Jesus: Something Better - Hebrews 8:1-6

The Law gave us continuous sacrifice; Jesus gave us a completed sacrifice.

The Law gave us mercy; Jesus gave us grace.

Abraham’s covenant gave us a good hope; Jesus’ covenant gave us a better hope.

The oath made through King David introduced a better hope (Psalm 110:4). The oath – given even after the giving of the Law – promised that one of King David’s descendants would be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is the guarantee of that better covenant – the New Covenant.

We didn’t need a priesthood that was weak and unprofitable as was Aaron’s priesthood. We discussed the end goal of the perfection or completion of our hope in the last section. God’s plan all along had been to restore the relationship lost by Adam and Eve in the garden. In order to restore it, or reach completion, we needed a priesthood that is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Our church is excitedly working toward this summer’s Vacation Bible School. Jungle Jim recently visited during a children’s event to invite all the kids to come. His visit started building the excitement and intensity of the promised week. Ok, really it was my husband in a costume but the kids know that once he announces VBS that they have a week of fun and excitement in their future. One little boy asks his mom every time they come to church, “Is today VBS day?” No, not yet, little guy. I overheard some other kids after Sunday morning worship, “Dad…daaaaad, you have to sign us up for VBS! We don’t want to miss it!” You see, Jungle Jim made those kids a promise that VBS is coming; the kids are living in hope of the coming event. Their hope will come to perfection or completion when they come later this summer and enjoy all their jungle expeditions.

This is the same process we studied in the last section of our Hebrews study and we’ll continue it in this one. God made us promises through Abraham and David; through the Law and through the New Covenant. We now live in the hope of those promises. We’re the little kids who wake up each morning hoping that today is the day. We’re the ones who can’t wait to sign up because we don’t want to miss out. We live in eager excitement of the realization of our hope – a completed and perfected relationship in God’s presence for all eternity.

We’ve recapped a little from Hebrews 7:26-28. I encourage you to look over it again and then continue by reading the passage for this section, Hebrews 8:1-6. Psalm 110 is also critical reading to fully understand this section.

It was good; Now it’s better

A promise is given; hope is lived until completion comes.

A better promise gives us a better covenant.
“But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been legally enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). God made a promise to Abraham which was a good promise. Later, He made a promise to King David which was a better promise. That better promise is the legal foundation for the better covenant – the New Covenant.

A better hope gives us a better covenant.
“A better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God… [verses containing an explanation of the promise] …So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:19, 22). God gave us hope through Abraham which was a good hope. Later, though, He gave us hope through King David which was a better hope. That hope guarantees that one day we will draw near to God, into His very presence, through the better covenant – the New Covenant.

Three parts of a better covenant

The Old Testament priesthood which was based on the Law contained three parts: the who, the where, and the what. The priesthood of the New Covenant must contain these three parts as well. That’s not all, though. It must contain them in a better, more superior way. Otherwise, the New Covenant wouldn’t be better.

Who? (8:1-2)
We needed a priest like Melchizedek, not like Aaron. We needed a priest who was “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26), not one who was “weak and unprofitable” (Hebrews 7:18). Chapter eight starts out by telling us that we have what we need! We have in Jesus the high priest that we need sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

A priest of Levi and Aaron’s line never sat down while performing his duties. Their actual job description even indicates they were “to stand before Yahweh to serve Him” (Deuteronomy 10:8). And yet, twelve times in the New Testament we read that our High Priest Jesus sits at the right hand of God. He sits because He completed His work. His intercession is complete; His atonement for sin has been made. The priests of Levi and Aaron could never say this of their own work; intercession and atonement were never complete. Only through Jesus is the work of the high priest complete; therefore, He sat down at God’s right hand.

Where? (8:2-5)
The priests of Levi and Aaron served in the moveable tabernacle and later in the Jerusalem temple. The tabernacle and even the temple in all its glory, however, were only copies of the real thing. They were “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” built “according to a pattern that was shown to [Moses] on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5).

