Melchizedek - Our Great High Priest

Prayer

Heavenly Father, the entrance of Your Word gives light!

We ask that You will shine the light of Your Word into our hearts,

so that it may be reflected in our lives and illuminate the world around us.

Amen

A Controversial Book

Historically speaking, the book of Hebrews was regarded as controversial for a different reason to that of James. The Eastern Church said that it was written by Paul therefore it belongs in the Bible. The Western Church said that this book is not written by Paul therefore it does not belong in the Bible. Eventually, although they could not agree about authorship they both agreed that Hebrews was inspired by God and belonged in the Bible. I am glad that they did.

The book of Hebrews was probably written in the second half of the 1st century. It is well informed about Jewish matters, but it was written in good Greek. The Early Church was keen to demonstrate that the Jewish followers of Jesus could be seen as observing the Law while following Jesus. The book of Hebrews goes some way to resolving this issue, since both the Levitical priesthood and the priesthood of Melchizedek (our subject) feature in the Law of Moses, but Melchizedek was first. The portrayal of Melchizedek in Hebrews chapters 5-7 is based upon Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110.

Traces of quotations from the book of Hebrews show up in some of the earliest Christian writings, such as 1st and 2nd Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the works of Tertullian.

If you are interested in New Testament manuscripts then you would look for Hebrews in the p (eapr) collection. In other words books authored by, or associated with Paul. Most of our earliest examples of the p collections go back at least to the 3rd century. Our earliest manuscript of Hebrews may go back to the 2nd century [WBC 47A p.clvi]. See P12 (Amherst 3rd), P13 (Oxy 3rd/4th), P17 (Oxy 4th), P46 (Chester Beatty 2nd/3rd), P79 (Berlin 7th); Uncials א (4th), A (5th), B (4th), C (5th).

Two of the oldest papyri bearing witness to the book of Hebrews were found at the site of an ancient rubbish dump situated near the town of Oxyrhynchos. Oxyrhynchos (a sharp nosed fish) had been named in honour of the Egyptian god Seth, but by the middle of the 5th century it was entirely Christian.

Someone had discarded Christian manuscripts at some point in time as of no use, and because of this they were preserved for posterity. These manuscripts bear witness to the faithful preservation of the Holy Scriptures and to the faith of a Christian Community that stood firm during the Diocletian persecution at the end of the first century, and through subsequent attempts by Rome to suppress the faith of Christ.

Christ was despised and rejected. Cast off by a society that did not understand him. Consequently he became known as our risen and ascended and glorified Lord.

You may feel under-appreciated and even rejected at times. But you just don’t know the effect that your faithful service can have in God’s hands.

There are many passages throughout the New Testament that expose the fallacy that God has finished with the Jewish people. I would include this book addressed to Hebrew speaking Christians in that list. God’s love is for all the nations, and that includes the national and religious culture that gave to us Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets.

Priests! What do we need them for?

I come from a non-conformist background. If you mentioned priests in some of the churches that I used to worship in, you might be risking a lecture about the importance of Reformation values and teachings. You might also have been reminded that we are living in New Testament times not Old Testament times.

But if you managed to steer the conversation back to the Bible, then you might be able to start to consider the importance of the priestly role for the community (Romans 15:16; Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 20:6) and for the portrayal of Christ (Hebrews 1-13).

Is there a place for the priestly role in the life of Christians? This is part of what we are going to look at today.

What Ever Happened to Levi and the Sons of Aaron?

After all, the descendants of Aaron had been Israel’s priests for centuries.

There are two ways to look at the priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews. Traditionally some Christians have taken the triumphalist view point. The New Testament is better than the Old Testament, and the Christians are better than the Jews, and the Levitical Priesthood wasn’t any good, so no wonder God got rid of it and replaced it with Jesus and his followers. This does not sound much like the attitude of the Hebrew Early Church to me.

