In Hebrews 5:6 and again in 5:11, the author mentioned that Jesus was our high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Before explaining that important detail, the author spent the second half of chapter 5 rebuking his audience for being slow to learn, the first half of chapter 6 issuing a very stern warning, and the second half of chapter 6 encouraging his audience in the assurance of their salvation, which stems from God’s faithfulness to His word. God keeps His promises, through His Son Jesus Christ, who again, is our great high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Finally, the author can explain what that’s all about. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-10 – 1This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. 4Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 5Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people – that is, their brothers – even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. 6This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. 8In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. 9One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
V1-3 describe Melchizedek in more detail than when we first met him back in Genesis 14:18-20. And the only other place Melchizedek is mentioned, apart from the eight times his named is mentioned in the Epsitle to the Hebrews, is in Psalm 110:4, which is quoted a couple times in the next passage to make a crucial point. But here, we learn that this man was both a king and a priest. He name means “king of righteousness,” and because his kingdom was Salem, which means “peace,” we could also call him the “king of peace.” His name alone makes us think of Jesus; and with the words of v3 – “without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever” – we might be right to worship him. The author even says in v4, “Just think how great he was.”
Who was Melchizedek? This mysterious figure is obviously important for us to understand what the author of Hebrews is saying. But before that, we need to understand that he was also an important figure in Judaism, especially in the various sects of Judaism that were intermingling with early forms of gnosticism, paganism, as well as with the Greco-Roman culture, in the first century AD. And that means that Melchizedek was an important figure to the audience of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Perhaps the audience was struggling with his identity, as we often do; or perhaps they respected him to such a great degree that they would exalt Jesus all the more when they heard of His ties to Melchizedek.
Scholars usually suggest one of four opinions. First and perhaps the most prominent view, is that he was a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus Christ. Oftentimes when we meet the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, we end up meeting God Himself, and most people think that’s a theophany, a physical appearance of the invisible God, something Jesus would have undertaken prior to His incarnation (Genesis 16:7-13; 18; 22:11-18; 32:24-30; Exodus 3:2-14; Joshua 5:13-6:2 (Revelation 19:11-16); Judges 2:1-3; 6:11-23; Daniel 3:19-29; Zechariah 3:1-10). John Crystostom was convinced that Melchizedek was Jesus simply because there is no other person we could rightly call, “The king of righteousness and peace.” A second view is that Melchizedek was an angel manifesting himself as a man, but not more than that. A third view is that Melchizedek was actually Shem, Noah’s son who would have still been alive at the time of Abraham’s meeting with him But of course, Shem has a genealogy. The fourth view is that Melchizedek was a literal, though mysterious, human being, of whom little else is known than his legitimate priesthood.
2) V11-25 – 11If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come – one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. 13He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” [Psalm 110:4]. 18The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. 20And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21but He became a priest with an oath when God said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever’” [Psalm 110:4]. 22Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 23Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. 25Therefore He is able to save completely [or forever] those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.
. In v11, he acknowledges that perfection was/is the requirement of God, but that it could never “have been attained through the Levitical priesthood.” In parenthesis, the author adds that the law is what gave the priesthood to the people. Jesus had to come as a priest in Melchizedek’s order, because the Levitical priesthood – and therefore the law by which it came – was never good enough to bring perfection. Thus, when the priesthood changes, the law changes (v12). We are no longer under the Old Covenant law, but we are under the New Covenant law, which is better.
One way that the New Covenant priesthood of Jesus, through the line of Melchizedek, is superior to the Old Covenant Levitical priesthood, through the line of Aaron, is this: the Old Covenant priests were determined “on the basis of a regulation as to…ancestry,” while Jesus was determined a priest “on the basis of the power of an indestructible life” (v16). The old way was based on ancestry; the new way is based on power unto eternal life. Even in Psalm 110:4, Jesus is declared to be “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” on the basis of His deity (v17). And again, the author declares, “The law made nothing perfect…because it was weak and useless” (v18-19). Now this description – “weak and useless” – is in regards to the ability to make the imperfect perfect; the law still has a threefold useful purpose – to reveal the sinfulness of sin, to drive people to Christ, and to reveal the holy character of God.
The author also points out the Jesus’ priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood, because it came declared with an oath. Earlier, the author pointed out that God, who can’t lie, still confirmed His promise to Abraham with an oath, swearing on Himself, for the sake of Abraham’s confidence. So here, we see that God swears that Jesus is our priest forever; He cannot change His mind about this. No other priest was given this kind of promise. Therefore, Jesus is “the guarantee of a better covenant” (v22).
The final thought in this passage offers a final reason for the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood. He lives! Other priests came and went, dying off over the hundreds of years of their line of service (v23). “But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood” (v24). V25 is a fabulous conclusion, “25Therefore He is able to save completely [or forever] those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” The word translated “completely,” can also mean “forever.” And both are certainly fitting. Jesus doesn’t save us most of the way; He saves us all the way. He’s not a wide bridge that goes most of the way across; He is the narrow bridge that goes all the way. And He doesn’t just give humanity the possibility of being saved if they meet some conditions and hold fast until death; Jesus saves people out of their conditions and guarantees their salvation from the moment it is applied, by grace through faith in Him, through the power of the indwelling, regenerating, and sanctifying Holy Spirit. In these ways, Jesus is our perfect law and high priest, far greater than any other law or priest could ever be.
3) V26-28 – 26Such a high priest meets our need – One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. 28For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
The final passage of this chapter offers a summary, explaining how Jesus meets our needs as our high priest. He “is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (v26). Other priests didn’t share these characteristics, though we might have considered them “holy men.” Even those “holy men” had to repeatedly offer sacrifices, not only “for the sins of the people” (v27), but also for their own sins.” Jesus, on the other hand, did not have to offer a sacrifice for Himself, for He was sinless. Instead, He offered the perfect sacrifice – Himself – for our sins. And the final verse shows that the law imperfectly appointed weak men to serve as temporary priests, foreshadowing the oath of God, “which came after the law,” to give us Jesus, “who has been made perfect forever.” We have discussed the issue of Jesus’ being made perfect back when it was first mentioned in Hebrews 5. In summary on that point, Jesus was, is, and always will be perfect, but He had to be conditioned to fit the role of high priest that He agreed to fulfill. In that sense, He “learned obedience from what He suffered,” and He was “made perfect.” That perfect life of suffering and resisting temptation on our behalf earned Him the rightful designation as our high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes
- 7:17 Psalm 110:4
- 7:21 Psalm 110:4
- 7:25 Or forever
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.