Our High Priest Jesus, however, doesn’t serve in the copy. His location isn’t merely a shadow of what’s real. Jesus’ intercession and atonement took place in the real thing, in “the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man” (Hebrews 8:2). He’s not on earth and neither is the sanctuary in which He ministers; the real thing is in heaven. (Hebrews 8:4-5).

What? (8:3)
Here we get down to the heart of the matter. The key point on which all else hinges. Jesus is the holy, undefiled priest whom we all need so desperately. But that’s not all. He serves in the real, heavenly sanctuary, not the earthly copy. But that’s not all. He completed the third part of the priesthood – the sacrifice – with a superior sacrifice. He didn’t lay a goat, bull, or lamb on the altar, though. He laid Himself upon it. “He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. … He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:12, 26 emphasis mine). But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Chapter nine will come soon enough.

Why do we care?

We care because we can never sacrifice enough. Our sacrifices don't look like goats and calves anymore but we still lay all kinds of things on the altar... chocolate, coffee, time, relationships, wants, needs. We sacrifice them as we try to restore our relationship on our own merit. None of those sacrifices offer the atonement found only in Jesus' complete sacrifice.

We care because we have a great and unrestrained need – the forgiveness of our sin. Our sin knows no bounds and no end. We have no limit to the depth of our depravity. The sacrifices made by the old priesthood in the earthly shadow of heaven were insufficient. They would never complete the task of our eternal forgiveness and allow us to reach the completion of our hope – eternity in heaven with God.

We needed something better. We needed Someone better.

And that’s what we have in Jesus the Messiah. “We do have such a high priest” (Hebrews 8:1).

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Perfection: A Better Hope - Hebrews 7:11-28

We’ll wrap up our focus on Melchizedek with this section. It’s been intense, hasn’t it? Here’s where we’ve been…

•  Jesus’ eternal priesthood aligns with Melchizedek’s ancient priesthood, not Aaron’s priesthood under the Law. (Click here for more.)
• Melchizedek’s priesthood was superior to Aaron’s as a descendant of Levi. (Click here for more.)

We’ve considered significant and specific details of his life in the last two sections but really, we have to go through the last eight lessons to really comprehend his importance to the book of Hebrews and even more, his importance to God’s plan for all of us. The book of Hebrews gives Melchizedek as an example for us to understand Jesus’ priesthood, and therefore His position to atone for sin and offer salvation to all people.

I encourage you to start this section by reading Hebrews 7:11-28. It’s a long passage; we’ll jump around in it as we work through it. One of my favorite Bible study methods – especially with a long or complex text – is to ask questions of the passage. In those moments, I sit at the feet of Jesus as I ask Him questions about our topic. And in those moments, the Word made flesh never fails to answer through the wholeness of His Scripture. We’ll use this method to work through this section.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Why was Aaron’s priestly order insufficient for the Messianic priesthood?

It didn’t offer perfection; it didn’t bring to completion (Hebrews 7:11, 19).

Perfection is a triangular mountain focused within this long passage. Verse 11 begins the ascent with the Levitical priesthood’s insufficiency to bring perfection. Peaked right in the middle, verse 19 climaxes the insufficiency of the Law for perfection but makes the promise of a better hope. The last verse, verse 28, ends the descent with the culmination of that better hope in eternal perfection.

What is perfection? It seems like an unattainable goal.

Perfection – sometimes translated as completion – is a fulfillment or consummation. It is an “event which verifies the promise” (Strong’s). A promise or oath has to be given and then that promise has to be fully realized. In this case, God makes an oath; we live in hope until that oath is fully realized or consummated.

Aaron’s priestly order was insufficient because it couldn’t bring us to perfection or completion. It was inadequate because it required a mortal man to serve as high priest. This was weak, unprofitable, and perfected nothing (Hebrews 7:18-19).

Why didn’t God stick with Melchizedek’s priestly order?

It’s a complicated question. If Aaron’s order didn’t bring perfection and Jesus is a priest of Melchizedek’s order, then why didn’t God stick with that original order of Melchizedek and bring the Messiah through it? Why did He give the Law and institute a new priestly order through Levi and Aaron?