But there is another view point that portrays the New Testament view of the Temple and High-Priesthood as words of comfort to a grieving community. The Jewish Christian community had lost their Temple where Jesus and his family and the apostles had worshipped. It had been the birthplace of the Church at Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was poured out upon his people and now it was destroyed.

Whether prophetically of retrospectively the authors of the New Testament come alongside the grieving souls of Israel and say “don’t grieve for the Temple, because from now on you will be the Temple of the Holy Spirit”. And then in Hebrews the prophet says “Don’t grieve for the lost High-Priesthood! God has given to you another High-Priest who will never be taken away!” I kind of like that second option, so that is what I am going to go with.

I see these verses concerning the priesthood of Jesus as part of God’s eternal plan to bless Israel and all nations through Messiah. The New Covenant is a better Covenant, but it is a better covenant that was given to the Jewish people and that they shared with us (Hebrews 8; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Introduction to Melchizedek in the Bible

Melchizedek and the priesthood get his first mention in the Bible in Genesis 14:18-20. In this account Melchizedek gives to Abram bread and wine. Abram is blessed by Melchizedek and gives a tithe of his possessions to him.

Melchizedek was king of Salem or Jerusalem. Some commentators contend that when David conquered Jerusalem (a.k.a. Jebus) and became its king that he also inherited the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek [NBD]. If this is true then it would go some way to explaining why he is credited with writing Psalm 110. This belief may also reflect the concept of the superiority of the line of David over the line of Saul. Saul was rejected in part over issues relating to the priesthood.

Melchizedek turns up again in Psalm 110 which is one of the more prominent proof-texts from the Old Testament that is quoted by Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, by Peter in Acts, and is also referred to in Hebrews (Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, Acts 2:34-35, Hebrews 7:21). Indeed Hebrew chapters 5 to 7 and some of the surrounding verses were written to communicate the Christian understanding of Melchizedek and the implications of his priesthood.

We are familiar with the Jewish expectation of a Messiah who would be a son of David. We may also be aware of the Samaritan expectation of the prophet like Moses known as the Taheb. It is thought by some scholars that the book of Hebrews was written for Jewish people from an Essene background, who were looking for a Saviour like Melchizedek [AYBD]. The author of Hebrews wanted them to see how their hopes had been fulfilled in Christ.

By becoming the realisation of his peoples hopes and dreams Jesus would be portrayed as prophet, priest, and king. There is no greater Saviour and no better way to God.

Introduction to Melchizedek From the Second Temple Period On

Although Melchizedek is an obscure character to us, he figured quite prominently in Second Temple Period Theology, and much has been written about him in the Dead Sea Scrolls . Scroll 11Q13 is dated 2nd or 1st century BC and was discovered in 1956. 11Q13 is about Melchizedek and it associates Melchizedek with the concept of Jubilee and the release of debts, the Day of Atonement and divine judgement, and interestingly 11Q13 makes use of Isaiah 61:1.

Scroll 11Q13 portrays Melchizedek as a powerful figure, with some of its thoughts being centred around Isaiah 61. The Jubilee theme figures prominently in this scroll. Melchizedek is presented as the judge of the saints and the fallen angels. He may have been regarded by the Qumran community as an angelic figure (but not by Hebrews).

Melchizedek also turns up in the works of Philo, Josephus, in 2nd Enoch, and in Targum Neofiti. He also appears in the book of Jubilees, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Talmud, and Gnostic Works.

Josephus describes Melchizedek as the first priest.

Some think that Philo equated Melchizedek with the divine Logos [LBD].

But there is much about Melchizedek remains a mystery to us, and so there are some things that we just need to accept by faith.

Melchizedek in the New Testament

The Melchizedek Psalm (110) is so important that it is quoted by Jesus in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and Acts. Melchizedek also plays a prominent role in the theology of the book of Hebrews.

