Melchizedek
Melchizedek has become one of my favorite Bible characters. This chapter has much to do with my
fascination with Melchizedek. I am
fascinated by him because he is only mentioned at one point in Genesis and a
single time in the Psalms before being absolutely expounded upon by the author
of Hebrews. It is so rare for a figure
to rise out of absolute obscurity and become a fore-runner to Jesus in a John
the Baptizer kind of way. The end of the
story of Melchizedek screams of Christianity.
He is a man taken out of obscurity but through the presence of the Son
of God has an incredible honor bestowed upon him.
Let’s look at this man. As
the author of Hebrews says, Melchizedek literally means “King of
Righteousness.” Genesis tells us that
Melchizedek was a God-fearing priest. He
was righteous in a land of Canaanites before the Hebrew people ever came to
settle in the land of Canaan. That right
there makes him pretty cool.
He was literally the King of Salem – the town which eventually
becomes known as Jerusalem. Salem is the
word for “peace.” So not only was
Melchizedek a righteous man, he was a king whose place of dwelling and ruling
was known as “peace.” That makes him
doubly cool in my book.
Third, as the author of Hebrews mentions, he comes to us with no
genealogy. Certainly he had a father and
mother; we just don’t know who they are!
It’s like he comes out of nowhere, displays God to Abraham for a brief
moment, and then recedes back into history without even a mention of his
death. His coming and his going isn’t
important; what is important is how he reflected God while he was here. That makes him triply cool in my book.
Finally, notice that God’s chosen man – Abraham – gives a tithe to
Melchizedek. Abraham is God’s chosen
implement. He is the founder of the
Hebrew people. He is the forefather of
faithfulness to God! Yet, Abraham gives
a tithe to Melchizedek. Abraham, who
becomes a founder of a group of people whose religious qualities are based on
genealogy, gives a tenth of everything he has to a guy with no known genealogy
or lineage! Here we can clearly see that
what is important is righteousness with God, not lineage or self-justification
or anything like that.
Melchizedek v. Aaron
Now the author of Hebrews returns to the dagger that he began to
employ in Hebrews 3. In Hebrews 3, the
author made the point that Jesus was greater than Moses and the salvation that
comes through Jesus is greater than anything that can come through the Law. Here, the author of Hebrews makes it clear
that the order of Melchizedek is greater that the order of Aaron. Imagine how such a claim would be heard by
Jews!
Of course the author makes a genealogical point. Jesus is descended from the tribe of Judah,
not the tribe of Levi. Therefore, Jesus
can clearly be seen as king; his priesthood is in question if it were not for
Melchizedek being king of Salem (which became Jerusalem). So we can see that Jesus is both a priest and
king.
Then, the author makes the argument that the Law made nothing
perfect. Imagine how this argument would
have gone over with the Jews of his day!
But this is an absolutely fundamental point of Christianity. The Law does not make us perfect. The Law points out our imperfections. The Law may try to curb our imperfections –
our sin – but it cannot prevent us from sinning. It can merely demonstrate our sinfulness and aid
us in our fight against sin.
How do we know that Jesus is a better high priest than any of the
priests that come through the line of Aaron?
{Or for that matter, any who come
from a fully human lineage?} The
author’s rationale is simple. Every
priest of the line of Aaron dies - every single one. If we want to expand it to a modern perspective,
every single religious leader since Jesus has likewise died. We who are fully human all die. Our effectiveness comes to an end. We can only do so much.
Not so with Christ! Christ
overcame death. Christ rose from the
dead. Christ lives eternally with the
Father. Christ continues to be able to
work. He can save those who draw near to
Him because He has defeated all enemies.
His work of salvation continues on to and through this day. Tell me another priest of whom that can be
said!
Jesus had no need to offer up an offering to cleanse Himself
before He was offered up for our sake.
Jesus had no need to be cleansed from anything prior to dying for our
sake. He was not weak when He was
appointed to carry out the will of the Father.
Since Christ was appointed in His strength, he is naturally superior to
all of us who are appointed while being in our weakness to sin.
There can be no doubt regarding the superiority of Christ. He is superior on every front. The salvation that comes through Him is
likewise as superior. He is our great
high priest.
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