Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-3)

Melchizedek is one of those interesting individuals who is mentioned several times throughout the Scriptures but little is actually known about his history and who he was. Some have speculated that he was Noah’s son, Shem. Others say that he was the Holy Spirit who took the form of a man and dwelt on earth. There have been countless other attempts to nail down exactly who this man was but have for the most part been in vain. The thing that gives people the most trouble when it comes to Melchizedek is the Hebrews writer’s description of his being without parents, without a genealogy, or without beginning or end. To discover the truth behind this mysterious person, we should turn to the best commentary on the Bible, itself.

The Reason for Melchizedek

Melchizedek is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18, where Abram presented him with a tithe, being the priest of God. The next time we hear of him is in Psalms 110:4, where we are told the coming Messiah will be “a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” Not until the Hebrews writer speaks of the superiority of Melchizedek’s priesthood opposed to that of Aaron’s, do we hear of him again. None of these passages, save Hebrews 7, gives people much of a problem, for they are all fairly straight forward. Because of this, we will look at what was written to the Hebrews and why it was written so we can find an answer to our questions. First, we need to look at the purpose of the letter to the Hebrews itself. Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were struggling to remain faithful under a terrific amount of pressure that was being put on them by the Jews, especially the Jewish leadership. The writer of this letter went about his task by showing the superiority of Christ to Moses, Aaron, and the old law in general. By showing that Melchizedek was superior to Aaron, and that Christ’s priesthood was derived from that of Melchizedek, the readers of this letter could see that their faith was superior to the faith that the Jews still clung to.

The Type and the Antitype

To understand the relationship between a type and an antitype, we can turn to First Peter 3:21, where Peter describes baptism as an antitype of the flood. Where Noah and his family were saved from death through the waters of the flood, we are now saved form eternal death through the waters of baptism. Just as the type, the flood, was a foreshadowing of the antitype, baptism, Melchizedek was himself a foreshadowing of Christ. This is where many people run into trouble; they try to dig too deep, and worry too much about Melchizedek and they forget, or overlook, the connection to the Christ. Christ is the “Great High Priest” (Heb. 414), and the roots of this are found with Melchizedek. Without Melchizedek, the argument for the superiority of Christ’s priesthood could not be made.

The Comparison

Melchizedek was priest and king 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 (Heb. 7:1).

Christ is Priest and King Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (Heb. 4:14). He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15).

Melchizedek was king of peace 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" (Heb. 7:2).

Christ is Prince of Peace For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

Melchizedek had no mom, dad, genealogy This does not mean that he had no parents, but that there was not a written record. He received his priesthood from no one but God. It was not passes down from father to son. It was as if there were neither a beginning nor an end to his priesthood.

Christ Is the Only One He received His priesthood from no one but God. It was not passes down by genealogy, like that of Aaron. He had no predecessors or successors. His priesthood continues forever.

Conclusion

Showing that Melchizedek was superior to Abraham, the father of the Jews, also shows that all who come from Melchizedek are superior to those who come from Abraham. The Levites received the priesthood from their fathers as per the Law of Moses, but Christ was not like that. Christ is shown to be superior to Aaron and the Levitical priesthood who were sons of Abraham. To truly understand this, one must study the entire Book of Hebrews. This was to give great comfort to those Jewish Christians who were enduring a great amount of persecution at the hands of The Jews. They knew that the Christ who died for them was far greater than any other, and that if they remained faithful to Him, they would receive their reward in time. We should take comfort from this as well.