Sermon – Genesis 14 – Jesus & Melchizedek

  • Last week, we read Genesis 14 – which contained two very important and interesting things – those being the person of Melchizedek and the issue of tithing.  Last week we looked at tithing and giving to God.  This week, we will look at who Melchizedek is, what his role was, and how Jesus is like him.
  • We don’t know a whole about Melchizedek, and what we do know is buried in mystery.  We know that he was the King of Salem, we know that he was a priest of the Most High God, we know that his name means “king of righteousness,” and we know that Abram thought enough of him that he gave an offering of 10% to him.

  • Melchizedek is fairly obscure.  He is first mentioned in Genesis 14, where he is given a total of three verses (18-20).  He is not mentioned again until Psalm 110:4 where David makes a reference to the coming Messiah and writes, “The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.’”

  • There are no other references to Melchizedek in the Old Testament, no mention of him in the Gospels or in any of Paul’s letters.  Melchizedek does not reappear until the book of Hebrews; in which he has 14 verses written about him in the 7th chapter; where the Hebrew writer compares Jesus with Melchizedek. 

  • The book of Hebrews is one of the meatier books, if not the meatiest, in all of Scripture.  For us who live on this side of the cross, Melchizedek and Abraham can seem like a long way off.  What happened in their lives might seem to be insignificant to ours.  But the Hebrew writer looks at these things and shows us something about Jesus that we really need to know today.
  • What is the greatest problem facing humanity?  It’s not war (with various countries), terrorism, or violence.  It’s not troubled marriages, immoral lifestyles, or abortion.  It’s not financial troubles, health issues, or world hunger.  There is one main problem in this world today that is everyone’s problem, and it is this:

  • The world needs to be made right with God in order to escape His terrifying wrath against sin in the judgment.  That is the greatest problem facing humanity.  It has been ever since Adam and Eve broke the commandment of God and fell into sin in the first place.  Sin separates us from God and makes us enemies with God so that we all under the fiery wrath of God.  Sin in general leads to all the problems we face on earth.

  • Hebrews 10:30-31 says, For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge.  I will pay them back.”  He also said, “The LORD will judge His own people.”  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

  • God’s answer to this great problem is priesthood, and specifically the superior, eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ; and the sacrifice that He made.

  • Hebrews 6:13-20 (NLT – God’s Promises Bring Hope) … (13) For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham.  Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in His own name, saying: (14) “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”  (15) Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.  (16) Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it.  And without any question that oath is binding.  (17) God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.  (18) So God has given both His promise and His oath.  These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  (19) This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.  It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.  (20) Jesus has already gone in there for us.  He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

  • Hebrews 7:1-14 (Melchizedek is Greater Than Abraham) … (1) This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High.  When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.  (2) Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek.  The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”  (3) There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors – no beginning or end to his life.  He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.  (4) Consider then how great this was.  Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.  (5) Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham (6) But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham.  And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.  (7) And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.  (8) The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.  (9) In addition, we might even say that these Levites – the one who collect the tithe – paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.  (10) For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.  (11) So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?  (12) And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.  (13) For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.  (14) What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe. 
  • Hebrews 7:15-28 (Jesus is Like Melchizedek) … (15) This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.  (16) Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by a power of a life that cannot be destroyed.  (17) And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”  (18) Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.  (19) For the law never made anything perfect.  But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.  (20) This new system was established with a solemn oath.  Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, (21) but there was an oath regarding Jesus.  For God said to him, “The LORD has taken an oath and will not break His vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”  (22) Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.  (23) There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.  (24) But Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever.  (25) Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him.  He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.  (26) He is the kind of high priest we need because He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin.  He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.  (27) Unlike those other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices every day.  They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people.  But Jesus did this once for all when He offered Himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.  (28) The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness.  But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and His Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

  • There are times in our lives when we feel the need to have someone or multiple people pray for us.  Times when we are faced with difficulties, hardships, and obstacles that we just don’t feel we can handle on our own.  Those are times when it’s encouraging to know someone cares enough to pray for us.  The Bible calls that type of prayer, ‘intercession,’ and it encourages intercession throughout its pages.

  • Examples of Intercession Found in Scripture:
    • God had Abraham intercede for Kings
    • Job was told by God to intercede for his friends
    • Paul urged that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone (1st Timothy 2:1)

  • Here is a good thought and way of life … don’t put anyone down unless it is on your prayer list.

  • And now, in Hebrews 7:24-25 we have been paid the ultimate compliment … 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.

  • The OT priests interceded between God and His people.  A large portion of Hebrews talks about Jesus being our eternal High Priest; and the last part of chapter 6 gets real specific.
  • Hebrews 6:20 … He (Jesus) has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

  • During the Old Testament there was one man whose job was to “intercede for God’s people.”  That person was known as the High Priest.  Once a year, this man would make a special sacrifice (for his and the people’s sin) and bring the blood of that sacrifice into the Most Holy Place – into the presence of God.  He would offer the sacrifice on the Altar, then carry the blood through the Holy Place, back into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.  And there he would place the blood on the mercy seat – the top of the Ark guarded by the two angels whose wings spread out over the Ark.

  • Many other sacrifices were offered throughout the year, but this was the most critical of all of them.  For without this sacrifice there was NO FORGIVENESS of sins and the people would have died in their sins.  So, year after year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would offer the sacrifice and ‘intercede’ for the people at the Mercy Seat of the Ark for the forgiveness of the people’s sins.

