Our Emmaus Road: A Priest Like Melchizedek

Passage

Genesis 14:17–24 NKJV

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. 21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

Prayer

Introduction

Opening Line - Last week, we began our adventure into Old Testament types of Christ. And we talked about how Moses is a type of Christ in that he prefigured Christ’s Prophetic role for the New Testament believer.

Introductory Hook:

Now, today we are going to examine this mysterious Old Testament figure, Melchizedek.

Why are we going through these Old Testament prophecies and types of Christ?

The Old Testament makes no sense without the New and the New Testament makes no sense without the Old.

When we know and understand God through His revealed Word we gain an appreciation of the love and mercy and grace of God in the Old Testament and a deeper appreciation for the blessing that Jesus the Messiah is to those who believe in Him.

Four Things

As we go through this week’s message and throughout this series, there are a four things I want us to keep in mind as we do this, because they are good principles of Biblical study that will service us very well no matter what text of Scripture we are studying.

1. While God calls us to love Him with all of our hearts, He also calls up to love Him with all of our MINDS!!

George Guthrie - “Without right thinking,… we are in danger of having a zeal for God that is not in accordance with knowledge (Romans 10:2).

2. We must take the specifics of a scriptural passage seriously.

“The author’s original intent and, even more significantly, God’s intent expressed through the author matter a great deal.”

3. We should interpret Scripture in light of Scripture.

4. We should read and study our Bibles Christologically!

Christ is the ultimate point of reference for Biblical truth - indeed all truth.

Christ becomes the ultimate “north star” for us to follow.

In fact, that is the point of the entire Emmaus Road journey that we are walking down.

c. Transition in:

With these things in mind, I want to introduce you to our Bottom Line...

BOTTOM LINE: Jesus Christ, our Righteous King and our Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, is the perfect God-man, and because of that He perfectly represents God to mankind and mankind to God.

I. Who was Melchizedek?

a. King of Salem

Genesis 14:18 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem… ”

Jerusalem, Psalm 76:2 “In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion.”

King of Peace - Hebrews 7:2 “… king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,””

b. Priest of God Most High (El elyon)

Abram explains is YHWH

Legacy Standard Bible CHAPTER 14

Then Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to

c. Brought gifts and received tithes.

Bread and wine

First time Tithe is mentioned in the Bible

II. Is Melchizedek a type of Christ?

i. Genesis 14:17-23 introduces Melchizedek.

ii. Psalm 110 promises a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek

1. This will be the Messiah

2. Jesus directly quotes Psalm 110:1 in Matthew 22:41–46, Mark 12:35–37, and Luke 20:41–44, where he references the opening verse about the Lord saying to his Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

3. Acts 2:34-36, Peter explicitly says Psalm 110 is about Messiah Jesus

iii. Hebrews 7 is a commentary on Genesis 14

III. How is Melchizedek a Type of Christ?

a. Melchizedek, like Jesus, is a king and a priest!

1. King represents God to man.

2. Priest represents man to God.

3. Jesus as the God-man perfectly fills the roles of both King and Priest as He perfectly represents God to mankind and mankind to God.

b. Melchizedek is the King of Righteousness!

Hebrews 7:2 “[Melchizedek is] first being translated “king of righteousness,” … ””

Legacy Standard Bible CHAPTER 23

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares

c. Melchizedek is the King of Peace!

Hebrews 7:2 “… then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,””

Revelation 19:16 “16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”

Isaiah 9:6 “… Mighty God,… , Prince of Peace.”

d. Melchizedek is a priest continually!

Hebrews 7:3 “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”

Levitical priesthood had a beginning and an end.

The priesthood of Melchizedek has no beginning or end.

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

From Eternity to Eternity He is God!

