An Interesting Character

Good morning once again. As we are traveling through the book of Hebrews we have seen the main theme of the book is Jesus is better. He’s superior to angels, to the priesthood, to anything else. That theme is going to continue to be fleshed out by the writer of Hebrews in our passage for this morning. My plan was to cover the entirety of chapter 7. It’s a lot so you were going to have to listen fast. However, as I prepared it became clear to me that to do this section justice we needed to take a slower approach. So today we will be in verses 1-10.

Back in chapter 5 the writer had wanted to say more about the superiority of Jesus’ high priesthood in the order of a guy named Melchizedek but he said he couldn’t go on because of their immaturity. So he dove into this long digression of thought about the problems of immaturity and apostasy. He then encouraged them on toward maturity and said he had hope for better things for them, specifically those things accompanying salvation. But now in chapter 7 he is able to get back to this guy named Melchizedek. If not for the book of Hebrews we might not know or talk much about this guy. He’s only mentioned a couple of other places in scripture and it’s almost in passing. But here in chapter seven, the writer is going to unpack the significance behind what it means for Jesus to be called a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Let’s get right into the scripture. Follow along as I read.

Read

Hebrews 7:1-10 (ESV)

Hebrews 7:1–10 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. 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. 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 is the Word of the Lord. May God use it for our edification and growth. Let’s pray.

Pray

Section is biblically and theologically dense...

This letter to the Hebrews, possibly originally a sermon delivered, was written to a group of tired Jewish Christians. They were Jewish in ethnicity but Christians in that they believed the gospel. They were facing a great amount of temptation and pressure to walk away from the faith of the gospel and return to the old covenant ways of worship according to Judaism. This letter was written to encourage them to persevere in following Christ because Jesus is better than that old way. Jesus is the point of that old way. It has been described as going to a wonderful restaurant and the bring out a piping hot dish of steak or whatever the best meal is on the menu. And instead of eating and enjoying you say, no, I’d rather just have the menu back. That thing that came before was simply pointing to the wonderful meal to come. The menu isn’t the point, the food is the point. Jesus is the point. So they were tempted to fall back into the Jewish religion, which is a different religion from Christianity. The writer tells them about how this guy Melchizedek in order to illustrate the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood for us over that of the Levitical Jewish priests. To divide up this passage and help us understand we are going to look at three relationships in the text. The relationship of Melchizedek, who I will likely refer to as Mel and Abram, the relationship of Mel to Levi, and the relationship of Mel to Jesus.

The writer launches right into a description of Mel here in verse 1 that reflects the description given in Genesis chapter 14 during the account of his interaction with Abraham. Let’s take a look at that passage.

A. Melchizedek and Abram

Genesis 14:17–20 ESV

17 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). 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.

Why had Abram gone to fight?

Abram meets Mel after the fight. He meets him at the termination of war, as one scholar wrote. In modern culture we don’t put a lot of emphasis on what our names mean but in Israel the meanings of names were important to the people. We are told here that Melchizedek’s name means “king of righeousness.” That name tells us a lot about the type of man we are talking about here. In the time of extremely depraved Canaanites, wrong worship, and disgusting immorality of men like the king of Sodom, you have this Melchizedek exercising a kingly rule of righteousness. This tips us off that he’s leading a holy life and starkly stands out against the backdrop of the unrighteous kings around them.

His name points to him being a righteous king and the writer of this book of Hebrews points out that he was the king of Salem which is saying that Mel is the king of peace. And here Abram meets him at the end of the fighting, a time of peace. Mohler points out that it could be said in other words that “Melchizedek’s kingdom aligns with the realm of peace.” So among a godless and warring people you had here a king of righteousness who was ruling a place of peace.

Now to us, the description of this king who is a priest may initially sound a little strange to but the Jewish people of the time it would have been bizarre. Here you have Mel who is described as having a ministry of both king AND priest. Israel differentiated the roles of king and priest in stark contrast. In the Old Testament no priest could lawfully act as a king. Also in the Old Testament no king would act as a priest. In Isaiah chapter 6 we have an allusion to this divide. You may be familiar with this verse.