On its own, Melchizedek’s priesthood was also insufficient because the Law hadn’t yet come. God had to give the Law so we would know what sin is. Without a definition of sin, we would never be able to recognize our own sin which is a critical step in the whole redemption process (Romans 3:20, 7:7-8).

Jesus fulfilled the duties of a priest of Aaron’s order and Melchizedek’s order. However, that is where the similarity stops. A priest of Aaron’s order had to be a descendant of Aaron whereas a priest of Melchizedek’s order had to be a son of him who was righteous and be called on the basis of an indestructible life. That’s why Jesus is a priest of Melchizedek’s order rather than Aaron’s.

How can Jesus be our high priest?

I don’t have to be too smart to know that God can’t break the Law. He is absolutely sinless; the Law defines sin. I know He can’t go against what it says. So, if the Law says a priest must be a descendant of Aaron, then I have to ask, “How can Jesus be our high priest?”

I think this must be the issue with which the first-century Jews struggled. They knew Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. The author of Hebrews will answer it for us.

“When there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well” (Hebrews 7:12). Priesthood changed from Melchizedek to Levi and the law changed to the Old Testament Law from whatever was prior. A few millennia later, the priesthood changed from Levi to Jesus. With that change comes a change in the Law as well; God made that change.

God didn’t throw away the whole Law – He only annulled one specific command within that Law (Hebrews 7:18). The Law – made up of many commands – still remains as our definition of sin. Love your neighbor as yourself – this command still stands. Do not steal – still valid. Honor your father and your mother – still need to do that. The priest must come from Aaron’s priestly line – God says we’re done with this one. He has the authority to do that; we don’t.

What’s the point of all this? Why two complicated priesthoods?

We reach the pinnacle – the summit of the mountain to which we referred earlier. The Law was necessary but “the law perfected nothing.” Instead, “a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:19). Remember our focus? Perfection – a restoration and completion of our relationship with Holy God.

The better hope is given by promise of an oath (Hebrews 7:20). An oath gives hope of a promised event; the hope is realized when brought to perfection and completion.

God made an oath to Abraham which we discussed in a previous section. The oath confirmed three prior promises which consisted of blessing, numerous descendants, possession of the land, and blessing for the whole earth through his descendants. That oath given to Abraham gives us “strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18).

Even more, God made an oath to Melchizedek hundreds of years later – even after Abraham, Levi, and Aaron had long since passed away. Through King David, “The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back: ‘Forever, you are a priest like Melchizedek’” (Psalm 110:4). It is through this oath that “a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:19).

What’s better about the hope through Jesus’ priesthood?

A Better Hope – Mercy versus Grace
Mercy and grace aren’t synonyms. Mercy is when we don’t receive punishment due us. Grace is a gift given above and beyond. Mercy doesn’t send us to hell as the punishment our sin deserves. Grace gives us the blessing of eternity in heaven with God.

Aaron’s priesthood offered mercy. Through it, the Law showed us our sin and gave us the hope to seize what was before us – an opportunity to be saved from the consequences of our sin. It set a standard and revealed we are inadequate on our own to live up to that standard. It established the necessity of sacrifice to atone for sin. Through the Law, the priesthood, and the sacrifices, we received mercy. We were saved from the punishment due us.

Jesus’ priesthood – in the order of Melchizedek – offers grace. Jesus’ final sacrifice on the cross gave us mercy under the Law to save us from hell. His resurrection – the power of His indestructible life as the Son of Righteousness – gave us grace to enter into eternity in the presence of Holy God as eternal and righteous persons ourselves.

A Better Covenant – Law versus New Covenant
The Law couldn’t get the job done. It could save from hell but it couldn’t bring us to perfection in eternal righteousness. Its sacrifices could give mercy but it couldn’t bring us to perfection, completion, or consummation in the presence of God.

