Who Was Melchizedek and Why Does He Matter?
(Editor’s Note: This month’s blog series will help you keep Jesus at the heart of every message by highlighting an approach to biblical interpretation called typlogy. Like most things, there are good examples and bad of how to practice typlogy, and we hope this series will help you honor each text while showing students how it relates to Jesus Christ, the central character of Scripture. Visit here to see other YPT articles and podcasts about Typology.)
There are many things in the Bible that are confusing. Scripture is full of spiritual warfare, miracles, and visions that didn’t seem to be understood by the people who received them. However, there are few interactions in Scripture as mysterious as the scene between Abram and Melchizedek in Genesis 14. But what if I told you that this interaction between God’s chosen man and a Mesopotamian king carried a profound significance for understanding Jesus’s person and work? Melchizedek, as a type of Christ, offers a unique way to help our students understand the gospel.
The Mysterious Tale of Melchizedek
Abram and his nephew, Lot, separate their families to survive, in a real “this land ain’t big enough for the both of us” moment. Lot settled in Sodom. During his time there, the city was overthrown, and Lot was taken captive, along with his wealth. Abram heard of it, musters his men, and rescues Lot. As they return, who comes to meet them? Melchizedek.
Melchizedek brings out bread and wine, setting up a kind of victory lunch. He then proceeds to bless Abram, thanking God for delivering and protecting Abram’s family. Abram then responds to Melchizedek’s blessing by giving him a “tenth of everything.” Melchizedek responds by encouraging Abram to keep more of the spoils for himself, but Abram refuses, and the scene abruptly ends. There is no more mention of this mysterious figure. There is no explanation for what has just taken place. He comes and goes without any elaboration on his origins, his importance, or his destiny in the Old Testament.
However, some important details about Melchizedek are mentioned. First, he is identified as the king of a place called Salem (which means peace). Second, his name, translated in Hebrew, literally means “king of righteousness,” and he is identified as a priest of God Most High. This is happening before the Law of Moses was given to the people of God, and yet we find that there is a man, identified as a priest of God and a king of “righteousness and peace,” who establishes a fellowship meal, offers a thanksgiving prayer to God, and blesses God’s chosen family. Finally, the very next chapter is where God elaborates on the nature of the covenant He made with Abram, and then ratifies it Himself.
Not only does there seem to be something mysterious and important about this Melchizedek, but his appearance is also tied in some way to the promises God makes to His people. But no further clarity is given. So what does Melchizedek have to do with the gospel?
Melchizedek and Jesus
Hebrews spends a significant amount of time highlighting the supremacy of Jesus over many figures from the Old Testament: Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Samuel, etc., famously recorded in chapter 11. But before these examples, there is a rather long detour through a discussion of the Old Testament sacrificial system, covering the animal sacrifices, the Tabernacle, the cleansing rituals, and the Aaronic high priests, showing how Jesus was the fulfillment of each. The foundation of this discussion, however, rests on chapter 7, where none other than Melchizedek takes center stage. The mysterious priest-king from Genesis 14 has an entire chapter dedicated to him! So how does Melchizedek point us to Jesus?
Jesus, like Melchizedek, is the “king of righteousness,” except that where the latter claimed the title in name only, Jesus is the perfectly righteous Son of God. Not only does He have kingly authority over everything, but He is also the one who, because of His sinless human life, carries a perfect righteousness that can be imputed to those who place their faith in Him (Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21).
Jesus is also, like Melchizedek, the “king of peace,” except where the latter was the ruler of a place whose name meant “peace”, Jesus is the king who brings peace to those who trust in Him. His blood shed on the cross removes the hostility between sinners and God, so that there is no longer any condemnation for those united with Him; they are now reconciled to God through faith in Him (Eph. 2:14-16; Rom. 8:1).
The mysterious appearance and disappearance of Melchizedek also point to Jesus: nothing is said about his origin, and nothing is said about his death. In this way, he has a kind of symbolic timelessness, with “no beginning and no end.” Jesus, like Melchizedek, has “no beginning and no end”, but in a much greater way. Being the eternal God of the universe, He has always existed (John 1:1-4; Col. 1:15-18), and since He has overcome death itself through His resurrection, He and His kingdom will have no end, by the power of His “indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16).
Most significantly, though, is the priestly office that Melchizedek occupies. Existing prior to the Levitical law, His right as priest was not His by being Aaron’s descendant. So what was the basis of him occupying this role of priest of God? It was a title bestowed on him for the purpose of blessing the people of God. Melchizedek was not from a particular tribe of Israel; he was made priest as a foreshadowing of the greater type of priesthood: one that would continue “forever.” Jesus, being the eternal priest of God, does not need a successor like the Aaronic descendants did. He is a “priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,” (Heb. 7:17, 21). Because of this, He can establish a permanent connection between God and His people, never losing access due to sin, nor needing a new mediator to take over for Him at His death. His ability to bring the people of God near to God is greater than any priest before Him, and He does it forever.
Finally, Jesus’s appearance, like Melchizedek's, occurs before a covenant is guaranteed, except the one He inaugurates is greater (Hebrews 7:22). The covenant that God ratified in Genesis 15 was not perfect, because the family of Abraham could lose the promised blessings due to their sin. In the new covenant, what Jesus secures for believers cannot be lost. His priestly role and the sacrifice He has offered on their behalf guarantee their symbolic perfection now, and their ultimate perfection in the new creation. His covenant has “better promises” as its foundation: that humans can be made perfect, forever welcome in the presence of God (Hebrews 8:6).
A Hope in the Greater Melchizedek
So why? Why is it that God introduced this mysterious character into the story of redemption, only to allow his importance to evade explanation for thousands of years, then finally bring him up again after Jesus has ascended?
Because this man was God’s instrument to bless the nations. God enabled this unique figure, a man of authority and character, to bless Abraham at a crucial moment in history. Abraham’s family (God’s people) would need to honor God as their king and trust Him as their priest if they wanted the benefits of the covenant to be theirs. The problem is that by the end of the Old Testament, neither their leaders nor the means God had provided could change the hearts of God’s people. They needed a greater hope: one that was permanent, perfect, and unshakable.
Jesus, as the greater Melchizedek, guarantees unshakable hope to those who trust Him in faith. Being the perfect priest of righteousness, we can trust that His blood is sufficient to cover our sins and protect us from God’s wrath. We can trust that through His life, death, and resurrection, we have been reconciled with God, no longer to fear the judgment that our sin deserved, and he will return to fully establish his kingdom among us. The covenant He inaugurated is better than what Abram got to experience, where, through Christ, we can be permanently forgiven of our sin, welcomed into the presence of God, and receive the promises still to be fulfilled, all because we have a Righteous King of Peace who has gone before us, paving the way with His own blood so that we might follow His footsteps. And what He secured, He has secured forever.
