Who is Melchizedek, Part 2

If you have your Bible, turn with me to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7.

Remember that hymn written in the early 1900s? "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." As we turn to the book of Hebrews, as we open the pages of Scripture, what we're doing is looking into the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. So much so that the things all around us begin to grow strangely dim because we see only Jesus.

We want you to see Jesus when you come to church. If you see somebody else other than Jesus, then we have a problem with the preacher, right? We want to be able to show you Christ that you might be able to understand who he is and what he's done. And Melchizedek, the main character there in Hebrews chapter 7, is the one who paints a beautiful portrait of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The book of Hebrews, written to a Jewish audience, is a book about the supremacy and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ our Lord. And as we study it, we realize that to understand Christianity, you truly need to understand Judaism because Christianity is the fruit of the root, which is Judaism. Christianity springs from Judaism. Salvation is of the Jews. And so when you begin to understand what God was doing with his nation Israel, you begin to see that everything that he was pointing to was his sacrifice and his coming and his salvation. And we, as Christians, reap the benefit of all that's taken place over the last 4,000 years.

And so, to understand Judaism, you have to understand the priesthood, because everything about the Jewish nation centers around the priesthood in Israel. How is it I, as a Jew, can ever get to God? I sin, but how do I get there? How do I obtain the forgiveness of sins? And God had ordained a priesthood, a Levitical priesthood, men who would bridge the gap. Priests were bridge builders, so man could somehow gain access to God and receive the forgiveness of sins.

The problem was that it wasn't forever. It was only temporary because it prefigured what was going to happen with the ultimate sacrifice. And so when you come to Hebrews 7, 8, 9, the central part of the book of Hebrews, it's all about the priesthood. It's all about the new covenant. It's all about the great high priest, Jesus Christ our Lord, who has come and ratified that new covenant with his blood. And so as we study it, we are studying truly the great high priest of Israel, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so remember that we're looking at four things in Hebrews 7:1 to 10. We began looking last week at the picture of Melchizedek, because Melchizedek is a picture of the person and work of Christ. He's not an angel. Hebrews 5:1 disproves that. Some believe he's a pre-incarnate Christ. I don't think he is. And as we go through the first four verses again today, hopefully, we'll unveil that for you to help you understand why it's not the pre, or why he's not the pre-incarnate Christ. That he was actually a man who was a king and a priest who lived in Jerusalem that Abraham paid tithes to. But he is a picture. It's called typology. It's a Christological painting of the truth about Jesus Christ.

And we saw last week there were different pictures in the Old Testament. Different typologies in the Old Testament, whether it was Noah's Ark or whether it was the brazen serpent or whether it was the Passover, all those things are pictures of the person and work of Christ. Also, in people, with people like Benjamin and Isaac and Joseph, and Melchizedek is one of those people that paint for us a portrait of the truth centered around the Christ.

Now remember, the picture is not the reality. In my house, I have paintings. In your house, you have paintings. You have pictures, right? I have a lot of pictures surrounding the beach. So, when you look at the pictures, you can see the beach, you can see the ocean, you can see the pelicans, you can see the seagulls, and you know they're there because you can see them. But it's not like being there, right? It's just a picture. But when you're there and you feel the sun beating down on your cheeks and the wind blowing your face and smelling the salt air and being able to have the sand between your toes, it's different because that's the reality. You can't get that in the picture. But the picture paints the truth about what is seen. And so we're able to understand that with Melchizedek.

So we looked at the picture of Melchizedek's priesthood last week, and then we looked at the presentation of Melchizedek in his priesthood last week as well. He is presented in Genesis chapter 14 in three verses. Genesis chapter 14 in three verses. They're not mentioned again for another thousand years to Psalm 110, verse number 4. One verse. And Psalm 110 is a Messianic Psalm. So every Jew would know that whatever the author is saying in Psalm 110 under the inspiration of the Spirit of God is all about the coming Messiah. Very important.

And then Melchizedek is not mentioned for another thousand years to Hebrews chapter 5, verse number 6, where they quote Psalm 110, verse number 4. Hebrews 6, verse number 20, and then in chapter 7 of Hebrews. So you have this long span of time between three verses in Genesis chapter 14, one verse in Psalm 110, and then what the writer of Hebrews unfolds for us in the book of Hebrews. So Melchizedek becomes a very important figure as you begin to understand what God is doing. And so that's why we're looking at Melchizedek, a type of Christ.