The New Covenant combined the eternal righteousness of Melchizedek’s order with the spotless sacrificial Lamb required by the Law and Aaron’s order. That’s why Jesus lives forever as a our High Priest who…

• Is always able to save (Hebrews 7:25).
• Is always available for intercession (Hebrews 7:25).
• Is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted (Hebrews 7:26).
• Is a completed sacrifice once and for all (Hebrews 7:27).

It’s all complete in Jesus. He alone is the completion of the promise of the oath. He alone is the appointed Son. He alone has been brought into the presence of God so we might enter His presence as well. And amen, because that’s always been the goal since the time of Adam – to restore our relationship in His holy presence.

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Melchizedek Superior to Abraham - Hebrews 7:4-10

We learned in the last section that Melchizedek’s priesthood is as complicated as his name. However, we also learned that some of the more complex nuggets of his life shine light on some of the greatest truths in Jesus’ priesthood.

In the last section we considered six correlations between Jesus’ priesthood and Melchizedek’s. This wasn’t an exhaustive list; we actually could add more.

In this section we’ll shift our focus a little. Last time we studied how Jesus and Melchizedek are the same; this time we’ll consider why Melchizedek is superior to Abraham and even Levi. I encourage you to begin by reading Hebrews 7:4-10.



Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

Melchizedek Superior to Abraham

I also encourage you to review the story of Abraham and Melchizedek from Genesis 14. We studied it in the last section so I’m not going to review it here.

Abraham gave a tenth of the plunder to Melchizedek
“Now consider how great this man was – even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him!” (Hebrews 7:4).

When we give an offering at church, we do so voluntarily. No one requires us to place some money in the offering plate or setup a deduction from our checking account. We give for many reasons; one of them is because we recognize God’s superiority in our life. We recognize He is the giver of all we have, so, as an act of love and humility, we return a portion of it to His work in the kingdom.

Abraham, likewise, recognized Melchizedek was his superior. In response, he gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the plunder from his defeat of the eastern kings. Remembering from the last section, Abraham had defeated nine kings of that region. He probably possessed a lot of regional power at that moment. However, we see humility – not pride – in the recognition of his victory.

Melchizedek blessed Abraham
“Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior” (Hebrews 7:7).

Melchizedek’s blessing is a sign that he understood his superior position. James MacKnight wrote, “The blessing here spoken of… is not the simple wishing of good to others, which may be done by inferiors to superiors; but it is the action of a person authorized to declare God’s intention to bestow good things on another” (Guzik).

It’s also a sign that he served humbly rather than arrogantly. Melchizedek knew God was about to work a new plan. Only a few verses later, God cut covenant with Abraham thus ending the days of Noah’s covenant. Melchizedek humbly blessed the man who was to come after him.

Western culture tends to view those who come after us as superior to us. We exalt upcoming generations. However, a different mindset prevailed during Abraham’s time and even still today in the Middle and Far East. They viewed their ancestors – those who came before them – as superior to themselves. It was in this mindset that both Melchizedek and Abraham humbly recognized Melchizedek’s position of superiority.

Melchizedek Superior to Levi

The lineage of the priesthood was important within Jewish traditions. It keeps coming up as we continue to study Melchizedek. “But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises” (Hebrews 7:6). So here we go again…

The Levitical priesthood refers to the line of priests who descended from Levi, Abraham’s great-grandson. Remember – the eastern mindset honors those who come before, not the generations yet to be born.

Levi is in that still unborn category when this event took place. He was still within the seed of Abraham as even Isaac hadn’t yet been born. So, metaphorically speaking, even Levi paid a tenth to Melchizedek through the actions of his great-grandfather Abraham.

Why do we care today?

A lot of this seems pretty irrelevant for us today – especially those of us who aren’t Jewish. Yet, God gave His Word to all of us of all time. What can we learn from it for life in the 21st century?

First, the original Jewish recipients of this letter had a hard time letting go of their Jewish traditions and worship. They couldn’t see the whole picture – that God had a greater plan for the redemption of all humanity.

