A priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek

Jesus is our high priest and in Hebrews we know He is forever according to the order of Melchizedek. In fact this is referenced 9 times in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 5:6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”;

This raises the obvious questions, who was Melchizedek? and why was he significant?

We do not know much about Melchizedek other than his interaction with Abraham in Genesis 14 and one reference in Psalm 110.
1) Genesis 14:18-20 there are three short verses

Genesis 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

2) Psalm 110:4 about 1000 years later than the Genesis reference, which is quoted in Hebrews

Psalm 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

To get a better understanding we will look at the name Melchizedek in Hebrew and discover the root meanings of this wonderful name.  In particular Hebrews 7 gives a detailed understanding of Melchizedek as a type of Christ.

Melchizedek מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק (Malkiy-Tsedeq) which means “my King is Sedek” and is made up of two Hebrew words, Melek מֶלֶךְ (King) and tsedeq צֶדֶק (right, righteous cause, righteousness, and justice).

Melchizedek was also King of Salem שָׁלֵם (peace), i.e. he was both King of Justice and Righteousness and King of Peace. [Note: The town of Salem becomes Jerusalem later on].

Our western Christian understanding of the word ‘righteousness’ (tsedeq) doesn’t come near to understanding the wide, deep meanings of the idea in Hebrew, and sometimes confuses us when we read the Scripture. Our nominal understanding of this idea is correct performance of regulations and legal perfection. When we hear about the ‘righteousness of God’ people often cringe, thinking that out of righteousness, God is somehow angry with us when we fall short of the mark.

The phrase tzedkot Adonai (righteous acts of God) in Jewish versions of the Bible is translated as ‘kindnesses’, ‘abundant benevolences’, ‘gracious acts’, and ‘gracious deliverance’. This is because the word tsedeq means more than just legal correctness; it refers to His covenant faithfulness, often resulting in rescuing those in distress and showing mercy, especially to sinners.

This is why King David says to God, ‘Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me’ (Psalm 35:24). He is actually appealing to God’s grace, and mercy to those that are under His covenant, rather than His legal judgements.

This idea of tsedeq as mercy is even found in Jesus time. A common idiom in use by Jews from that time (and still used today) was to use the word tsedeq to refer to charity and giving of alms. Jesus uses it this way when he says not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ in front of others, and then he goes on to speak about giving to the poor (Matthew 6:1-4).

We see now that the word tsedeq goes beyond ‘legal perfection’. How is it that people are spoken of as righteous in the Old Testament, even though they are not in any way perfect.

How can we be called righteous too?
Let’s understand the righteous biblically as:
People who in humility and faithfulness, trust and believe in the Lord, despite our sin (missing the mark), persecution, and oppression; people who seek to live rightly, without pride of heart, depending on the Lord for all protection and vindication.
Righteousness here is not ethical/moral perfection, but that obedience and uprightness of the faithful who trust God for a favourable decision, not so much to be justified against an adversary, but, in an absolute sense to be accepted and saved by His grace.

This is the perfect picture of who Jesus is! He is our righteousness and our peace!

The little we know about Melchizedek shows he was a type of Christ in that he was:

1. Priest of the most high God
2. Royal priest possessing personal majesty and authority
3. King of righteousness and justice
4. King of peace
5. The one who blessed Abraham and prophesied over Abraham
6. He prophetically brought out bread and wine to Abraham; this is foretelling both Passover and the last supper (communion)
7. The one who received the gifts of God’s people represented by Abraham
8. Not owing his priesthood to natural genealogy
9. A priest beyond the bounds of the Levitical limitations (before the law of Moses was given)

Melchizedek was a Prophet, Priest, and King. A rare combination also found perfectly in Jesus. As we are now grafted in and are part of the seed of Abraham we also receive the same blessing imparted to Abraham by Melchizedek in that we have all blessings in Christ Jesus.

From the little we know of Melchizedek  there is still a wealth of blessing in knowing Jesus is our our righteousness and our peace according to the order of Melchizedek!

When we face difficulties and challenges our high priest and King Jesus is the one who intercedes and fights for us. He is beyond all earthly limits and has all power. He is the one who blesses us and who we give gifts of praise and worship to.