Isaiah 6:1 ESV

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

King Uzziah had defied God’s law and acted as a priest. The consequence was that God struck him with leprosy and cut him off from the people. He died in disrepute. This shows the divide that was designed in Israel between the priest and kingly roles. So our ears should perk up a little when we read in Hebrews 7 that Melchizedek was the king of Salem and ALSO priest of the Most High God. Further, he’s not from the tribe of Israel. He’s an outsider. In referring to Mel as a priest of God Most High, a statement is being made about the superiority of God that would have especially been targeted toward the initial Jewish audience of this letter.

So Abram (later God changed his name to Abraham) has victory over these kings and he’s on his way back with Lot and his men and he meets Mel. Mel did not come out to negotiate with Abe as the kind of Sodom had. Instead, he comes out to bless Abram with bread and wine. According to Richard Phillips, “he not only spoke the blessing, but also spiritually ministered to Abraham’s need.”

As we dive further into these verses we see that the one who is greater always blesses the lesser. So Mel blesses Abram, who is the head of the old covenant, the patriarch of Israel. There’s not a name in that culture that would have been more honored and looked at as great other than the name of Abraham. And here we have a non-Israelite king who is superior, blessing an inferior. Abram responds by giving Mel a tithe, “a tenth of everything.” The writer of Hebrews will later unpack the significance of what is going on here in this response.

Let’s move onto the second connection we see played out here.

B. Melchizedek and Levi

All of the high priests in Israel had to be from the tribe of Levi. They were required by law to be descendants of Levi. Clearly, Mel was not because he was outside of the nation of Israel. The point is that Melchizedek’s priesthood had nothing to do with family ancestry but was a divine designation. He wasn’t a priest because he was born into it. It wasn’t the family business. He was appointed a priest by God and that priesthood continues forever.

The writer is spending a bit of time here convincing his readers of the greatness of Melchizedek, but then returns in verse four to the response of Abram in giving him a tenth of everything. This was a large gift. Abram just won victory over a large number of kings and plundered their belongings. Why did Abram feel obligated to give a tithe to this king of Salem who was a priest of Most High God? This is called one of the most unexpected and fascinating parts of the Old Testament. You have the patriarch of the entire nation of Israel feeling obligated to give a tithe to this guy. The answer is in the question. The reason Abram did is because he felt obligated to give this tithe out of obligation to God Most High. It was out of service to God, not necessarily to man. A tithe is not a tip. It’s a large payment that one of the most important men in the history of Israel is giving to this priest who is outside of Israel. It’s a huge deal. Abram is identified as a patriarch. This is the highest level of honor in the Jewish culture. Those referred to as the patriarchs of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are men through whom God acted to bring about the setting for what Christ would accomplish on the cross. And we have a picture of the greater, Mel, blessing the lesser, Abram, and Abram responding with this tithe which we can assume is a lavish amount because of the great amount of spoil he would have plundered. But why else is this significant? Look at verse 5 again.

Hebrews 7:5 ESV

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.

In Israel, the tribe of Levi, the priests, recieved tithes from the other tribes. The other sons of Abram gave these tithes to the Levites and that’s how they were supported. Abram giving this tithe to Mel and God including that in Scripture shows us that this priestly order of Melchizedek is superior to the Levitical order of priests. Abe was the father of the Levitical line and he paid the tithe to Mel. It’s even described that since they were not born yet and still in their father it is as if the Levites themselves were tithing in a way to Melchizedek also.

Further, Mel blesses Abram who looks to be the most blessed person on the face of the earth. Who can bless someone that great except someone who is greater? Someone may object and say, “I don’t know about this pastor.” Well, let me point out that Abram knew about it. He recognized that Mel was greater and humbly paid the tithe to him as a recognition of his inferiority to Melchizedek.

But why go to all of this trouble to explain how great the order of Melchizedek is?

Because the author wants to point out that the priesthood and the Old Testament was always meant to point to something greater. And His name is Jesus.

C. Melchizedek and Jesus

There is a significant connection here between Mel and Christ.

Melchizedek is set forth as a type of Christ. A type is some other person who symbolizes and anticipates the one who is to come.

In what ways is Mel a type of Christ? Here are four ways.

Melchizedek was both king and priest.

The kings of the earth were maybe righteous in part. A lot of times they were showing their lack of righeousness. They were not to be priests, as I mentioned earlier.

