better. That's why I've called this series Jesus Is Better.

The Jewish Objection: How Can Jesus Be Our High Priest?

Back in chapter 5, the author states that Jesus is our High Priest—the one who goes to God on our behalf and comes to us on God's behalf, the mediator between God and man. But a Jewish reader would immediately object. Everyone knew Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe. Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, Jacob had twelve sons, and one of those tribes, Levi, became the priests. Jesus came from Judah, not Levi. On top of that, to be high priest you had to come from the household of Aaron, and Jesus did not.

The author's answer comes in Hebrews 5:5–6:

So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." As He also says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

He name-drops Melchizedek there, again in verse 10, and then in verse 11 he says, "of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing." He drops the name—and drops the mic. He essentially says, "I could explain this, but you can't even handle it; you've become sluggish." So he moves on, having made the point that Jesus belongs to a different priesthood entirely—the order of Melchizedek.

He raises it once more at the end of chapter 6: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul... where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." Having said it three times, he finally feels he must explain it. So in Hebrews 7:1 he asks: who is Melchizedek?

Who Was Melchizedek?

In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to follow Him by faith, promising to bless him and through him to bless all nations. Abraham left his home in what is modern-day Iraq and moved west to Canaan, taking his wife, his household, and his nephew Lot, whose father Haran had died. Both men grew wealthy, and their herdsmen began to fight, so Abraham let Lot choose first. Lot chose the green land to the south and pitched his tent toward Sodom—those cities that don't have a good name and were later obliterated in Genesis 19.

In Genesis 14, a king named Chedorlaomer led a coalition that invaded Sodom and Gomorrah and carried Lot off as a prisoner of war. Abraham gathered 400 trained servants of his household and, like a SEAL-team raid, struck in the night, defeated the kings, and rescued Lot along with great spoil. On his way home he stopped at Salem—probably Jerusalem—and we read:

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." And he gave him a tithe of all. (Genesis 14:18–20)

That's the only time Melchizedek appears in the Old Testament—three verses. His name combines two Hebrew words: melech, king, and tzedek, righteous—so he is the king of righteousness. He is also king of Salem, from shalom, peace—so the king of peace. And he is priest of the Most High God.

Notice he comes out with bread and wine. The author of Hebrews doesn't dwell on it, but if you've been a Christian for any length of time you know the significance: on the night He was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and the cup—"this is My body... this is My blood." There is an interesting connection between Genesis 14 and the Gospels. And here too Melchizedek blesses Abraham, and Abraham gives him a tenth of all.

Without Father, Without Mother

In Hebrews 7:3 the author says Melchizedek was "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God." People read that and assume something miraculous about him. But all the author is highlighting is that none of those things are recorded in Genesis 14. Normally, significant Old Testament figures come with genealogies—we learn their father and mother. Melchizedek simply appears from nowhere, priest and king, and just as quickly vanishes. From a literary standpoint, he is made to resemble the Son of God: a foreshadowing of the One who would fulfill this eternal priesthood.

Then the author reasons in verses 4–10: consider how great this man was. Even Abraham, the patriarch, gave him a tithe, and Melchizedek blessed Abraham. "Beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better"—so Melchizedek holds a position greater than Abraham himself. And the Levites, who later received tithes by the Law, in effect paid tithes through their forefather Abraham, since Levi "was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him."

Point One: The Priesthood Is More Important Than the Person

Notice the "therefore" in verse 11—put a star next to it, because it tells us why all this matters. "Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood... what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek?" The whole point is that Jesus occupies a greater priesthood than the Old Covenant offered.

This brings us to point number one: when it comes to Melchizedek, the priesthood is more important than the person. The identity of the man in Genesis 14—whoever he was—is not the main point. The main point is that Jesus occupies the position of our High Priest forever, and we do not need to go back to another priestly system. It's still fun to discuss who Melchizedek was, but it's not the focus. Jesus is the figure we need to fix our eyes on. He is our intercessor and mediator, and when the accuser comes against us, He pleads for us before the Father.