I wonder how often we do the same thing as Christians – especially American Christians. We focus so intently on our traditions, styles of worship, and minor differences that we can’t see God’s greater plan for reaching the world. We don’t recognize that other places and cultures do church differently. Sometimes we need to let go of how we think it looks when God works among us and recognize He may do a new work.

Second, Melchizedek gave a blessing and Abraham gave a tithe. Both of their actions recognized the superiority of the former priesthood as each humbly acknowledged his personal place in the greater plan.

Do our actions reveal our recognition of God’s superiority? Are we giving God a tenth of our plunder? If so, are we doing it humbly as we recognize all we have was from Him originally? That might be an old topic but here’s the next part - are we receiving the blessing? Abraham’s humility came not only in his tithe but also in his acceptance of the blessing. God wants to bless those who give to the work of the kingdom; are you willing to receive it? “’Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,’ says the Lord of Hosts. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure’” (Malachi 3:10).

Third, God can do what He wants to do. God decreed that the Levitical priesthood required lineage from Levi; God worked within that framework during that time period. However, God has the freedom, power, and authority to work in a different way before and after the days of the Levitical priesthood. He made Melchizedek the priest of Noah’s covenant; He can make Jesus priest of the New Covenant.

We can’t always assume that we know how God will work among us. He may have done a great and powerful work in the past but that doesn’t mean He’ll do the same thing in the future. Our job isn’t to tell Him what to do; our job is to serve willingly in the work to which He calls us.

What else do you see in this profound exchange between Melchizedek and Abraham? How else does their exchange show Melchizedek’s superiority? Even more, what can we learn from this event all these thousands of years later?

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Who is Melchizedek - Hebrews 7:1-3

Melchizedek.

I don’t think any other topic of Bible study makes us cringe as much as this one. After all, his name is really hard to say; what if we have to read it out loud in front of a class? Plus, the Bible says some really weird, hard to understand stuff about him.

It’s easier if we just don’t go there.

Except, I have a couple problems with that.

First, earlier, the author of Hebrews accused the recipients of his letter as being “too lazy to understand” because they weren’t ready to dig through the hard stuff of Melchizedek’s priesthood (Hebrews 5:11). I don’t know about you, but I’m not a lazy person. I have to prove the author of Hebrews wrong; I don’t want him to find me too lazy to understand God’s Word.

Second, I’ve learned something about Bible study – sometimes the good stuff is hardest to get. Some passages are simple… and beautiful… and amazing… right on the surface. Others, though, require some digging and meditating and questioning and searching before we see their beauty. However, our investment of some extra effort often reveals an even more brilliant nugget of truth.

So, we’re not going to skip over Melchizedek. We’re going to dig in to his story and ask God to shine the brilliance and depth of His Word into our lives, even when it’s hard. We’re even going to learn how to say his name – Mel-khee-se’-dek ☺

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Melchizedek – Who is he? (7:1)

Let’s start by reading the verses for this section – Hebrews 7:1-3.

King of Salem
OK, this isn’t too hard yet. Melchizedek is a king; specifically, the king of Salem. Salem is an ancient name for the city that later became known as Jerusalem. God had His man in place over that holy region even before He called Abraham.

Priest of the Most High God
This may seem pretty simple on the surface but Melchizedek’s priesthood raises some questions we must consider. How could he be priest of the Most High God if God hadn’t even given the Law yet? How could he be both priest and king?

The author of Hebrews first mentioned Melchizedek in Hebrews 5:5-9. We studied that passage in Jesus, Our Priest. That section introduced a comparison between the priesthoods’ of Aaron and Melchizedek; it also revealed that Melchizedek’s was superior. The author of Hebrews also showed us more specifically what it meant that Jesus was a priest in the order of Melchizedek rather than the order of Aaron.

The Old Testament priesthood primarily refers to priests from the tribe of Levi, the great-grandson of Abraham (Numbers 1:47-54). If we stop to think about it, it’s a little confusing to read Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God. After all, only Yahweh is God Most High and He didn’t establish the Levitical priesthood until many years later.

