Hebrews 7: Melchizedek and Jesus  

• v.1-10 Melchizedek the Priest
• v.11-28 Jesus Like Melchizedek

[Note: For explanations of this somewhat complex and very Jewish-history chapter, see the explanations at the end of the chapter after having read the chapter. Remember it is written first for Jewish Christians]

v.1-10 Melchizedek the Priest

v.1,2 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

v.3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

v.4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!

v.5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham.

v.6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

v.7And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.

v.8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.

v.9,10 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

[Note: See Gen 14:18-20 for Melchizedek’s encounter with Abraham. The writer observing that virtually nothing is known about him beyond that found in the few verses in Genesis 14, says he appears like Jesus without human origins, beginning or end. (It is a rather speculative and convoluted argument but he simply wants to use Melchizedek to point to truths about Jesus. Even Abraham honored and respected him – but Levites now collect tithes – but this man wasn’t a Levite but still collected a tithe from Abraham, i.e. was clearly greater than Abraham. Strangely, Levites die but there is no record of this priest’s death. One might say Levi paid him a tithe.]

v.11-28 Jesus Like Melchizedek

v.11-14 Non-Levitical Background

v.11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

v.12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.

v.13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.

v.14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

[Note: If the Law was perfect why the need for anther priest, but if the priesthood changes, presumably the Law does as well. Jesus clearly came from a different background not linked to the priesthood – the tribe of Judah.

v.15-17 Non-regulatory Priest

v.15,16 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

v.17 For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

[Note: So another comes with similar origins, descriptions etc. as Melchizedek, and the Messiah as seen in the Psa 110 prophecy was declared to be like Melchizedek [Psa 110:4]

v.18-22 Replacement with an Oath

v.18,19 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

v.20,21 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’

v.22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

[Note: The former imperfectly-followed Law was being replaced, and this reference came with an oath to confirm it [Psa 110:4], thus Jesus, the Messiah, brings a more sure covenant.]

v.23-25 A Permanent Priest

v.23,24 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

v.25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

[Note: Jesus has a permanent priesthood because he is still alive so he is available for all in history who would come to him.]

v.26-28 A Perfect Priest

v.26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

v.27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

v.28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

[Note: Everything about him says he is perfect for the job, not needing to continually offer sacrifices for sin, and appointed by a prophetic oath that came after the Law.]

[Additional Note/Explanation:  Remember the writer is writing to a Jewish community and throughout he has been extolling Jesus, raising him above any other. He has been referring to Jesus as our high priest and he does this because:

1. the priest offered sacrifices for sin; Jesus has done that.
2. a priest intercedes for the people; Jesus has done that.

BUT he seeks to make the point that Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood established by the Law. He does this by referring to Psa 110, a prophetic psalm accepted by the Jewish community for centuries as pointing to the Messiah. Peter on the Day of Pentecost also applies this psalm to Jesus in a similar way – see Acts 2:34-36.

But this psalm also calls the coming one, the Messiah, a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psa 110:4). (Note the clarity of that, the Messiah is a priest.) The writer thus takes what little is known about Melchizedek and parallels it with Jesus:

• nothing known about their origins – or their ending, they thus appear as eternal priests.
• Abraham (and by inference his subsequent family including Levi and the priesthood) gave a tithe to Melchizedek (who was both a king and a priest) implying he was superior to Abraham and his subsequent family; Jesus is superior being the Son of God.
• neither Melchizedek nor Jesus come from the tribe of Levi and both operate outside the Levitical priesthood.

In addition to this, we need to observe the explanation for the need of this new priesthood spoken of in this psalm. The Law was unable to be kept perfectly and so priests had to keep on presenting offerings for themselves as well as for their people. A new form of priesthood was thus required and Psa 110:4 reveals God swearing that the Messiah will be a priest like Melchizedek. Priests weren’t normally sworn in and so this also raises the esteem of this new messiah-priest. Jesus as the perfect Son of God, qualified for this role in that

1. he was sinless and didn’t need a sin offering for himself,
2. being perfect, when he sacrificed himself, his act on the cross, as a sin offering, was not for himself but for everyone else,
3. having been raised from the dead and having ascended into heaven, as the eternal Son of God, he is available to present himself as the sin offering for every one of us.  

These things will be further developed in the following chapters.]

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: