Who is this 'King of Righteousness' and 'King of Peace?'

Introduction

Good morning, we are going to be continuing in the book of Hebrews this morning.

We will be in Heb 7.

If you have any trouble finding it, you can flip from the back of your Bible.

It is between Philemon and James.

Years ago, I was serving as the college pastor at a large church outside of Houston.

Each week, we would place Bibles on the back table, and as we began there would always be a handful of people who would stand up to go get one.

So, I tried to head this off at the pass by asking someone near the table to grab a handful of them and pass them out.

One week, there was a guy who was relatively new to the ministry back there, so from the pulpit, I said “Dwayne, would you grab Bibles for those that need them?”

He did, and I thanked him, and we moved on.

The next week, the same thing happened.

People needed Bibles, I asked Dwayne if he would get them for people.

The third week, he came up to me after church and said, “Pastor Matt, can I tell you something?”

I said “sure thing, Dwayne - what’s up?”

“My name isn’t Dwayne… It’s Frankie”

The moral of the story is that you better know who someone is, before you assume their name publicly…

Today, as we dive into Hebrews 7, we are going to be asking the question, “Who is this King of Righteousness and King of Peace that is called Melchizedek?”

There have been a lot of people throughout history that have had something to say about this guy.

the Mormons say that he is the one who began their priestly line of leaders...

rabbinical leaders would say that he was one of Shem’s offspring

Some Christians would say that he was pre-incarnate Christ coming to visit Abraham. We would call this a Christophany.

Others would say that he was simply a theophany - like the Angel of the Lord - and not make the claim that he was Christ.

Still others would say that he was a really good dude, who knew the Lord and ministered as such.

Theologians are quite divided on this issue.

As I studied the text, and like my interaction with Frankie, I came in with some presuppositions…

There were some things that I would have said before today, and I don’t think I would say them now.

Before this week, I would landed in the Christophany or Theophany camp.

Now, I think that I am leaning more towards the thought that Melchizedek was an historical person who was messianic-type figure - like David or Moses.

I am not so confident as to say that he was a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.

What I would say is that our view of who/what Melchizedek was isn’t as important as what we can learn about Jesus from him.

Take a lesson from me, don’t be confident that Frankie’s name is Dwayne - if you get my drift.

If you do, then you might be missing the point entirely.

This week, we are going to ask the question: “Who is this King of Righteousness and King of Peace?”

Opening in Prayer

Hebrews 7:1-10

Up until ch. 7, the author has simply assumed that his audience knows who this Melchizedek guy is… and he has kind of teased us with snippets.

Hebrews 5:6 ESV

6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 5:10 ESV

10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:20 ESV

20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The original story of Melchizedek is recorded in Genesis 14:17-20.

I want to read it to give us a bit of context.

The Original Story

Genesis 14:17–20 (ESV)

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedor-la-omer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

If you think about it, this is a really bizarre interaction thats going on…

Melchizedek shows up and brings wine and bread (because you don’t come to a party empty handed) and then he blesses Abram.

In response Abram gives him a 10th of everything - presumably a 10th of the spoil he had just won in battle.

Meanwhile, the king of Sodom is there, presumably witnessing all of this

That had to be a little weird - because Abraham and Melchizedek are having this little moment.

Have you ever been that person in a conversation?

You walk up, and the other two people dive into this serious interaction - and you don’t have anything to add really, but you’re stuck, so you just stand there awkwardly…

This is the King of Sodom is at the moment.

He’s looking around, praying that he gets a phone call or text - so he can excuse himself…

Super awkward!

But this is nothing compared to the awkwardness of their next interaction.

Spoiler alert - the next party where he runs into Abraham is HOT.

But this is the passage that the author of Hebrews is referring back to.

Hebrews 7 is essentially a sermon that was preached about Genesis 14.

Let’s look at vv. 1-3

Hebrews 7:1–3 (ESV)

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 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.

Here is what we learn…

Melchizedek means King of Righteousness or My King is Righteous

His title was the King of Salem - which is interpreted as King of Peace

He was priest of the Most High God

We don’t know who his parents were

We don’t know when he died

He resembled the Son of God

He continues as a priest - forever - with no end.

Our first point answering our big question today, of “Who is this King of Righteousness and King of Peace,” is this:

1. He is a Forever Priest (vv. 1-3)

Several things on this...