A key theme of Hebrews is a call to see the whole picture. The first-century Jews who received the letter focused on their Jewish traditions, history, and faith – and understandably so. However, the first century was a time of transition from Old Covenant Law to New Covenant grace. The author of Hebrews wanted them to look past their strictly Jewish Law sacrificial system and begin to see the whole picture of God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. God had a new plan to reach humanity after the Law, just as He had a different plan before the Law. As we struggle to see the whole picture ourselves, we must remember God has a plan to reach all people in all times – not just us in our time.

Before God cut covenant with Abraham and gave the Law to Moses, He had a covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:8-17). We know a lot about how the Law later impacted the people in their daily lives; we don’t know nearly as much about Noah’s covenant. We do know, however, that Melchizedek was a priest under that covenant. Since Scripture repeatedly refers to Melchizedek as a priest of the Most High God, we can safely assume that he operated under God’s plan for that time period which was the covenant with Noah.

Under Jewish Law, one man couldn’t serve as both priest and king. This is our first connection of Jesus with the superior priesthood of Melchizedek wherein one man served as both priest and king.

Melchizedek – What did he do? (7:1-2)

Let me set a little context for this situation. Abraham and Lot, his nephew, had come together from Ur but had since part ways. Lot settled in one region to the east while Abraham settled further west. In time, a group of kings from further east came over to defeat the kings in Lot’s region. In today’s geographical names, the kings of the east were from Iraq and Lot’s region was southern Israel and Jordan, specifically around the Dead Sea. The kings from the east defeated the kings of the west, plundered them, and took them back to their eastern kingdom.

However, someone escaped and let Abraham know what happened. Maybe they went to Abraham because they knew of Abraham’s devotion to Lot. Maybe they went because Abraham was from that eastern region originally. Remember, God had called him out of Ur of the Chaldees, which was in modern-day Iraq. Regardless of the reason, Abraham set out to defeat the kings of the east and was successful. Read the full story in Genesis 14.

Before we move on, let’s think about this story in the context of a male ego. Abraham was now what we might call “top man on the totem pole.” He had defeated the 5 kings of the east who had in turn defeated the 4 from the west. He was in control over all that area and people, should he have chosen to exert his power and position. I think that’s important to remember as we look at the actions of the two men.

Melchizedek blessed Abraham
Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, acknowledged God’s blessing on Abraham. Maybe Melchizedek knew God had already spoken words of blessing over Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and that God was about to cut a new covenant with him (Genesis 15). Either way, Melchizedek seemed to know Abraham was a man of God. Melchizedek could have clung tight to his position but instead he obediently blessed Abraham and allowed God to continue His plan for the redemption of all mankind. His was a blessing humbly given.

Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder
A look at the physical happenings shows Abraham to be a man in control of the whole volatile region. Abraham, however, was learning to look at the spiritual, not the physical. His would become a life of faith in the unseen God, not in his own power. Through spiritual eyes, Abraham saw Melchizedek’s superiority. He humbly acknowledged as much by giving Melchizedek a tenth of all the plunder as an offering.

To emphasize Abraham’s submission to and trust in God, he didn’t even keep the remaining 90% of the plunder. He could have; the king of Sodom even thought he would. However, Abraham gave it all back and declared, “I have raised my hand in an oath to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich’” (Genesis 14:22-23).

Humility and submission marked this moment of transition from Noah’s covenant to Abraham’s covenant. As such, we see another connection between Melchizedek’s priesthood and that of Jesus. Both priesthood’s marked a time of transition from one covenant to the next – Melchizedek marked the change from Noah to Abraham while Jesus marked the change from the Law to the New Covenant. Both transitions were moments of humility (Philippians 2:5-8), rather than prideful human conquest.

Melchizedek – What was he like? (7:2-3)

Wow – so much to understand when we look at the whole picture! Who knew these brief verses of introduction would include so much?

Things are about to get a little more complicated in our quest to understand Melchizedek. Five phrases in these verses can cause a lot of confusion but we’ll break them down, one by one.

