Who was
this Melchizedek?
Hebrews
chapter 7 verse 11 to 25 records:
If perfection could
have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the
law was given to the people), why was there still need for another Priest to
come — One in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there
is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the Law. He of
whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that
tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended
from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And
what we have said is even more clear if another Priest like Melchizedek
appears, One Who has become a Priest not on the basis of a regulation as to His
ancestry but on the basis of the Power of an indestructible Life.
For it is declared:
"You are a Priest
forever,
in the order of
Melchizedek."
The former regulation
is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing
perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
And it was not without
an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but He became a Priest with an
oath when God said to him:
"The Lord has
sworn
and will not change
His Mind:
'You are a Priest
forever.'"
Because of this oath,
Jesus has become the guarantee of a better Covenant.
Now there have been
many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but
because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is
able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always
lives to intercede for them.
NIV
Furthermore,
this passage of Scripture says:
Such a High Priest
meets our need — One Who is Holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,
exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to
offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins
of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered
Himself. For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath,
which came after the Law, appointed The Son, Who has been made perfect forever.
Heb 7:26-28 NIV
Another
Priest was sent in the eternal priestly order [the order of Melchizedek], just
like “another Comforter” was sent to us. In John 14:16, Jesus said to His
disciples:
“…I will
pray The Father, and He will send you another Comforter, that He may abide with
you forever.”
This other
Priest Who came and fulfilled The New Covenant is not a different personality,
but the same eternal Priest Who setup that order in the earth in ancient times.
Who is The
King of Righteousness?
Jesus Christ
The Son Of God.
Who is The
King of Peace?
Jesus Christ
God’s Only Son.
Also, we have
only one eternal High Priest, and He is Jesus Christ.
God's only
begotten Son is the perfect Priest Who became for us the eternal Source of
Salvation.
For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only
a copy of the true one; He entered Heaven itself, to appear for us in GOD's
Presence. Nor did He enter Heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the
high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his
own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.
But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages
to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die
once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take
away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear
sin, but to bring Salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
Heb 9:15-28 NIV
And he says in another place,
"You are a Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
During the days of Jesus' life on
earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One
Who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent
submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal Salvation for all who
obey him and was designated by God to be High Priest in the order of
Melchizedek.
Heb
5:6-10 NIV
We have this hope as
an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind
the curtain, where Jesus, Who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has
become a High Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Heb 6:19-20 NIV
As the
eternal Priest of God, Jesus Christ is in His Holy Temple in Heaven, and as the
King eternal, He is on His Heavenly Throne.
The Lord is in His
Holy Temple, The Lord's Throne is in Heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try,
the children of men.
Ps 11:4 KJV
He is “The Mediator of The New Covenant.”
For this reason Christ is The Mediator of a New Covenant,
that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now
that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the
first Covenant.
Heb 9:15 NIV
Melchizedek
was a King, and so is The Lord Jesus—a King of God's Anointing; the government
is laid upon His shoulders, and He rules over all for the good of His people.
He was “King
of Righteousness”: His Name signifies ‘the Righteous King.’ Jesus Christ is a
Rightful and a Righteous King—in His title, and in His Government. He is The
Lord our Righteousness; He has fulfilled all Righteousness, and brought in an
everlasting Righteousness, and He loves righteousness and righteous persons,
and hates iniquity.
The Ministry
Jesus has received is superior to the ministry of the priests of “Aaronic
priesthood.” In the same way, The New Covenant of which He is Mediator is
superior to The Old Covenant, and it is founded on better Promises.
Every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this
One also to have something to offer. If He were on earth, He would not be a
priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the Law. They
serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in Heaven. This is
why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it
that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain." But the Ministry Jesus has
received is as superior to theirs as the Covenant of which He is Mediator is
superior to the old one, and it is founded on better Promises.
For if there had been
nothing wrong with that first Covenant, no place would have been sought for
another. But God found fault with the people and said:
"The time is
coming, declares The Lord,
when I will make a New
Covenant
with the house of
Israel
and with the house of
Judah.
It will not be like
the Covenant
I made with their
forefathers
when I took them by
the hand
to lead them out of
Egypt,
because they did not
remain faithful to My Covenant,
and I turned away from
them,
declares The Lord.
Hebrews 8:3-9 NIV
Jesus has
become “the guarantee of a better Covenant.” God has only One eternal High
Priest; the only Priest with an oath—He is JESUS CHRIST.
Death
prevented the Levetical priests from continuing in office, but Jesus ever
liveth to make intercessions. He is a Priest not on the basis of a regulation
as to His ancestry but on the basis of the Power of an indestructible Life.
Melchisedec
had existed from eternity—"without father, without mother, without
descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but ‘made like unto
The Son Of God’; abideth a priest continually" (Heb.7:3 KJV).
Since
Melchizedek was "like unto The Son Of God," and abides as High Priest
forever, continually, and Jesus Christ is now High Priest, Melchizedek and
JESUS are One and the same Person.
Therefore
Christ was "without father, without mother, without descent in Abraham's
time, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life."God also had
existed eternally with The Word.
"The
WORD," was an immortal being Who had existed always—there never was a time
when He did not exist—‘without beginning of days.’ He was, then,
"like" The Son Of God—but He was not yet The Son Of God. He was GOD,
along with GOD.
The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead gave humanity hope of a life after
death. Christ Jesus rose from the dead, and is crowned with Honor and Glory! He
is Alive—and He is Divine!
He has been
glorified—and in His glorified Spirit condition His eyes are like flames of
fire, and His face shines as bright as the very sun—full strength!
(Rev.1:14-16).
Jesus Christ
is The great High Priest—the ultimate and eternal sacrifice for our sins.