So we saw last week the picture of Melchizedek and his priesthood. The presentation of Melchizedek and his priesthood, and then we started with point number three, which was the preeminence of Melchizedek and his priesthood. The preeminence of Melchizedek and his priesthood, and there are five words you need to understand in the first four verses.

The first word was totality. We say that because the Bible says these words in Hebrews 7, verse number 1: "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, which is King of Peace."

We understand that in Israel's economy, they had a national priesthood. That is, they looked at God as their God, because God called them "my people." He didn't call anybody else his people, but he called Israel "my people." Why? Because he had called them. He had birthed them. He was going to work in and through them. He gave them the oracles of God. He gave them the law of God. He was going to work through the nation of Israel. He chose them in eternity past. They were his people. And they saw the great Lord Jehovah as their God.

We looked at that last week where Exodus chapter 3, where they derive this name for God, that God gave to himself his memorial name. Jehovah Yahweh. It's the name that God described to Moses as the great I AM. And that was how Israel developed a personal God, a national God. And then, when God developed the priesthood, the priesthood was a national priesthood, it wasn't a universal priesthood. In other words, when they offered sacrifices for the children of Israel, they didn't offer sacrifices for the Canaanites or Jebusites or Amorites, just for the nation of Israel.

That's why Jonah was so upset when the Ninevites repented because the Lord Jehovah was his God, not their God. And he couldn't understand how God would grant repentance to pagan people outside of his chosen people. And so, when you begin to understand that Melchizedek, though, didn't have a national priesthood, he had a universal priesthood because he was a priest to the Most High God El Elyon. And Abraham recognized in Genesis 14 that the Lord God was El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth.

You could look at it this way: that Jehovah is the memorial name of God, and El Elyon is the majestic name of God. It doesn't mean that Jehovah is under El Elyon. They're both the same, and how do we know they're both the same? Because it's all the same God. And God describes Himself in different ways. He describes Himself as the mighty God, He describes Himself as the Prince of Peace, He describes Himself as ever Father, he describes himself as the Lord of hosts. It's all how you see who this great and magnificent God is.

And so we know when Jesus said, "unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins" in John 8:24. He says to the Jewish people, "I am the God who spoke to Moses in the burning bush before Abraham was. I am. I am the great I AM." And yet, when you give your life to the great I AM, you become sons of the most high God, Luke 6:35. And the demons knew, the demons knew that Jesus was the son of the most high God. So this Jesus is Yave. This Jesus is El Elyon. This Jesus is the mighty God. This Jesus is Divine. He is the God of heaven and earth.

And so we realize that Melchizedek's priesthood was uniquely different than the Levitical priesthood because Melchizedek's was universal, and Aaron's priesthood, the Levitical priesthood, was national. You can see it this way: Israel's priesthood was limited. Melchizedek's priesthood was unlimited. It had no restraints because he served the God who was possessor of heaven and earth. So you need to understand Israel's history to how they saw their God and how they viewed him because he called them his people. So their priesthood was his priesthood, and they served their God. And so, because of the totality of Melchizedek's priesthood, it's preeminent over the Levitical priesthood. You follow with me?

On top of that, we looked at the royalty of Melchizedek's priesthood because he was not just a priest, but he was a king. He was king of righteousness, he was king of Salem. So he was a king. And in Israel's economy, never, never was there a priest who sat on the throne. No priest was ever referred to as a king. In fact, God made sure that that never happened. And so that's why Christ is in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron and Levi. Why? Because Melchizedek was a priest-king.

And if he was in the order of Levi, he couldn't be a priest and a king. But because he's in the order of Melchizedek, He is the ultimate priest-king. And we showed you last week in Zachariah 6, verses 12 and 13, in Jeremiah 23:5 and 6, that the Lord of hosts, this Divine One, is also a man who is a priest, who will sit on his throne and rule as a king. And so we realize, as the Old Testament begins to paint this portrait of the Messiah, we see him clearly in Melchizedek. So the totality of Melchizedek's ministry and the royalty of his ministry set it apart and make it preeminent over Aaron and Levi.

Number three. Number three is the quality of Melchizedek's priesthood because he was king of righteousness and King of peace. Very important because Israel in their priesthood wanted to be right with God and to obtain righteousness and to obtain the forgiveness of sins so that they could have peace. Listen, there is no peace without righteousness. And righteousness and justice are the same, same word in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew Old Testament. So, without justice, without righteousness, there is no peace.

Well, Israel was looking for peace, peace with their God. They had to obtain the forgiveness of sins. In order to do that, there had to be a bridge builder between them and God, and that was the priest. But Melchizedek was preeminent because of the quality of his ministry. He was both a king and a priest, and he was the king of righteousness. He ruled righteously, and he was the king of peace because he was the king of Salem. And Salem means peace, it's the ancient Jerusalem. Very important.

