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Who is Melchizedek?

by James Barringer  
11/03/2010 / Bible Studies


Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and Hebrews 7 make reference to this odd figure called Melchizedek. If you've ever read one of those three passages and been totally bewildered, you've come to the right place for clarity. First I want to discuss who he actually was, according to Genesis, and then I want to discuss what he means for us in the New Covenant, according to Hebrews.

The man first shows up in Genesis 14, quite out of the blue, where he's abruptly introduced as the king of Salem (Jerusalem) and a priest of God. To show that this man is the real deal, Abraham tithes to him (before the Biblical law about tithing had even been given) and accepts a blessing from him. Then the guy disappears, never to be heard from again.

Roughly 600 years later, David makes a passing reference to him in Psalm 110 where, prophesying about the Messiah, David says, "The Lord has sworn: You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." Certain passages of the OT were understood, even before the time of Jesus, to be messianic in nature. In Matthew 2:1-6, we see that the Pharisees knew the Messiah was supposed to be born in Bethlehem; they regarded Micah 5:2 as a prophecy. Psalm 110, the one that mentions Melchizedek, is another of those passages that everyone knew to be messianic prophecy. Jesus quotes it in Matthew 22:41-45, and the Pharisees unquestioningly accept him because they agreed that it was messianic. What's really crucial to note is that Jesus was quoting that psalm to refer to himself, to claim the things that were written in it, which include being a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

All of this brings us to the book of Hebrews, a book that was written to (as the title might suggest) Jewish people, who were having some questions about how to move from the old covenant of the OT law to the new covenant of grace. The writer's main point beginning in 4:14 is that we have no more need for an earthly priesthood like the one practiced in the OT because Jesus is now our high priest, the intercessor between us and God. (This is one of many reasons why the Mormons and Catholics get it wrong; Jesus abolished the priesthood, so any sect that reestablishes one is taking a step in completely the wrong direction.) However, this idea of Jesus being a high priest would have caused some problems for the Jews, because they knew that the OT law restricted the priesthood to only those people who were Levites descended from Aaron. Jesus, in accordance with prophecy, came from the line of David and the tribe of Judah. Therefore he wasn't qualified to be a priest under the OT law.

The writer of Hebrews, then, takes it upon himself to show that it was possible to be a priest without being a Levite. How does he prove his point? By pointing to the example of Melchizedek, of course, who was a priest but not a Levite. Not only that, but here's the really crazy thing: Psalm 110 clearly predicted the emergence of a Messiah who was a priest after the order of Melchizedek - another priest who wasn't a Levite! Remember, everybody at the time of Jesus already knew that Psalm 110 was a messianic prophecy. The writer of Hebrews just had to inform them how Jesus fulfilled that prophecy: by becoming our high priest forever.

Yet the writer ratchets things up here when he suggests that David knew, approximately 900 years before Jesus, that the Old Testament law was broken and doomed to pass away. "If perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one who is named after the order of Aaron?" If the old covenant was perfect and the old priesthood worked just fine, why was David calling for the appearance of a new kind of priest? "For when there is a change in the priesthood," the writer continues, "there is necessarily a change in the law as well." If the rules of who could and couldn't be priest were changing, what other kinds of changes might take place? As you and I know, Jesus changed everything. He satisfied the OT law completely with his life, so that you and I who believe in his death and resurrection can become his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) without having to fulfill the law ourselves - by grace, not by works.

That's the significance of Melchizedek: he introduced people to the idea that it was possible to be a priest without being a Levite, a mold that Jesus filled to completion. Once you understand that, the man gets a lot less confusing, although there is still one major question to be addressed: what on earth does the writer mean when he says that Melchizedek "had neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the son of God, he continues a priest forever"? Surely the guy can't seriously be suggesting that Melchizedek wasn't born, never died, and is still alive somewhere?

Not exactly, writes John MacArthur. When you translate the Bible, you often have to choose between rendering it literally (which is sometimes awkward, confusing, or a cultural idiom) or translating the meaning instead of the specific words (a term referred to as dynamic-equivalence). Generally, of course, it's best to be literal, because if you read dynamic-equivalence, you're basically a prisoner to how well the other person summed up what they thought the text meant. But there are ways that being exclusively literal gets us into trouble. MacArthur points out that the Greek phrase is better translated, "Whose father and mother are not written in genealogies." Eugene Peterson translates the verse similarly: "Melchizedek towers out of the past - without record of family ties, no account of beginning or end." The Amplified Bible does the same: "Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line" (brackets in original). The New Living Bible has, "There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors." This translation is something that the original readers would have understood, but it gets lost in the translation to English, wrongly leading some people to believe that Melchizedek was actually immortal, or the pre-incarnate Jesus, or other things. All the writer is saying is that his lineage wasn't written down because the narrative of Genesis 14 wasn't primarily about him. The important thing is that he was a non-Levite priest, and in that regard, he set the precedent for Jesus' own priesthood.

"Jesus, then is the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted just as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 7:22-25; 4:14-16)

Jim Barringer is a 38-year-old writer, musician, and teacher. More of his work can be found at facebook.com/jmbarringer. This work may be reprinted for any purpose so long as this bio and statement of copyright is included.

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