Melchizedek
Hebrews 5:5-10 - 5 “Christ did not glorify himself to be made an high priest. Instead, he was glorifying his Father, who said unto him: “You are my Son; today have I begotten you.” 6 His Father also said in another place, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” 7 Jesus, in the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto His Father, who was able to save him from death, and His Father heard him, and his fears. 8 But, because he was a Son, Jesus understood he had to be obedient, and he willingly suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him. 10 Jesus was called of God to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
Who was Melchisedec? The first reference we find of him is located in the Old Testament, where we witness an encounter between Melchisedec and Abram, later called Abraham:
Genesis 14:18-20 “18 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: for he was the priest of the most high God. 19 He blessed Abram, and said, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” And Abram gave him tithes of all.”
Abram’s presentation of tithes to this king-- and not tributes -- is an extraordinary thing, because Abram was acknowledging that this individual was not only a King…he was also a High Priest. This was unheard of at that time; it is unheard of throughout the annals of human history.
Throughout history, High Priests and Kings have always been identified as two separate things. Both offices serve as representative voices of groups of people, but one office is understood to be Spiritual in nature (representative of Spirituality) and, the other, is understood to be Political in nature. Spirituality – more properly referred to now as “Religion” – and Politics typically do not mix well when it comes to human beings. Some say that, even as topics, these two concepts are so inflammatory that they should never be spoken of, except in certain contexts…and hardly ever can the two be integrated in conversation. They’re like oil and water to some people.
And yet, in Genesis, Abram regards Melchizedek as both a High Priest and a King…this is unusual. This is unique. This is odd. This is peculiar.
Melchizedek is a difficult person to research from a Biblical perspective, because so little is said about him in the pages of the Bible, and so little is explained about him. Actually, to be fair, Melchizedek is not identified in the pages of Scripture with any clarity whatsoever.
We see Abram responding to Melchizedek as we do in Genesis – and it seems as if Melchizedek is about to serve Abram Communion, thousands of years before the Last Supper -- and then, Melchizedek is referred to in Psalm 110, which Jesus refers to four times in the Gospels: “(This is the Psalm that begins, ‘1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool’)…4 The LORD has sworn, and will not repent, “You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
In Hebrews, Melchizedek is again identified as a type of individual that Jesus is likened unto, and this is surprising. Jesus was an individual who was clearly a Spiritual Being, and clearly an individual who had very little to say publicly about politics, beyond “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.”
Hebrews tells us that Jesus was “called of God to be a high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” He was called, then, to be a Political Leader and a Spiritual Leader.
Whenever we speak of “Politics,” we are referring to “Polity,” which is the Greek word for “the government of an organized society.” And a “government” represents an organized society’s authority, or the people’s will. So a Political leader, typically, is an individual who is understood to be someone who ensures that the people in an organized society are kept safe, healthy, happy, and secure. And all of these things are external things – they deal primarily with the body.
Whenever we speak of “Spirituality,” or “Religion,” we are referring to matters relating to the human soul, which is a precious, intimate, private, highly personalized, and internalized thing.
The Spiritual leader is concerned with the intangible – that which cannot be touched, and the Political Leader is concerned with the tangible – things that can be seen, observed with the human eye, and touched. Two entirely different concepts like, as was stated before, oil and water.
How can Melchizedek and Christ represent both concepts at once? We need to remind ourselves that, whenever the Scriptures speak of water…usually it is speaking of salvation. And whenever the Scriptures speak of oil…usually it is speaking of the Holy Spirit.
What did Jesus say to Nichodemus, in John 3:5-8? “5 Truly, Truly, I say unto you, unless you are born of water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Don’t be surprised that I said unto you, You must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound it makes, but you can’t tell where it comes from, and where it goes: so it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus and Melchizedek are unique – you can even say they’re peculiar. But that’s okay, because the Bible tells us that God’s people are supposed to be peculiar. I Peter 2:9-10 says to all Believers, “9 You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; [it is peculiar] that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Like oil and water, in John 15:19, we are told that Christians tend to be hated by the worldly. These are the words of Jesus: “19 If you were of the world, the world [love you, because the world] would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
We are peculiar people. We’re unique. We who have accepted Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior – as the Master of our souls – lie on this planet…but our true home is with God. And when we pass away, that’s where we’re going: to reside forever with the God and Creator of this universe. That’s a good kind of peculiarity. It means we’re special. We’re unique.
Melchizedek was unique. He was, and is, a mystery man, really. If you were to investigate materials beyond the Bible to learn more about whom Melchizedek was understood to be in ancient times, you’d get confused after a while…
Some ancient texts outside of the Bible regard Melchizedek as an Apocalyptic figure who will play a large hand in the events that play out at the End of the Age. In one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he is regarded as the one who will bring both salvation and judgement at the conclusion of the final jubilee. In other sources he is regarded as an angel sent down from Heaven to bless Abram in the Old Testament (the Bible doesn’t say this explicitly). In Gnostic literature, he is regarded as a representation of baptismal water, and he is described as “the one who gathers and emits light.” In another ancient text he is described as a heavenly priest and warrior figure that, after being baptized, offers himself as a sacrifice as Jesus did – but, like the others I’ve just mentioned, this is a story that does not come directly from Scripture.
In the Apocryphal book of 2 Enoch, a book we do not regard as being part of our accepted Scriptural canon, Melchizedek is said to have been conceived of his sterile mother miraculously, apart from sexual intercourse. This story relates that he was taken to paradise, where he remains as head of all future priests. In this text is also the claim that, in the “last generation,” a new Melchizedek will arise, greater than all his predecessors, who will work miracles and rule as both a priest and a king.
We do not regard 2 Enoch as truth but, instead, as mythology. A counterfeit to the truth, a substitute planted by – I suspect – Satan himself. Only one person in human history has ever been born of a virgin, and that person was Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 7:1-3, Paul makes the following comments about Melchizedek: “1This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." 3Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.” Note the notation in verse 3 - “…without mother…” - which goes beyond the mythological story that Melchizedek was born without a father. Paul is essentially saying, “if he had no father, then he had no mother, either.” And then Paul goes on to add that Melchizedek was also “…without genealogy…” which adds another layer of mystery, despite the fact that Paul is obviously doing his best to diffuse the thought that any man other than Jesus Christ could be born without a biological father.
In essence, Paul is diverting attention away from the mythological aspects of Melchizedek, and is bringing the focus back on Jesus Christ, who is of penultimate significance in all things.