But in Israel's economy, I would go in and on the Day of Atonement, of course, today in Israel, tonight begins the Day of Atonement. Where you seek repentance from your sins, and on the day of atonement, the priest would offer sacrifices for the sins of the nation. But throughout the year, I would sin, and I had to go in and make an offering to the Lord that I might obtain a righteous standing before Him and obtain the forgiveness of sins. But then I would leave and go out and I'd sin again. I had to go back in again. See? And so it was insufficient because it was something that prefigured the ultimate sacrifice that would no longer just cover man's sins but actually remove man's sins.

And that's the beauty of the Lord Christ, because he came. If the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin, it would, but it didn't. We'll study that in Hebrews chapter 9. But the blood only covered their sin. But the blood of Christ, it removes the sin. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And by the way, He'll always be seen as the Lamb of God in all of eternity. Because the unique thing about going to heaven is that you have been set free from your sins and you have a righteous standing with the living God.

"He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Having been justified by faith, right, we have peace with God. To be justified by faith means to have a righteous standing with God. Now we have peace with God. And then what Paul said in Romans 14, verse number 17, that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And the order is significant. There is no peace without righteousness. Once you have righteous standing with God, you have peace. Peace with God. And only that peace brings joy. There is no joy without a righteous standing before God.

And so Israel knew that in their economy, the only way to get to God was through a priest who would bridge the gap. And they could go and offer sacrifices and receive forgiveness for a very temporal point of time, be right with God because their sins were forgiven. But as soon as they sinned again, they were no longer right with God and had to offer sacrifices again. But Melchizedek, the quality of his priesthood, was that he was a king and a priest. He was the king of righteousness. He was the king of peace. He ruled in a unique and special way over those who came to him.

The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 32, verse number 17, "the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever." In Psalm 85, verse number 10, it says that righteousness and peace have kissed each other in the Messiah. So there's a quality about Melchizedek's ministry. There is a royalty about his ministry. And there's a totality about his ministry that makes it preeminent over the Levitical priesthood.

But then there is a dignity about his ministry that sets it apart. And this is where I have to explain something to you because this is where people say, "well, he must be the pre-incarnate Christ because it says in verse number three, this Melchizedek was without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. This must be Jesus, the pre-incarnate Christ. He has no genealogy. He has no father. He has no mother." But if you understand what the writer of Hebrews is saying, you begin to understand why he says it the way he does.

It is true there is no record in the Old Testament of the mother of Melchizedek or the father of Melchizedek. There is no genealogy of Melchizedek. And the word used here is a word used only one time in scripture, and no time in any literature outside the scriptures. Why? Because everybody has a father and everybody has a mother. But Melchizedek's mother and father are not known. If the Lord wanted us to know them, he would have told us. But why is this important? It's because of the dignity of his ministry.

You see, if I'm a Jew, the only way I can be a priest is if I'm born in the tribe of Levi. I can't be a priest if I'm born in the tribe of Benjamin or the tribe of Judah. I have to be a descendant of Aaron. That's the only way I can be a priest. And I'm a priest not because of my purity, but because of my pedigree. So I can be a priest and be a horrible man, but still be a priest, because I'm a descendant of Levi. I'm a son of Aaron. Therefore, because I'm in the tribe of Levi, I have a machine become a priest.

But Melchizedek, Melchizedek's different. He was the king of righteousness. He was the king of peace. His name means, Melchizedek means king of righteous He lived a righteous life. He lived a holy life because the dignity of his ministry was important. The worth of his person was important. How he lived his life was important. I could live my life any way I wanted to live my life if I was a Levi, or instead of a Levi, but I'd still be a priest. And so the reason he does this is because he wants you to understand that Melchizedek, Christ is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Levi.

Why? Because in Judaism, Christ could not be a priest because he wasn't a descendant of Levi, he was descendant of Judah from the tribe of Judah. But because Christ is in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Levi, he can be the king priest. That's why Psalm 110 is very important. A messianic psalm in the Old Testament to show you that Christ is in the order of Melchizedek because his genealogy didn't make a difference. The quality and the dignity of his being is what qualified him to be a priest. The same is for Christ. Very, very important.

Oh, by the way, Jesus had a genealogy. Right? Matthew 1, Luke chapter 3, to prove that he was a descendant of David, that he was a king. That was very important. And he was never ever questioned on his kingship by the Pharisees, the scribes, because all they had to do was go down to the temple, and all the genealogical records were there. And they'd realized that this Jesus was the descendant of David, and therefore, he had a rightful place on the throne. So important.