Hebrews 5:5–11 NKJV

5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” 6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Hebrews 7:4–28 NKJV

4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. 11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”), 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

IV. What makes Jesus’ High Priesthood better?

a. Permanent and unchangeable

Levitical priests died: “The office of priest constantly changes, for the priests keep dying” (Heb 7:23)1

Jesus remains forever: “Jesus’ priesthood, conversely, never ends, for he has conquered death” (Heb 7:24)1; Jesus “remains a priest continually” (Heb 7:3)

b. Better sacrifice

Levitical—daily sacrifices cannot cleanse: “If perfection were truly granted through the Levitical priesthood, then the Lord would not predict and institute another priesthood, a Melchizedekian one, later (7:11–12). The Lord would not inaugurate a new priesthood if the Levitical priesthood were truly effective” (Heb 7:11–12)1

Jesus’ sacrifice once for all: “Jesus, whose very sinlessness qualified him to be the one-time offering sufficient to appease God’s anger against the sins of all humanity” (Heb 10:10–14)2

c. Divine versus sinful

Levitical had to sacrifice for themselves: “The Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices repeatedly, for their own sins and those of their fellow Hebrews” (Heb 7:27)2

Jesus was sinless: “The Melchizedekian priesthood of Jesus is better because Jesus is a sinless priest, whereas Levitical priests were weak and sinful” (Heb 7:26–28)1

d. Oath versus the Law

Levitical through the Law: “For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb 7:12)

Jesus by God’s oath: “God swore on an oath that the Melchizedekian priesthood would be perpetual. On the other hand, no oath accompanied the Levitical priesthood, and there was no promise that it would persist” (Heb 7:20–22)1

e. Heavenly versus earthly

Levitical was earthly/limited: “The earthly ministry established through Moses represented a mere hint of the promises contained in the new and better covenant” (Heb 8:5)2

Jesus is heavenly: “The ascended Christ who sits in the place of highest honor, at God’s right hand in the sanctuary that he himself built” (Heb 8:1)2; “The better priest, who was appointed permanently by God (7:16–17, 21, 24), is holy and exalted above the heavens” (Heb 7:26)3

1. Jesus actively intercedes for believers at God’s right hand (Rom 8:34), and Scripture highlights this work across multiple passages. Because Christ perpetually lives to intercede for those who approach God through him, he is able to provide complete salvation (Heb 7:25). Jesus functions as an Advocate with the Father for believers when they sin (1 John 2:1), positioning himself as their representative before God.

2. Christ entered heaven itself to appear in God’s presence on believers’ behalf (Heb 9:24), and he serves as the one Mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim 2:5). As a compassionate High Priest who has experienced temptation without sin, Jesus understands human weakness (Heb 4:14–16). The Old Testament anticipated this role when Isaiah prophesied that the Servant would make intercession for transgressors (Isa 53:12)

V. How do we apply that to our lives?

The truths about Jesus as our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek translate into several practical dimensions for believers:

Immediate Access and Support in Crisis

Just as Melchizedek appeared at the right time to support and strengthen Abraham, Jesus will be there for us.1 This means we can approach God’s throne with confidence in our moments of greatest need. We can “hold firmly” to our sympathetic high priest and “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”2 When facing opposition or temptation, we’re not abandoned—Jesus acts as our High Priest, supporting us in prayer and presence through his Spirit.1 The example of Peter illustrates this: Jesus told Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat, and Jesus prayed for Peter and ensured that his faith did not fail.1

2. Reorienting Our Values

The king of Sodom was an evil man and Melchizedek’s intervention saved Abraham from harm—the ill-gotten riches of Sodom could easily have become a root of all kinds of evil for Abraham.1 This teaches us to reject worldly enticements that compromise our spiritual integrity. Jesus taught that life does not consist in what we have above and beyond what we need, and what we have can’t extend our lives; nor can worrying about our possessions. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Life trumps goods.1

3. Standing Firm Through Suffering

Even though Jesus exceeded the appointment of Levitical priests, his priesthood involved tremendous obedience and suffering—Jesus faced this suffering with prayer and faith.3 This models how believers endure: The writer urges believers to stand firm in their belief of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.1 Our High Priest understands suffering intimately and intercedes for us through it, making his priesthood profoundly compassionate and effective for our salvation.

Conclusion

Prayer and Invitation