Point Two: A Better Priest, Better Priesthood, Better Sacrifice

In verses 14–22 the author drives this home, quoting Psalm 110, written by David about 3,000 years ago:

It is evident that our Lord arose from Judah... and it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

He keeps returning to one word: better. There is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness, and the bringing in of a better hope. Whereas Levitical priests served without an oath, Jesus was made priest with an oath: "The LORD has sworn and will not relent." By so much more, Jesus has become the surety of a better covenant.

This matters because the first readers struggled with a real question: is the work Jesus did on the cross sufficient to deal with my sin, or must I keep returning to the temple to offer sacrifices? The author's answer in verse 26:

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices... for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

So point number two: Jesus is a better priest, after a better priesthood, who offered a better sacrifice. Then comes Hebrews 8:1—"Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest." Underline that. The main point is not the identity of Melchizedek; the main point is that we have a holy, harmless High Priest, seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty, a minister of the true tabernacle in heaven—of which the earthly temple was only a copy and a shadow. Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, mediating a better covenant established on better promises.

How This Applies to Us

Let me sum up the application in three points.

Point three: there are defensible answers to our questions of faith. This letter was written as a defense for people coming out of Judaism—probably none of us. But each of us came out of some other worldview. When a friend says, "I'm an atheist; I trust in science"—they are as religious as anyone—or when someone comes from a Hindu, Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, or Latter-day Saint background, there are defensible answers for their questions. If God could not answer their questions, He would not be God. It may take twenty-eight verses, but a hard question does not mean there's no good answer. And if you don't have it, call a friend, come to the church, talk to a pastor. There are answers.

Point four: we need a mediator with God—a priest is necessary, but an earthly priest will not do. Fallen humanity needs someone to go to God on our behalf and to come to us on God's behalf. Only Jesus is holy and harmless and separate from sinners; He alone is the way. "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me." This week a nominee for the Office of Management and Budget sat before a congressional hearing, and Senator Bernie Sanders objected to him because he had written that those who do not trust in Jesus are condemned. In 21st-century America, a man was told he was excluded from office because of his orthodox Christian conviction. Fortunately, the Constitution forbids a religious test for office. But notice the offense: believing there is only one Priest who can bring us to God. Yes—that is precisely what we find. An earthly priest will never do; the Old Covenant cannot make us perfect. Jesus alone is our High Priest.

Point five: sometimes we get hung up on things that aren't the main point and miss the message. Is there profit in discussing who appeared in Genesis 14? Sure. But the main point must always be Jesus. I have had that discussion about Melchizedek many times. Yet the author says, "this is the main point: we have such a High Priest." He occupies a different priesthood entirely, and He is the only one who can bring us to God.

You and I cannot get to God on our own. We cannot build a tower high enough or offer sacrifices great enough. But Jesus, the God-man, came to offer one sacrifice once for all to deal with our sin completely, and because He ever lives, He ever lives to intercede for us. That's why on the cross He could say, "It is finished." The Old Covenant priests offered sacrifice after sacrifice for 1,400 years, every single day—Josephus tells us that on one Passover more than 200,000 sheep were sacrificed in a single day. But Jesus offered one sacrifice once for all, the just for the unjust, to make us right with God. That is good news.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for the good news of this passage—the good news that Jesus, You are our High Priest, holy and harmless and separate from sinners, higher than the heavens. Two thousand years ago You offered that one sacrifice once for us, so that we would trust in You and receive the promise of our faith, eternal salvation. You dealt with my sin and the sin of all of us gathered here, the failings we could never overcome or wipe clean. By Your stripes we are healed; by Your sacrifice we are cleansed. We praise You for the good work You did on the cross. Help us never to forget it, never to take it for granted, and always to boast about it and share it with everyone we meet.

And if you are here this morning trusting in some other way to God, some other priesthood, know that the Scriptures make it clear: Jesus is the only one who deals completely with our failings. Every good work you could do will never overcome your sin. But Jesus calls us to trust in Him, and He promises that if we trust and confess Him, He will save us, forgive us of all unrighteousness, and make us new. If you'd like to receive that saving grace today, pray with me:

Dear Jesus, I recognize that I need You. I cannot get to You on my own. But I thank You that You came to earth and died in my place to forgive me. I trust You and follow You by faith. Save me from myself. In Jesus' name, amen.