Although Melchizedek was not mentioned by name in our reading, the context of the passage requires us to see Psalm 110 as the text and our passage at the end of Hebrews 7 as part of the application of Psalm 110.

Some of us may have noticed this Psalm before without realising that it had such a prominent place in the theology of wider Judaism during the Second Temple Period and among the followers of Jesus.

In the book of Hebrews the priesthood of Melchizedek is portrayed as superior to the Aaronic Priesthood for 3 reasons:

1) Abraham, Aarons ancestor tithed to him.

2) Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

3) The Levitical priesthood was subject to death, but Jesus was victorious over death.

In Hebrews the author shows how Jesus combines the royal and the priestly function using a psalm that was composed by David, the king of Israel. Many in Jesus’ time were looking for a royal Messiah, but some were looking for a priestly Messiah, a son of Aaron (DNTB). This passage may have been written for them.

The question that this passage raises for me is “Was the appearance of Melchizedek a theophany?”, a divine appearance in the Old Testament? Ancient Judaism speculated that Melchizedek might have been more than human, due to the way that he is described in Psalm 110.

Jesus, Our Great High Priest

The Aaronic high-priesthood raised certain questions during the New Testament period, since those who occupied the office were widely regarded by the Jewish people as unfit for the office of high-priest. How could such a succession of unsuitable candidates continue.

The historian Flavius Josephus estimated that there had been 83 high-priests from Aaron to the end of the Second Temple Period (LABC Hebrews, p. 105-106). The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is eternal and so there would be no scope for corrupt successors to block the path to God, because Jesus is eternal he is our perfect intercessor.

Jesus is presented in Hebrews as holy, blameless, and pure. He is not a sinner exalted by the grace of God to a holy office, but he is our perfect priest, serving by divine right. The past impediments and shortcomings of the priesthood have been removed by Jesus, the priest after the order of Melchizedek.

What Does All this Mean to Me?

Jesus has a high-priestly role that enables him to bring us to God.

All believers share in this priestly role by caring for their community and bringing them before God in prayer. Our service to the community may involve self-sacrifice and forgiveness, but not to the extent that it did to our great high-priest, Jesus.

Priesthood is a 2 way street. The priest should help us to talk to God, and should serve as a way for God to speak to us. That is part of the idea of the sermon.

One of the questions that the biblical concept of priesthood poses is ‘Whose guidance do we accept, and why?”. The priesthood had a key teaching role. Whose guidance do we rely upon. It was one of the great questions of the reformation, and remains a challenge to us all.

Some people put their faith in the scientists, others put their faith in famous people like actors, musicians, foreign religions, politicians, others put their faith in programs like Star Trek. Many things can be helpful to us as long as we realise their limitations. But the Bible invites us to see Jesus as our High-Priest and Supreme Mediator. The one whose word can be relied upon, whose advice we should always follow.

Other mediators have a limited life-span but Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us.

Jesus is completely able to save you! There will be no resets or replacements. Jesus is able to save completely all who come to God through him. No one can add anything to what Jesus did to save us. His saving work is finished and complete.

Other priests interceded for the people in the earthly Tabernacle and Temple, but Jesus, our Great High-Priest intercedes for us in the very presence of God the Father in heaven.

Jesus meets our needs before God. He is the perfect image of the Invisible and Eternal God. Other high-priests were flawed, and some were clearly not meant for the task. But Jesus does not need to sacrifice for his sins before he helps us with ours. He is perfect!

Jesus is both priest and sacrifice. The anointed Lamb of God who freely gave himself out of love for all mankind, with no expiry date on the benefits. In so doing, he was the supreme fulfilment of the hopes and aspirations for a Priestly Messiah.

Jesus is our Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is Eternal.

Jesus can completely save all those who come to God through him. He can save you!

Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us.

Jesus is holy, blameless, and pure.

Jesus is exalted above the heavens.

Jesus was our perfect sacrifice.

Jesus is Lord!

Psalm 117:1–2 NIV

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

AMEN