King of righteousness
Melchizedek may have been a title rather than a name since it means “king of righteousness.” I tend to agree but whether it’s a title or a name isn’t the key point. The focus is people called him that. Noah’s covenant, under which Melchizedek served, was a covenant distinguished by righteousness. It was because of Noah’s own righteousness that God rescued him and his family from the worldwide flood (Genesis 6:8-9).

Here we see another connection between Melchizedek and Jesus - both were known for righteousness (Isaiah 53:11, 1 John 2:1, Revelation 15:3).

King of peace
Salem isn’t only an early name for Jerusalem; it’s also a form of the word shalom which means peace. Melchizedek was also the king of peace. Peace didn’t reign during Noah’s time as the world experienced global upheaval. However, it did come through his descendant Melchizedek.

Here we see a fourth connection between Melchizedek and Jesus. Jesus is the “Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Even more, Melchizedek’s priesthood came after a time of worldwide upheaval to usher in a time of peace. Likewise, Jesus’ first coming didn’t bring worldwide peace. Instead, His second coming will bring in peace after a devastating period of worldwide destruction known as the tribulation.

Without father, mother, or genealogy
We must view these remaining descriptions in the context of Melchizedek’s priesthood, not his humanity. The remaining three qualities describe him as a priest, not as a person. The Complete Jewish Bible communicates this more clearly in its translation. It says, “There is no record of his father, mother, ancestry, birth, or death; rather, like the Son of God, he continues as a cohen [priest] for all time” (Hebrews 7:3 CJB).

Except Jesus, everyone since Adam and Eve has a mom and dad. It’s the biological process God created – it’s just the way it works. Melchizedek had a mom and dad. The significance is we don’t know who they were.

Genealogy and lineage were crucial in the Levitical priesthood. No man could serve as priest unless he could prove his ancestry within the tribe of Levi. Therefore, the priests kept very meticulous records of the priestly line. However, with Melchizedek, we have no records of his lineage. We are unable to trace his ancestry. Even more, he had no lineage to Aaron or Levi as they hadn’t even been born!

Here we see the fourth connection between Jesus and Melchizedek’s priesthood – both were based on a calling by God rather than a lineage through the tribe of Levi.

Neither beginning of days nor end of life
Melchizedek isn’t hanging out in a cave in the Middle East somewhere having never died. His priesthood continues forever, not his actual life. This isn’t that odd if you also consider that we as believers in the New Covenant will also reign with Jesus as priests forever (Revelation 1:5-6) and therein lies our fifth connection.

Resembles the Son of God
Melchizedek isn’t the Son of God; he resembles Him. Big difference. Also, Jesus doesn’t resemble Melchizedek; Melchizedek resembles Jesus. Simply put, Melchizedek is a type – or an Old Testament picture – of the Messiah to come. Looking at the life of Melchizedek tells us something of what to look for in the fulfillment of the Messianic priesthood.

Why do I care?

As I began, Melchizedek isn’t a favorite topic for Bible study. His existence is even harder than his name. Yet, understanding his story is part of understanding God’s plan to redeem all of humanity.

Part of growing up is when we realize not everything revolves around us. I think this is just as true spiritually as it is mentally. God has reached out to all people at all times but it looked a little different in the past than it does now. Like the Jews of the first-century, it’s important to not think our covenant is the only covenant. Seeing how God’s plan flowed from one era to the next helps us see His awesomeness but even more, see how great His desire to restore our relationship with Him.

We also can learn from the humility of all the men involved in this story. Sometimes God brings us to a place of transition. He calls us away from one area and brings in someone new. That’s OK; Melchizedek is our example to bow out gracefully and humbly as God begins a new work in the life of someone else. Or, we may be the one God brings in to a transition as was Abraham. Again, we come in to a time of transition with humility.

The final reason we care about Melchizedek today is that God gave us his story to teach us about the Messiah. All of Scripture points to Jesus as the Messiah; our intimacy with Him grows as we find Him hidden in the difficult passages.

Maybe you can think of more… why else might we care to study someone as complex and overwhelming as Melchizedek today?

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