1. The first priest mentioned in scripture

Melchizedek is the first person in the Bible to be identified as a priest - and specifically as a priest of the Most High God.

Abraham clearly recognized him as such - he responded by giving him a tithe.

This was not compulsory - it was a willing act, meant to convey respect and honor.

What is wild is that it would be several generations before the Levitical/Aaronic line of priests would be born and commissioned by God.

We see other priests mentioned prior to the priests of Israel- like the priests in Egypt and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law who was a priest of Midian…

But the priesthood in Israel wasn’t instituted until Exodus 19, and we find out in Exodus 28 that the priests must come from the tribe of Levi and be of the line of Aaron.

Melchizedek’s priesthood wasn’t based on genealogy, but rather on personal qualification - it was based on who he was, not who he was related to.

This is where we see the contrast start to emerge between him and Levi - and the author wants to highlight this.

Notice also how his priesthood is identified.

He is the priest of the Most High God.

He is not a priest of Baal or some other lesser deity…

He is priest of the ONE TRUE God - supreme over all of the deities of the surrounding nations.

This was most definitely a power play - a trump card, if you will.

This is the God that this Melchizedek serves.

2. King AND a priest

He is not just a priest, he is the king of Salem.

This is not something that happened in Israel.

Priests and kings were separate, according to the Law.

We have already seen that priests were to be of the line of Aaron and the Tribe of Levi.

Genesis 49:10 indicated that kingship would be given to those from the tribe of Judah - from whom King David arose.

Kings and priests had differing roles and they were supposed to stay in their lane - and those who didn’t did so to their own undoing.

And we see this happen in the Old Testament…

in 1 Samuel 13, King Saul was in a battle against the Philistines, they were on their heels, and the people started to abandon Saul.

He got tired of waiting for Samuel and offered the sacrifice to the Lord himself.

The result was he lost the kingdom.

In 2 Chronicles 26, King Uzziah went into the temple, and burned incense on the altar.

He was rebuked by the Chief Priest Azariah, and Uzziah got angry with him.

As soon as he did, leprosy broke out on his forehead and he was a leper until the day he died.

The priest role and the king role were separate roles in Israel, not to be mixed.

But Melchizedek, not an Israelite, served as both where he came from - making him a unique biblical figure.

So he was the FIRST priest and he was Priest AND King...

but he was also...

3. He was a priest forever.

Where does the Author of Hebrews get this - because it is never stated in Genesis?

He gets it from Psalm 110 - which is a messianic prophesy written by King David.

In v. 4, he said this:

Psalm 110:4 (ESV)

4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Melchizedek, was an obscure figure, not much was known about him.

Which caused him to be shrouded in a bit of mystery.

There was perhaps some sensationalism surrounding him.

Because of this, he took on this image of a priest who would live on forever.

Reading this, I thought about Chuck Norris facts.

Do yall remember those?

They were facts that people would rattle off about Chuck Norris…

Like the fact that Chuck Norris can build a snowman out of water.

Admittedly, some of these facts are based in folklore.

So, is it true that Melchizedek didn’t have a mother or father or that he didn’t die?

If he was an actual person, then this cannot be true - he had both parents and he also had a date of birth and date of death.

But for Jewish people, this didn’t matter so much… It was allegorical for them, it was always telling a bigger story.

And this is part of what we are going to have to get past in our Western minds…

Move past the details about Melchizedek that don’t make sense and ask the question, what is this pointing to that is beyond him?

You see, these things are said to describe Melchizedek, but they ultimately describe someone else.

File that for later… Remember that…

Melchizedek was the first priest of God most high, both king and priest, and a forever priest.

Who might the author be wanting us to think about?

Hebrews 7:4–6 (ESV)

4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

V. 4 begins with an imperative - to see - Or more accurately - Look at him - behold.

The Greek word is where we get our word “theater”

Our team just got back from Japan a couple of weeks ago, and on the plane, they have the giant library of movies.

I don’t know about you, but I am always exhausted when I am watching these - so I will watch them and then at the end have no idea what I was watching, because I was in and out of consciousness the whole time.

Like I watched Jesus revolution, but I think the only thing I could tell you was that Jesus from the Chosen was in it and I think that guy from that old TV Show Frasier…

If I was supposed to behold the movie, I failed…

The writer of Hebrews is telling us to look at the facts concerning Melchizedek and to come to some conclusions.

He even leads us towards those conclusions.

