God is holy and righteous. There is no evil in Him. How then can we, who are sinners, ever approach Him or come into His presence? In our own strength we cannot. We need someone to intercede for us.
The Bible tells us that God appointed Jesus to be High Priest. In His role as priest, Jesus Christ presented the perfect sacrifice on our behalf to atone for our sins. It is by means of Christ’s blood that we are able to enter God’s presence.
But had God not already established priests under the Law of Moses? How then, can Jesus be our priest? The inspired book of Hebrews in the Bible explains that Jesus did not receive His priesthood through the Law of Moses. Instead, God appointed Him as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Who is this Melchizedek and what is his significance? Hebrews 7, verses 1 through 10 explains, “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace; 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. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best spoils. They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham, but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
Before going forward, we need to clear up a difficulty. In verse one our Urdu translation indicates that Melchizedek remains God’s priest forever. This is true, as we shall see in verse three, but the actual Greek text in verse one refers to the priesthood of Jesus. What the text actually says is that Jesus remains a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
In order to explain who Melchizedek is, the writer refers to an incident in the life of Abraham which is recorded in the book of Genesis, chapter 14. A group of kings invaded the land where Abraham’s nephew Lot had made his home. They captured Lot and many others. Abraham learned of this and pursued the kings with his own armed men. He overtook the kings, defeated them and rescued all their captives. While returning home, Abraham encountered Melchizedek. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth part of everything he had captured from the invading kings.
Melchizedek was a priest of “God Most High.” What does the Bible mean when it says that Jesus is a priest like him? The name “Melchizedek” means “King of Righteousness.” When we say that Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek it means that He, too, is righteous. In fact, “Righteous” is one of Jesus’ titles (1 John 2:1).
Melchizedek was also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” This is another of Jesus’ titles. The prophet Isaiah foretold that Jesus would be called “Prince of Peace.” Sin separates us from God. Through His sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus has made peace between us sinners and our holy God.
Another way in which Jesus and Melchizedek are alike is in the duration of their priesthood. Our Urdu translation does not bring this out, but verse three says that Melchizedek remains a priest continually. On what basis does his priesthood last forever? There is no record of his death. Therefore, he is declared to still be alive. And, since he is alive and has never vacated the position God gave him, he retains his priesthood.
The same holds true for Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” (Romans 6:9 NIV) Because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood will also last forever. As the writer of Hebrews will say later in the book, this clearly makes Jesus superior to the priests appointed under the Law of Moses. Their priesthood came to an end when they died.
But there are additional reasons why the priesthood of Melchizedek, and therefore Jesus’ priesthood, is superior to that of the Mosaic Law. The writer of Hebrews points out that blessings flow from the greater to the lessor. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham accepted his blessing. Therefore, Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. This means he is also greater than Abraham’s descendant Levi who became a priest through the Law of Moses. Since Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, He also is greater than Abraham and the Levitical priesthood.
Abraham acknowledged that Melchizedek was greater than himself by giving him a tenth of the plunder from his battle with the kings. Though Levi and the priests which came after him collected a tenth of the produce of the land from the rest of the Israelite people, it can be said that Levi, himself, paid the tenth to Melchizedek through his ancestor Abraham. This, too, shows that Melchizedek’s priesthood is superior to that given to Levi by the Law of Moses. He who had the right to receive a tenth from everyone, paid a tenth to someone who was greater than himself.
There is another point to consider. The text indicates, in verse three, that Melchizedek was made like the Son of God, that is Jesus, not that Jesus was made like Melchizedek. To put it another way, Melchizedek and his role are an anticipation or reflection of a greater reality. If the image is so great, then how much greater must the reality, that is, Jesus and His priesthood be!