  • But, when Jesus came, He came to offer the ultimate sacrifice for our sins – He presented His own blood as a covering for our sins and He brought that blood into the very throne room of God on our behalf.  And now, He is constantly interceding for our sins every day because of that one sacrifice.  Now, there is no longer any need for sacrifices because Jesus paid it all.

  • #1 – The writer is talking about Jesus in His role as our new High Priest

  • #2 – But there is a problem with Jesus becoming High Priest …

  • Jesus wasn’t born of the tribe of Levi, He was born from the tribe of Judah.  The Law said you couldn’t be a priest, much less the High Priest, if you were not from the tribe of Levi.  In other words, you wouldn’t be qualified to offer a sacrifice for the sins of others, if you were not born of the Levitical line.  Not even Prophets and Kings could offer these sacrifices without incurring God’s wrath.

  • So, how could Jesus offer His sacrifice if He wasn’t born of the Levitical line?

  • Well, the only way Jesus could have become a priest was if God created another priesthood.  And apparently that’s just what God did.  The writer of Hebrews tells us God declared His intentions in Psalm 110:4 … ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’

  • This is same Psalm that Jesus quoted during His ministry … “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ (this is the verse Jesus applied to Himself in Matthew 22:44) The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.  Your troops will be willing on your day of battle.  Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.
  • This very Psalm declared that there was going to be a new priesthood – a priesthood that would last forever.

  • But the writer of Hebrews goes even further – He declared that Melchizedek’s priesthood was superior to the Levites.

  • But even more than that, Melchizedek had been intended to be a “type” of Christ, an example of who Jesus was to be, a snapshot if you will, of what Jesus would look like – and it was a deliberate comparison on God’s part – He planned it out ahead of time.

  • Melchizedek Portrays Christ as Priest

  • Hebrews says that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  We need to understand that the Hebrew Christians would have been Jesus as ineligible to be a priest because he was not from the tribe of Levi.

  • Of course, this fact doesn’t matter much to us.  But it mattered greatly to the Jews – and it mattered to God who made the laws about the Levitical Priesthood.  And according to the Law, the only way Jesus would qualify to be a priest is if He was a Levite.

  • God took the trouble to prove that Jesus Christ is a legitimate priest in every way.  You see, Melchizedek served as a priest long before the Levitical Law was in effect.  The priesthood of Jesus preceded and followed after the Levitical priesthood.  Therefore, the priesthood of Jesus is better than the Levitical priesthood.

  • Melchizedek Portrays Christ as King

  • Melchizedek’s name means “king of righteousness” and then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

  • Melchizedek was both a priest and a king.  Under the Jewish law, that was impossible.  A priest had to come from the tribe of Levi.  A king had to come from the tribe of Judah.  As a descendant of King David, who was from the tribe of Judah, Jesus had full credentials to be a King.

  • But here again, His lineage through David is only part of the story.  His right to rule also came from the line of Melchizedek who was the King of Salem.  Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be called “Prince of Peace.”  This title relates Him back to Melchizedek.  Therefore, the ancient “King of Salem” from Abraham’s day and the “Prince of Peace” of Jesus’ day are similar.

  • Salem was the early name of Jerusalem, which was later called the city of David; and Jesus was a descendant of David.

  • Melchizedek Portrays Christ as Eternal

  • Melchizedek gives us a picture of this.  Here’s the sum-total of our biographical information about Melchizedek … He is without parents, with genealogy, without beginning or end, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

  • Melchizedek had no recorded beginning and end, and Jesus has no beginning and end.  Melchizedek was both priest and king, and Jesus is both priest and king.  Some have even concluded that Melchizedek was actually Jesus in a pre-incarnate appearance.

  • Summary & Conclusion:
    • Jesus Christ serves as Priest of the Most High God
    • Jesus Christ reigns as the King of Peace
    • Jesus Christ will serve, reign, and intercede forever

  • No other priest or king can ever take the place of Jesus Christ.  Listen to the words Peter spoke when he addressed the Jewish leaders in Acts 4:12 … “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

  • Under the Levitical Law, the High Priest made a sacrifice for the nations’ sins once a year.  The sins were rolled back until the next year – but the sins were never permanently wiped away … but that all changed with Jesus.

  • Think back to the question I asked at the beginning of the sermon … what is the greatest threat facing humanity?
  • It is sin and the penalty of sin is death.  If we die in our sins, we will be judged and will spend an eternity in Hell, separated from God.
  • However, if we believe in Jesus – that He came to earth, lived a perfect life, willingly died for us on the cross, was dead and buried, came back to life, and now sits at God the Father’s right hand in Heaven … and faithfully obey what Jesus commanded – including baptism – and follow His commands and faithfully endure to the end, then we will be saved.
  • For those of us that are saved, we must take our faith and knowledge to a lost and dying world and introduce them to Jesus Christ.  We must be salt and light to our community, because nobody else will.  We must have a strong witness, not be hypocrites, not be seen as Pharisees, and not be seen as legalistic.
  • For those of us that may not be saved, then don’t let this opportunity pass you by to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior – to ask Him for forgiveness – to repent of you sins, to confess them to Jesus and have Him intercede on your behalf to God the Father in Heaven.