“See how great this man was…”

Who is this King of Righteousness and King of Peace?

He is a man worthy of honor…

2. He is worthy of honor (vv. 4-6)

How do we know that he is worthy of honor?

Abraham, the patriarch shows him honor...

Look how the author states this…

“See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils”

In the Greek sentence structure, the word Patriarch comes at the end of the sentence, which is intended to emphasize it.

The King James version says: “Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.”

We are supposed to understand that the most celebrated person in Judaism honored Melchizedek.

This isn’t Joe-Bob the camel breeder - It’s Abraham!

In Jewish culture, Abraham was the gold standard.

He was the father of their nation - the first Jew!

He was quite literally the most important person for the nation of Israel.

Jews would often appeal to Abraham to establish credibility.

We even see Paul do this in Romans 11 and 2 Corinthians 11.

If the father of all Israel honored this guy - he must’ve really been worthy of honor.

The theologian Charles Spurgeon said that he was “no priest of second rank; but one who overtops the sons of men by more than head and shoulders, and acts a superior’s part among the greatest of them.” (That is Abraham).

William MacDonald, who was a theologian and the president of Emmaus Bible College said: “Since Abraham was one of the greatest stars in the Hebrew firmament, it follows that Melchizedek must have been a star of even greater magnitude.”

The second way we know he is worthy of honor is that...

He receives a tithe without a commandment of the Law

If you have not been around church, this word tithe may be unfamiliar to you.

The word tithe actually means 1/10th or 10%.

A tithe is 10% of one’s goods, given to the work of ministry - and it came from what your land or your labor produced.

The tithe was outlined in the Law - primarily in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

It was commanded to be given to the Levitical priests to sustain their priestly work.

And it wasn’t the leftovers that you were supposed to give, it was the best of what you had…

When Melchizedek shows up in Genesis 14, there is no law in existence calling for a tithe.

Yet Abraham tithes - this is also the first tithe recorded in Scripture.

Abraham was so moved by this guy that he gives him the best of what he has - of his own volition!

It was an act of submission and reverence

This is the appropriate response to encountering someone who is that much greater than you - you open your hands and your life to them - you honor them.

A.W. Pink said: “To give tithes to another who is the servant of God is a token of official respect, it is the recognition and acknowledgement of his superior status. The value of such official tokens is measured by the dignity and rank of the person making them. Now Abraham was a person of very high dignity, both naturally and spiritually. Naturally he was the founder of the Jewish nation; spiritually he was the “father” of all believers. In his person was concentrated all the sacred dignity belonging to the people of God. How “great” then must be Melchizedek, seeing that Abraham himself owned his official superiority!”

Melchizedek collected tithes without compulsion, the Levitical priests exacted taxes according to the Law.

Melchizedek, in having no legal right to collect tithes...

He was given tithes willingly, which demonstrates Abraham’s recognition of his greatness.

He is worthy of honor, because he…

He has the power to bless

This word means “to invoke (or enact) divine favor”

And it is in the perfect tense in the Greek which means it was a past action that is still affecting the present.

Melchizedek had the authority to invoke God’s blessing onto His people - which carried through generations.

You know what is wild?

We are benefactors of this blessing...

Remember that old song, Father Abraham...

Father Abraham, had many sons, many sons had father Abraham… I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord!

In Christ, we are recipients of the blessing that Abraham was given by Melchizedek!

What is the application for us here?

I think that it is two-fold.

First, we need to walk in that blessing.

There are so many things that are spoken over us in this life that form our identity.

THIS is what should form your identity.

Christian, you serve an almighty God who sent a king priest to bless our Father Abraham

AND, Jesus, lived and died in our place, sealing that blessing and promise for us.

You ain’t getting that anywhere else in this life.

Second, we need to extend that blessing to others - especially our children.

We don’t really have an official practice of blessing children, like they did in the Old Testament...

Parents, whether you know it or not, you are either blessing or cursing your children.

You need to ask yourself, “What are the words that they are hearing from me most often?”

Do they hear you encourage them and challenge them in their walk with Jesus?

Or are you just sort of going thru the motions?

Or worse, do they sense that they are just a burden to you, hindering you from living your life.

Some of you in this room grew up that way, and it is a terrible thing.

If that is you, what I want you to hear is God’s blessing being spoken over you in Christ.

You have dignity, value, and worth - no matter what your parents (or anyone else) said to you growing up.