So you see the dignity of his ministry, but then there's also the perpetuity of his ministry makes it preeminent over the Levitical priesthood. Why? Say these words in Hebrews 7: "having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God." Like is a very key term. "He remains a priest perpetually." Well, that must be the Christ because he has an eternal lineage of priesthood. No, no. If you understand Judaism, you understand what he's saying.

If I'm of the tribe of Levi, I can't become a priest officially until I'm 25. And I can only serve for 25 years until I'm 50. If I'm really, really a good priest, whatever that means, once I turn 50, I'm done. I can't go beyond that. It was a limited time in which I could function as a priest. But for Melchizedek, it was different, because his priesthood would continue on. It would continue on. It would remain perpetual. That means it would continue on. So it didn't stop at a certain age. That's all it meant.

And so when you begin to see this, now you understand why Christ is in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Levi. Why? Because Christ's priesthood is eternal. Eternal. It is a perpetual priesthood. Remember. Melchizedek was a type. You must understand that it doesn't say that Melchizedek's priesthood Or that Melchizedek lived forever. Because if Melchizedek lived forever, he wouldn be a type, he'd be the reality. But he's a type. But the order would continue on. And who followed him, we have no idea. Just three verses in Genesis, one verse in Psalm 110, four verses in the Old Testament. But it sets the stage for the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the right he has to sit as a priest on his throne because he's in the order of the king of righteousness. the king of Salem. See that? So important to understand those things.

Who is Melchizedek? He was a picture of the Christ painted in the Old Testament to help us understand the person and work of the Messiah when he would rule and reign as a priest on his throne. That's why it's so important.

And then you have the remaining verses in Psalm, sorry, in Hebrews chapter 7, verse number 4: "Now observe how great this man was, to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the choice of spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who received the priest's office have commandment in the law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them of whom it is witness that he lives on. And so to speak, through Abraham, even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes. For he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him."

Now you read that, you think, what does all that mean? Listen, just three simple points. Let me give them to you to help you sum up these remaining verses down through verse number 10. The first one is this, is that Melchizedek recognized, I'm sorry, Abraham recognized Melchizedek's position. Abraham recognized Melchizedek's position.

Now, why is this important? Because this shows you the prominence, this is point number four, the prominence of Melchizedek over Father Abraham. Abraham is the great patriarch of Israel. Everybody knows Father Abraham. Just go back to John chapter 8, where the Jews say, "We are of our Father Abraham." And Christ says, "No, you're of your father, the devil, who is the father of lies." They claim that because they were descendants of Abraham, they were going to heaven.

But everything was about the great patriarch, the first father, because Abraham was the father of the nation. And they looked at Abraham as this great icon. And so they would look to him and they would say, "He is our father." So if someone is greater than Abraham, who would it be? It's Melchizedek. He would be greater because the greater would bless the lesser. Who would be Abraham? And so you realize that Abraham recognizes Melchizedek's position as a king and as a priest.

Now, we don't know anything about what Abraham knew about Melchizedek or what Melchizedek knew about Abraham. We have no idea. Baba didn't tell us. It's really irrelevant. Because when Abraham came back from fighting the kings of the East and having won, he came back with all the spoils from those kings, right? And what he did was he gave the choicest spoils to Melchizedek. The father of the nation gave the choicest spoils to Melchizedek. He gave a tenth of the best of all the spoils. And he gave the rest to the king of Sodom. But he made sure that his soldiers had enough to eat.

It wasn't like he came back and said, "You know, this is a nice ring, I got to give it to Sarah. These are some nice clothes I can give to Sarah. New furniture for Sarah for our new tent," you know, it wasn't like that. He came back because he wanted to give the best of what he obtained from the defeat of these kings to El Elyon, and he would do that through Melchizedek, who was a priest to El Elyon. He was the king of Salem. You see, he recognized Melchizedek's position, which is very important.

Because if Abraham, listen, remember, the nation's not born yet. Abraham hasn't received even the promised seed yet. And so it's just Abraham and Sarah. But if Abraham gives a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek, listen carefully, and the nation is in the loins of Abraham. The nation then, in essence, is giving a tenth to Melchizedek. They, the Levites, are giving a tenth to Melchizedek, because the great father Abraham was giving a tenth of his choice spoils to Melchizedek, because he recognized his position. How great is this?

