Hebrews 7:1-10
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ILLUSTRATION: Never Heard a Sermon on Melchizedek
ILLUSTRATION: Never Heard a Sermon on Melchizedek
Did the Math and my best estimate for the amount of sermons I’ve heard preached growing up 0-18 just by virtue of being a pastor’s son is around 3000.
Then You add the fact that I attended CCS where we had chapel every Friday.
Then I went to NGU for four years where chapel was required twice a week.
Then onto seminary where once again chapel required twice a week.
You get the point. I’ve heard a lot of sermons, but in all those sermons growing up, I cannot remember sitting in a church service, a chapel service, or anything of the sort in person while someone preached on the passage we have come to this morning.
This is one of the reasons I love expository preaching through books of the Bible. It exposes us to rich truth in lesser known places.
Treasure hunters don’t find treasures by re-digging in a place they have already looked.
So this morning we are going to tackle this passage. Its a difficult one, but we are going to do our best.
With that in mind, there are three questions you should keep in mind during this entire sermon. These are the questions that will outline this passage.
Who was Melchizedek? (Genesis 14, Psalm 110, Hebrews 7:1-3)
How do we know the priesthood of Melchizedek is better than the Levite priesthood?
What does the person of Melchizedek reveal to us about the person and work of Christ?
So we are going to jump right in here by trying to answer the first question.
Who is Melchizedek?
Who is Melchizedek?
You might have said Melchizawhat?? Hopefully, if you didn’t know him before, you will know him after this morning.
The name Melchizedek is mentioned just 10 times. Twice in the Old Testament. 8 in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 5,6, and 7.
So to answer this question this morning, we are going to look at the two Old Testament passages first and then bring our understanding from there into Hebrews 7.
So first, turn with me to Genesis chapter 14.
We are going to pick up in verse 17. But first I want you to know what is going prior Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek.
In Genesis 14, we find the historical record that Abraham has just taken 318 men and risked his life to save his nephew Lot and he does so against 5 Canaanite kings and their armies.
He literally took 318 men and defeated the armies of five kings.
Verse 15-16 show us that he was successful.
He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
By what can only be explained by God’s intervention and power, Abraham defies the odds and wins agains these Canaanite kings and he rescues his nephew Lot.
Coming off that amazing victory, we come this strange meeting with Melchizedek.
Look in verse 17
Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer 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). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
Abram returns.
And he is met by another king.
Melchizedek-Is the King of Salem- Salem at this point is in the area known later to be Jerusalem. You hear Salem in then name Jerusalem. And the name literally means city of Peace.
So the first thing we learn of Melchizedek is that he is a king. And he is the king of Salem.
King of Peace.
It goes onto to say that he brought out bread and wine to honor Abraham and his men with a meal.
“Now he was a priest of the most High God.”
At that moment in the passage, we should all stop and scratch our heads.
I thought he said he was a king. Now he’s a priest? and the answer is:
Yes. He’s both.
He’s King of Salem and he is a priest of the Most High God. And that language always references God the Creator.
So don’t miss how big this is. In the middle of a pagan land, God was pleased to have a king who was a priest.
Melchizedek is a Canaanite King (Salem was a part of Canaan at this point), but God in His rich grace has set him apart in the pagan land.
We go on to read in verses 19-20 Melchizedek blesses Abram.
He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
Melchizedek pronounces these blessing on Abraham and acknowledge and lifts up praise and worship to God with Abraham.
And then an interesting thing happens:
Abram gives this king who is a priest, a tenth of all the choicest spoils from his recent victory.
Now I read and explained all that to say this:
Thats all we are told about Melchizedek.
The historical records of his dealings with Abraham are literally 4 verses in Genesis. Nothing else.
We don’t hear of him again until around 1000 years later in Psalm 110.
Turn with me there.
Before we read this Psalm, you should know This is a messianic psalm, which means, like every other portion of the Old Testament, it will find it ultimate fulfilment not merely in the kingship of David but in the kingship of Christ.
With that in mind, look at Psalm 110.
The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
I don’t have the time to walk through every detail of those three verses.
But it should suffice to say this, in those 3 verses, David is prophesying that the appointed king and Messiah will be a conquering King and He will rule over his enemies.
But then we get to verse 4 and he says something else.
The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
And again we say, wait a minute. I thought he was a king. He is. The first three verses tell us that.
Now its saying he is a priest forever. Again He is. Verse 4 tells us that.
But he is not a normal king and he is not a normal priest.
In Israel, you should know that, the offices of King and priest remained distinct.
In two separate offices.
Those of the tribe of Levi served as priest.
David, of whom this Psalm is immediately referencing, is of the tribe of Judah.
In other words, Kings didn’t serve as priests under the Law found in Leviticus.
The Levites served as priests.
So now we come to Psalm 110 verse 4 and David says that the Conquering King for the people of God will serve as a priest forever? How?
According to the order (or pattern) of Melchizedek, who was both a king and a priest.
You see, Psalm 110 serves as a bridge and point points us forward from Genesis 14 and Melchizedek to the true and greater King priest who will defeat and conquer his enemies.
In other words, This historical person named Melchizedek is apart of the biblical record so that those looking for the Messiah would expect Him to be both a king and a priest.
And as such the Messiah is the source of our hope.
Turn back with me to Hebrews. That was the introduction.
We will pick up where we left off last week.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The author tells us here that Jesus, our great high priest, is the anchor for our soul. And He is a priest after the order or pattern of Melchizedek.