Just listen to what he says in Zephaniah 3:17…

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Abraham, the Father of Israel gave him tithes and Melchizedek pronounced God’s blessing on him, which carries to us today.

Melchizedek is worthy of honor…

Hebrews 7:7–10 (ESV)

7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

This should remove any doubt of where Melchizedek stood positionally.

3. He is better than Abraham (vv. 7-10)

I love how the author of Hebrews states this…

It is beyond dispute - there is no argument here.

He expects his readers to accept his conclusion without question - and this is significant for the readers.

Remember what pastor Jonathan told us about the original audience...

This letter was written, most likely, to Jewish Christians - Jews that had come to know Jesus.

He was urging them to persevere in the faith and not give in to the temptation to forsake Jesus and go back to Judaism.

Remember there was a pervasive temptation to revert to Judaism to alleviate the persecution that they were facing.

The author is trying to set the stage for what is coming next.

And his argument is brilliant.

He says:

it is beyond dispute, that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

What is he saying?

Melchizedek is better than Abraham - and by proxy, better than Abraham’s descendents.

Which means, he is better than the Levitical priesthood

He goes after the most important figure in Judaism, Abraham - and the whole Jewish system.

What he is saying is that if Melchizedek is better than Abraham, and Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, then Jesus is better than Abraham.

Translation: it would be foolish to abandon Jesus to go back to a lesser figure - Abraham and submission to the Law.

So persevere in HIM!

You will not find hope back there.

Application

Melchizedek was the stuff that legends were made of.

He was an incredible man who God used in a BIG way to bless the father of Israel.

But he wasn’t the author’s first concern… Jesus was.

Everything that he points out about Melchizedek is ultimately meant to point us to Jesus.

Don’t forget what v. 3 says:

Hebrews 7:3 (ESV)

3 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.

This whole thing is about building a case for Jesus

Melchizedek was a forever priest - so is Jesus

Melchizedek was a righteous king - so is Jesus

Melchizedek was king of peace - so is Jesus

It was commentator Raymond Brown who said “It is not Jesus who resembles Melchizedek, but Melchizedek who resembles the Lord Jesus.”

It would be easy to read these passages and get enamored with Melchizedek.

We love stories of mystery - and it is fun to speculate on things like this.

We want to know what happened to DB Cooper.

If you don’t know who DB Cooper is, google him. It is a fascinating story.

But don’t miss the proverbial forest for the trees.

Melchizedek isn’t the point, Jesus is!

Have we forgotten that Jesus said: John 5:39

John 5:39 (ESV)

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

The entire Bible is bearing witness about Jesus - don’t miss Him

AND, He uses everything in our lives to point us to Himself as well.

EVERYTHING in your life is designed by God to do ONE main thing…

Drive you to Jesus.

The best moment of your life - you got that dream job or you married that dream girl or you welcoming a child into the world.

That good thing is meant to point you to something better and reflect of a good giver.

It is the giver who will fulfill you in ways that the earthly person or thing NEVER can!

The worst moment of your life - you lose something precious to you - perhaps a loved one dies or you get an illness that comes with a terminal diagnosis.

That terrible thing is meant to point you to the only one who has a real solution to carry you through it - and make you look more like Jesus in the process, btw…

Don’t see the thing and miss the King!

We must continually ask the question how does this reveal Jesus to me and how should I respond to Him?

This is what it means to be a Christ-follower and not just a Church-goer.

If you aren’t asking that question about everything, then start.

Closing

So as we close, I want to answer the question that we asked at the beginning of our time...

“Who is this King of Righteousness and King of Peace that is called Melchizedek?”

He is a giant spotlight pointing us straight to Jesus.

Don’t see the thing and miss the King.

Spurgeon: “My business this morning is not with Melchizedek, but with one greater than he. Beloved friends, if Melchizedek was so great, how much greater is that man whom Melchizedek represents! I will not say “Consider how great this man was,” for there is no verb was. Say “was” if you will, but read also “is,” and “shalt be.” Consider how great this man was and is, and is to be, even the Man Christ Jesus.”

Christian, we look to Jesus - and when we see Him we should respond appropriately.

Abraham opened his hands and gave the best of what he had to the shadow of the messiah to come.

Should I not then open up my entire life and lay it all out in front of Jesus, saying take whatever you want, and use it as you will?

Prayer