So, listen, Abraham now becomes a type for Christians, when it comes to giving, not necessarily in the amount, but in the attitude. Joyfully, willingly, submissively, generously. That's what Abraham did. He wanted to do this, having recognized this king priest of Salem, knowing that he served El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth. Wanted to offer the best of what he had to the Lord through the priest of El Elion. Wow, what a testimony. Because now he becomes a type for our attitude when we give.

The word for choice of spoils is defined as the heap on top. So, whatever is on top, the heap on top, the best of what you have. Abraham gave a tenth of that because he recognized the position of Melchizedek. I wonder how many times when we come to church to give to the Lord, do we recognize that he's the possessor of heaven and earth? That he's the king of all kings and the lord of all lords. And then we come, we come to worship this great king that we sacrificially give of ourselves to.

So when you look at the prominence of Melchizedek over Father Abraham, you see it in the fact that Abraham recognized Melchizedek's position. On the flip side of that, Melchizedek, Melchizedek was the one who rewards Abraham's submission. Melchizedek now rewards Abraham's submission. In a unique way, he blesses Father Abraham.

Now, listen, the Bible says that the greater blesses the lesser. And everything in the Old Testament from Abraham on is all about the children of Israel, it's all about the nation. It's all about God's people. From Genesis to Malachi, it's all about the nation of Israel, right? Melchizedek gets four verses, but Israel gets the whole testament. And what did Melchizedek know about Abraham and the seed of Abraham blessing the nations of the world? I don't know. I don't know what he knew.

But all I know is that when he came, Melchizedek brought him bread and wine. And then he blessed Abraham. He brought him bread and wine, and then said these words: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands." You see, Abraham then gives a tenth of his choice spoils because he's doing it in gratitude to God. It's a thankful heart. This king priest blesses him and says, "Blessed be the God who possesses heaven and earth because he gave your enemies into your hands."

And Abraham's, "oh, yeah, he did. Oh, this is so great. Let me give a tenth of my choicest spoils to honor him, my God, for defeating my enemies." What a beautiful picture. And so what Melchizedek does is he rewards Abraham's submission by blessing him, by honoring him. And what did he know about Abraham and his descendants? We have no idea. But that's what Melchizedek did. That's why he is prominent over the Levitical priesthood because he was the greater over great father Abraham, who was the lesser. And when the greater blessed the lesser, he in essence is blessing the descendants of Abraham, the nation of Israel, meaning that they are lesser than Melchizedek as the greater. That's why Christ is in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Levi, because Christ is the great high priest. Right?

And then lastly, Melchizedek reflects reflects Christ's perfection. He reflects Christ's perfection as being a king of righteousness and a king of peace when the text says that this type lives on. Remember, he's a type. So he's reflecting something about the coming Messiah. The eternal quality of the Messiah, who listen, when he offered his sacrifice, it was a one-time sacrifice. It wasn't a sacrifice offered over and over and over and over again. It was an offering given once. And that sacrifice would be sufficient to cleanse the sins of his people. And it would last for all eternity because he's the great high priest, king of kings and lord of lords.

And as we continue through Hebrews chapter 7, you're going to see how Christ is that ultimate priest. You see, this Jewish audience needed to grasp the fact that their priest had come. Their Messiah has come, who is their priest, who not only offered the sacrifice, he offered himself up as the sacrifice. So that they could be totally and fully cleansed from their sin and have a righteous standing before God because only Christ could take His people and actually place them within the holy presence of his Father.

See, only the high priest, once a year on the day of atonement, could enter the Holy of Holies. But we, as God's people, enter His throne room at any time. Because the ultimate mediator, there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, the great bridge builder, made it possible for us to live within the throne room of the living God, I wonder if you know Christ as Lord and Savior. I wonder if you've been forgiven of your sins. I wonder if you have a righteous standing before the great God of the universe. I would pray that you do.

Our study of Hebrews just causes us to turn our eyes upon Jesus that we might be able to look full in his wonderful face. That everything in this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. He is, he is supreme. He is sufficient. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for today, the great opportunity you give to us to study your word. What a blessing. We are such a blessed people. Lord, I think of the blessings that you have bestowed upon us. We can't even begin to count them. But Lord, the very fact that we are here today, having the opportunity to study your word, is just a beautiful, beautiful reminder that you have blessed us with all those things in heavenly places. Lord, we are grateful. We thank you, Lord, that upon your death on Calvary's tree, the veil in the temple was torn in two, and access into the presence of your Father was made available.

I would pray that everybody in the room has that access. If not, may today be the day of their salvation. May they come to you because of all that you've done for them. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.