Jesus is a king of righteousness and peace and can therefore be entrusted with the office of high priest. He’s qualified for the position. As both king and priest for us he is the one go between or mediator of our entire salvation. He willingly gave His live on the cross in the place of sinners like you and me, making payment for our sin. He died in our place and three days later rose from the dead proving that God accepted the sacrifice as once and for all and showing us that only He could then serve as our high priest. As king, he has true, royal power to govern His kingdom, subdue our hearts, and defend His people against all enemies.

2. The second way that we see Mel typifiy Christ is when he goes out to bless Abram in the presence of the Caananites. This is a type of Christ’s ministry to us. Phillips writes, “when our battle is over, the risen Jesus Christ will bless us before the eyes of the world.” Abraham was despised by the world and we are too. Our blessing is not visible to our eyes or the eyes of the world currently. Jesus, the Christ recognizes us and acknowledges us as belonging to God and there will come a day when all eyes will see it.

The fact that in the Genesis account we find Mel bringing bread and wine to Abe, speaks of the body and blood of Christ which we remember through the Lord’s Supper. This type of Christ was bringing the very thing that we use to remember the death of our Lord, the thing that brings us spiritual refreshment. The gospel is the source of spiritual blessing to all who believe it. Christ ministers to His followers from the same source by the Holy Spirit, who indwells believers in Christ.

3. I already discussed the meaning of Mel’s name as king of righeousness and his title as king of peace. Both of these apply extremely well also to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life. He lived a righteous life. He secured righeousness for us by giving that perfect life as a substitute sacrifice and therefore, men can have peace with God. He is the only way to have righteousness that you didn’t earn and don’t deserve credited to your account and to have peace with God.

Charles Spurgeon commented on these by saying, “Note well the order of these two, and the dependence of the one upon the other; for there could be no true peace that was not grounded upon righteousness; and out of righteousness peace is sure to spring up.”

The order is important. Jesus came to establish righteousness first and then peace. This is why the Jews had such a problem with him. They were looking for a messiah to come in and be a strong military leader and overthrow the Romans. But the true Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ came to give his righteous life for sinners. He came to serve, not to be be served.

4. The fourth and final way that Mel is a type of Christ is when it says he’s a priest forever in verse 3. When Jesus was raised from the dead and had ascended to sit at the right hand of Father God, He took up an eternal priesthood. He’s a priest for our salvation forever. He lives forever and so He will always be there as our mediator to show that His blood was spilled for you. He is there to intercede for you. When you die and you stand before God’s throne, Jesus will be there too. If you have repented of sin and believed the gospel, as a follower of Jesus He’ll be there with the wounds that he earned on the cross and charging your sin debt to the account that He’s already paid in full! His never ending priesthood secures eternal life for Him to give to you.

Conclusion and call for response:

The writer of Hebrews has gone to great lengths to convince the Hebrew Christians who received this letter not to burn back from Christ to Moses. He wants to keep them from turning from gospel to the law. Both Moses and the law looked to and pointed to Christ.

What about you? What are reasons for you to turn to Christ, honor Christ, and trust Him alone for salvation?

Reason #1 - Jesus is excellent.

No one else but Jesus could be the fulfillment of what Melchizedek pre-configures. Jesus is the only one who fits into the portrait that was painted of someone who is king of righeousness and king of peace. No one else can serve as both priest and king.

Reason #2 - The ministry of Jesus.

He offers the blessing of God.

He distributes spiritual nourishment.

True blessing comes only from acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Reason #3 - There is no other way.

Apart from Jesus’ righteousness, there will never be peace for you. If peace is what your are seeking today, you will only find that true and comprehensive peace in the person of Jesus Christ. People seek their peace in all kinds of ways. Maybe you have sought after peace in the world’s ways. However, apart from righteousness there is never peace. When you try for peace without righteousness it fails. It fails in your home, at work, and in your heart. Anywhere that sin reigns there can never be peace.

BUT JESUS...

Jesus is our king of righteousness and king of peace. He offers to you cleansing from your sin. He offers atonement and forgiveness that you don’t deserve and can never be good enough to earn. He died to give that to you. It’s a free gift. It’s grace. Will you take Him at His word this morning?

John 14:27 ESV

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Revelation 21:3–4 ESV

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”