Hebrews 7: Jesus: Like Melchizedek

Hebrews 7:1-10

Genesis 14:17-24

                                                 Like Melchizedek

Well brothers and sisters, finally today, we come to look at this person that has already been mentioned a few times throughout the book of Hebrews, this person  is called Melchizedek.

The author of Hebrews first mentions Melchizedek back in Hebrews 5:6, where he wrote this when he was comparing Melchizedek to Jesus:

As he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,    after the order of Melchizedek”

The author of Hebrews here is actually quoting straight from the Old Testament, straight from Psalm 110, verse 4, which interestingly, is a Psalm about a king, a priest and even God Himself, all rolled into one.

And so this Melchizedek isn’t some random bloke that the author of Hebrews just magically pulled out of a hat, but he is a person, whom his Jewish audience would have been familiar with, especially because they would have known that long, long ago, this Melchizedek actually met with the father of the Jews- Abraham.

This brief meeting is recorded in Genesis chapter 14 but then Melchizedek is never mentioned again until Psalm 110, and then only mentioned again, here in Hebrews.

As we heard from our first reading today, Melchizedek was a king and also a priest who met with Abraham and blessed him.

Abraham had just rescued his nephew- Lot, from the king of Edom who had plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken Lot with him.

After Abraham’ victory, the King and priest Melchizedek met with Abraham, and brought him bread and wine and blessed him, and then Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he owned.

That is it- that is the story of Melchizedek.

We are told nothing else about the life of Melchizedek.

So, why is this person of Melchizedek so important?

Well ultimately, this person of Melchizedek is so important because like all other figures in Hebrews, he points us to Jesus. He helps us understand better, the work and person of Jesus.

When it says that Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek, it means that Jesus is like the person of Melchizedek, but only better.

Now, before we even look at what Melchizedek did, we can clearly see by just understanding his name- that Melchizedek was like Jesus.

The author of Hebrews tells us in chapter 7 verse 2, what the name, Melchizedek translates to.

Look at first 2 with me:

He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.

And so Melchizedek king of Salem literally means “King of peace”

Does that title ring any bells?

Just listen to what Isaiah 9:6 says about the prince of peace

For to us a child is born,    to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon his shoulder,    and his name shall be calledWonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Who is this child, this prince of peace?- Jesus.

Even the name Jesus was after the order, or like the name- Melchizedek.

But perhaps, what was even more remarkable about Melchizedek, apart from his name, is that he was both a king and a priest. It tells us in Genesis, and Psalms that this Melchizedek fulfilled both the role of king and priest at the same time.

This dual role simply wasn’t done in the days of Moses, and when someone tried to do both roles, it didn’t end well.

For the Israelites who lived in the desert and the promised land, and followed the sacrificial system that was set up by God and operated under the Levitical priests, it was simply not possible for a king and priest to do the same job.

The priests had to come from the tribe of Levi, specifically through the line of Aaron and the kings has to come from the tribe of Judah. And so if you came from the tribe of Judah you couldn’t be a priest, but if you came from the tribe of Levi you couldn’t be a king.

As we would say today, you had to keep in your own lane.

Priests from Levi, Kings from Judah- you couldn’t be both.

King Saul learned this the hard way.

When King Saul was being perused by the Philistines, he called on the prophet Samuel to come and make a sacrifice before the Lord in a plea for protection and victory. But when Samuel didn’t arrive in time, Saul made his own sacrifice as  the king.

King Saul did, what was reserved for the priest, and as a result, when Sameul arrived, he called Saul foolish and because of his actions, Saul’s kingdom didn’t last long and eventually king David took the reigns.

A king could not be a priest, and a priest could not be a king, and yet, this king we meet in Genesis 14, Melchizedek, was both.

Jesus is both.

Jesus is both king and priest.

This is why Jesus is after the order/ like of Melchizedek- he is both king and priest.

Now on the one hand, Jesus by descent he was able to be a king, since he did come from the tribe of Judah as it tells us in verse 14. And yet, if Jesus was also to be a priest, he would (humanly speaking) have to have come from the tribe of Levite.

But as we have heard, you can’t come from both, so what qualified Jesus to be a priest?

Humanly- he didn’t meet the criteria, he didn’t descend from the Levite clan.

Well, look at verses 15 and 16 with me:

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

What qualifies Jesus to be a priest?

Not his family ties, but get this….His power that comes from an indestructible life.

Jesus surpassed any legal requirement, because he was perfect, he is perfect, he was sinless, he is sinless. He was and is indestructible, because he wasn’t able to be destroyed by his own sin, since he never sinned.

Jesus surpassed the legal requirement of descending from the tribe of Levi, not only because he was perfect but because he existed before the tribe of Levi.

Jesus is not bound by time and genealogies. Jesus is the priest that had no beginning and has no end.

This is what the author of Hebrews is saying in verse 3 when he describes Melchizedek.