Now the author of Hebrews is going to answer the question: Who is Melchizedek?
He has told us already in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus Christ is the greater high priest.
But Jesus is not like the priests we read about in Leviticus. His priesthood is different.
Jesus’s priesthood is like the priesthood of Melchizedek.
Look in verses 1-2 of chapter 7.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
Now, we have gone through all of that. We know that from our time in Genesis 14.
But here in verse 2 he mentions the significance of his name and the significance of his office.
Formed by two words Malik Zedek-
Malik- meaning King or ruler
Zadik- means righteous, just, innocent.
Together Melchizedek means King of Righteousness .
He goes on to mention not just his name but his title: He was King of Salem.
Salem from the Hebrew Word Shalom meaning peace.
So not only is Mel a king of righteousness, He is a King of Peace.
Jesus, following the pattern of Melchizedek is not only a king of righteousness, He is a King of Peace.
In fact, Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would be just that in Isaiah 9, when he said that the child to be born, the son to be given, his name would be wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
This is all pointing us forward to Jesus.
This is unmistakable when we get to verse 3.
Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.
Now I know at first glance this could be altogether confusing.
Admittedly, many have taken this verse and concluded all kinds of things that I don’t believe accurate or intended here.
This is why we started this morning in the book of Genesis, to alleviate that confusion.
I mentioned earlier we have 4 verses about Melchizedek.
Nothing else is mentioned, which is odd when you consider the rest of book of Genesis.
The book of Genesis among other things, is a genealogical book.
What you find with all important people in Genesis is a record of both who their father was, who they fathered, how long they lived, and then you find the record of their death.
I want to show you an example of this.
Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh. Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.
Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
And it keeps going like that. We have a record.
With Melchizedek. There is no such record. We are not told in Genesis who his father was, we are not told who his mother was, we are not told how long he lived, when he was born or when he died.
Thats all verse 3 is saying.
The point he is making is this:
Because we find no record of Melchizedek’s death(He would have died, but there is no record of it), it as if his priesthood never ended because we have no record of his death.
We’ve got to move on:
Who is Melchizedek?
He is man, a king of righteousness, a king of peace, a priest of the Most High God, and because there is no record of his death, there is no record of his priest hood ever ending.
So that brings us to the second question.
How do we know Melchizedek’s priesthood is better than the priesthood of the Levites?
How do we know Melchizedek’s priesthood is better than the priesthood of the Levites?
This is an important question. Because Jesus Christ is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, we need to understand how he is a better priest than all the others in the OT.
Look with me at these verses. We will read them all at one time because its all one point.
Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
The author of Hebrews uses a simple argument for why the order of Melchizedek is better than the Levite order.
And the argument is what we just read.
In verses 4-7 we learn that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.
In the ancient world, paying tithes to another recognized superiority.
So the first argument is that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham because Abraham paid his tithes to Melchizedek and then Melchizedek turns and blesses Abraham.
Verse 7 makes this point.
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
So Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. But this may not convince this Jewish audience the author of Hebrews. Even the Levite priest recieved tithes. What’s the big deal?
So he makes another argument.
Look at verses 8-10
In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
His second argument is this:
When Abraham, the great great grandfather of Levi, tithed to Melchizedek, Levi tithed to Melchizedek.
Abraham, on the basis of being his grandfather, represented him as he gave tithes.
This is important because later, the Levites would receive tithes based upon the written law of God.
Melchizedek received tithes before any written Law based upon superiority.
To boil this all down and to put it as simply as I can:
Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.
Melchizedek and his priesthood is greater than the Levite priesthood, because by Abraham submitting his tithes to Melchizedek, it was showing by virtue of representation, the priesthood of Melchizedek will always be greater than the Levite priesthood.
But here is the bigger point.
Jesus is better than them all.
What does the person of Melchizedek reveal to us about the person and work of Christ?
What does the person of Melchizedek reveal to us about the person and work of Christ?
Jesus is the fulfillment of what Melchizedek prefigured.
The Messiah and Savior according to Psalm 110 would be a priest according to Melchizedek.
Meaning:
He would be a King of Peace.
He would be a King of Righteousness.
He would not be a Levitical Priest. He would be greater, and as such he is apart of the greater order of priest.
He would be an eternal Priestly King.
Jesus is better than Melchizedek.
Yes Melchizedek was a King of righteousness, but Melchizedek could not make anyone righteous.
Jesus as our righteous king, cleanses our heart and make us righteous.
Yes Melchizedek was a King of Peace, but he could not make peace between believers and God through the blood of His cross.
Jesus goes to the cross, takes the just penalty for what we deserve for our sin, and reconciles us to a holy God.
Melchizedek is a priest OF the Most High God.
Jesus is a Priest who IS the Most High God.
Jesus is the fulfillment of this King Priest.
And all those who submit to his Kingship have the benefit of his priesthood
For believers,
As our king, he conquers all our enemies. He does this through the cross and His resurrection
As our priest, he brings Himself as our sacrifice, and forever pleads our case on the basis of his righteousness.
But only for those who believe.
Is Jesus your King today? Have you submitted to Him. If so, he is also your priest.
If you have not submitted to His kingship, he will be your judge.
Today the most important question to leave here asking is not: Who is Melchizedek? The best question to ask is: Who is Jesus?
Don’t be consumed with Melchizedek. Be consumed with Jesus.