The Word This Week

Hebrews 7:1...

The author of Hebrews has been given special Holy Spirit insight into the ministry of an obscure figure in God’s Word by the name of Melchizedek.

Only mentioned twice in the Old Testament, Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14 and is mentioned by David in Psalm 110. Other than that, we have previously known nothing of this mysterious ‘man.’

It probably went right over our heads that this Melchizedek was BOTH a king AND priest, and that no man under Jewish Law was permitted to perform both those roles.

But now the author of Hebrews is informing us there is One greater than the line of High Priests who served under Jewish Law. (Of course, he is referring to Jesus Christ, who is also both King and Priest.) In fact, Jesus Christ is our GREAT High Priest, superior to any High Priest of the Jews because He created both the priesthood and the priests. (He Who built the house is superior to the one who serves in the house. (Hebrews 3:3-6)

In returning to our revelation of Melchizedek, and exactly who this man may be, the author points directly to the similarities between this Melchizedek and the Lord Jesus Christ. Many obvious and loaded hints are dropped about Who this man actually was.

He appears as the king of peace and as the king of righteousness, without genealogy, without mother, without father, and as priest of the most High God. The author is begging us to make comparison to the Lord Jesus Christ – Who alone is both King and Priest, and whose own genealogy is amazing – born of a virgin and conceived without an earthly father by the Holy Spirit.

And he goes further in reminding us Melchizedek received a tithe of all Abraham’s possessions – while pointing out this being equal to ALL priests descended from Abraham also having given a tithe to Melchizedek, since they were ‘in his loins.’ The order of the priesthood of Melchizedek may be mysterious – but it is without question superior to the Aaronic priesthood.

Therefore, since the Lord Jesus Christ IS of the order of Melchizedek, and because He is also both King and Priest, and because His Priesthood is eternal, there can remain no doubt in the mind of the Hebrews regarding the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ compared to the Aaronic priesthood.

Pastor Bill