Look at verse 3 with me:

He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

Unlike many other figures in the Old Testament of whom we are given some family history, Melchizedek just appears in Genesis 14, no mention of family, no mention of when he was born or when he died, he was just there.

Now, some think, that this means that Melchizedek was some kind of angel or non-human or even Jesus himself…….but I don’t think so. I think the author of Hebrews is saying just like Melchizedek hadn’t had a family history recorded for us- He seems from what we know from the scriptures, that Melchizedek seemed  “eternal”.

Therefore if Melchizedek seemed eternal, and Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek, it means Jesus is like Melchizedek but better, because Jesus truly is eternal – he truly has no beginning and no end, He is the beginning and the end, he is the alpha and the omega.

And so Jesus is better than Melchizedek and Melchizedek was better than the Levites who were priests appointed by God back in the days of Moses.

The author of Hebrews shows that Melchizedek was better than the Levite priests, who came after Melchizedek, by referring back to the story when Abraham met with Melchizedek.

When Abraham met with Melchizedek, Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of his possessions.

Now why did Abraham do this?

It wasn’t required for Abraham to give to a priest……God’s law hadn’t been written then. It was required of God’s people to give a tenth to the priests in the days of Moses, since the priests were not given any land and so the people of God provided for the priests.

But this law didn’t apply to Abraham and so why did Abraham give Melchizedek a tenth of everything?

Abraham gave a tenth of his possessions to Melchizedek, because he clearly believed Melchizedek was superior to him. Perhaps it was a sign of gratitude to God for the victory he had won and his nephew Lot being returned.

Melchizedek was the one who then blessed Abraham, it wasn’t Abraham who blessed Melchizedek. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 7, it is beyond dispute that the superior blessed the inferior.

Abraham knew this priestly king was special and as the author of Hebrews makes it clear in verses 9 and 10, this priest king was far greater than any Levite priest, since in essence even these Levite priests who received a tithe from the people, who came after Melchizedek, tithed to Melchizedek as they were in the loins of Abraham.

Melchizedek was better than the Levite priests in the days of Moses and Jesus who is after the order of Melchizedek, is even better.

Friends when Jesus became our high priest, he brought in a better priesthood and with it a better covenant.

Look at verse 22 with me:

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Now, some people are troubled that God brought in his first covenant under the Mosaic law, but then brought in a better covenant with Jesus.

People rightly question and ask, how do we know God won’t bring in a third covenant?

God made a covenant with Moses and then with Jesus, how do we know there isn’t another one coming?

How can we trust God?

Well, first of all, it is important to know that God’s covenant with the Levite priests, was never eternal. God never promised that the Levitical priests would last forever……However…..with Jesus, God did promise that his son Jesus would be a priest that would last forever and we can so confident that God will keep this eternal covenant, because unlike the Levitical priesthood, God swore this with an oath.

Look at verses 20-21 with me:

²⁰ And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹ but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn    and will not change his mind,‘You are a priest forever.’”

In Jesus, we now have a better priesthood, we have a priest that will never die, we have a priest that will constantly be interceding for us to our God, we have a priest who is perfect in every way, we have a priest, who is not only a priest…..but a king…….not only a king……..but the son of God.

And because there has been a change in the priesthood, from the old Levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Jesus, we also, as it says in verse 12 have a change in the law?

Look at verse 12 with me:

¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

What does that mean?

A change in the law.

Well it is clear from verses 11 and 18 that the law, the old covenant lacked.

The old covenant wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t a mistake but it lacked in the sense that it couldn’t make one perfect. The Old Sacrificial system was unbale to truly draw people into the very presence of God because it couldn’t take away sins.

The law was able to point out the sins of the people, but it wasn’t able to deal with them sufficiently, and completely.

When Jesus brought in the new covenant, not only could he deal with our sins as the perfect priest, but he could offer himself as the perfect sacrifice, once and for all.

And don’t think for one minute, that Jesus our better priest, scraped the law of God and made it null and void, but on the contrary Jesus came and showed us the heart of God’s law. Jesus set the bar even higher for us to live by.

Jesus showed us the true interpretation of God’s laws, which dealt with the heart and not the man made laws that the pharisees built around God’s laws.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:48 that we must be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect.

Don’t just not kill anyone, but ask for forgiveness when you get angry with your brother

Don’t just not commit adultery, but don’t even look lustfully at a woman

Don’t just treat others badly because they treated you badly, but Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Thank God, that when God brought in the new covenant in Jesus, which got to the heart of the law, God also brought in a new priesthood.

Which makes sense, since God’s covenant and priesthood go hand in hand.

If we thought the Israelites would quickly run out of animals for their continual sacrifices, how much quicker would we run out of animals under this new covenant, this better covenant?

Thank God that in Jesus, we have all that we need to draw near to God.

We have the perfect priest, who is always interceding for us, we have the perfect sacrifice who died once and for all our sins, we have the perfect protector who covers us with his righteousness, because he truly is the king of righteousness, the king of peace.

Let us pray