Melchizedek, a figure of Christ
1 Scripture says that Melchi zedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, came out to meet Abraham who returned from defeating the kings. He blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.
2 Let us note that the name Mel chizedek means King of Justice, and that king of Salem means king of Peace.
3 There is no mention of father, mother or genealogy; nothing is said about the beginning or the end of his life. In this he is the figure of the Son of God, the priest who remains forever.
4 See then how great Melchizedek was. Even Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils!
5 When the descendants of Levi are consecrated priests, they are commanded to collect tithes from their people, that is from their kindred, who are too, are descendants of Abra ham.
6 Here, however, Melchi ze dek, who does not belong to the family of the Levites, is given tithes from Abra ham. Still more, he blesses him, the man of God’s promise.
7 There is no doubt that he who blesses is higher than the one who is blessed.
8 In the first case we see that tithes are received by those who are mortals; here instead, Melchizedek is mentioned as one who lives on.
9 When Abraham pays the tenth, it is, so to speak, the Levites, receivers of the tithes, who pay the tithe,
10 because, in a way, Levi was still in the body of Abraham, his ancestor, when Melchizedek met him.
11 The institutions of the chosen peo ple are founded upon the Lev itical priest hood, but with it they could not attain what is perfect and permanent. If that were possible, why would there be need of another priest after the order of Melchizedek instead of Aaron’s?
12 If there is a change in the priesthood, the Law also has to be changed.
13 Jesus, to whom all this has re ference, was from a tribe that never served at the altar.
14 All know that he belonged to the tribe of Judah that is not mentioned by Moses when he speaks of the priesthood.
15 All this, however, becomes clear if this priest after the likeness of Melchi ze dek
16 has in fact received his mission, not on the basis of any human law, but by the power of an immortal life.
17 Because Scripture says: You are a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
18 With this the former disposition is re moved as insufficient and useless
19 (for the Law did not bring anything to perfection). At the same time a better hope is given to us: that of drawing near to God.
20 This change is confirmed by God’s oath. When the others became priests, God did not compromise himself with an oath,
21 but Jesus is confirmed with an oath, as it is said: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: you are a priest forever.
22 Therefore, Jesus is our assurance of a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many since, as mortal men, they could not remain in office.
24 But Jesus re mains forever and the priesthood shall not be taken from him.
25 Consequently he is able to save for all time those who approach God through him. He always lives to intercede on their behalf.
26 It was fitting that our High Priest be holy, undefiled, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
27 a priest who does not first need to offer sacrifice for himself before offering for the sins of the people, as high priests do. He of fered himself in sacrifice once and for all.
28 And whereas the Law elected weak men as high priests, now, after the Law, the word of God with an oath appointed the Son, made perfect forever.
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Comments , Chapter 7
• 7.1 The author has already quoted thrice the verse of Psalm 110which mentions Melchi ze dek and now he sets out to show that, what is said of this legendary person prophesies a radical reform of the priesthood. Let us not forget that this letter is addressed to Jewish priests, descendants of Aaron: they were priests from father to son and thought this privilege would last forever (the Bible itself says so in Num 18:19). Here they are told that God himself has announced their replacement.
We can admire the way this Melchizedek event, which occupies such a minor place in the Bible, is probed in depth to prove with irrefutable logic that Christ had to renew and bring to fulfillment the whole worship of Israel. We said in the introduction that Apollos, a pro phet of the early Church, may have written this letter. His gifts as a prophet are obvious here.
The only Bible the Church had in the beginning was the Old Testament. Yet this book did not seem to mention Jesus and many Jews even thought, in good faith, that Christ was destroying the teaching of the Bible. The task of these Christian prophets was to demonstrate how the Bible led to Christ, and to refute the Jews’ arguments they provided the Church with a Christian understanding of the Old Testament. When Christians read the Old Testament now, they are no longer able to look on it as do the Jews who see in it their own history in the land of Palestine. They await a fulfillment of God’s promise that Jesus brushed aside. For us, the key to the truth of the Old Testament is in the person of Jesus: without him the book no longer holds God’s message.
Melchizedek is clearly in the Bible, but how did he come? In fact, the texts that mention him are later ones: they were doubtless written two centuries before Jesus to serve the cause of the Maccabees. Many among the Jews did not pardon these sovereigns for usurping the place of the high priest when they belonged to an ordinary priestly family. The story of Melchizedek was intended to justify the sovereign who, like him, was both king and priest at the same time. The texts were then written to justify a dictatorship; but in fact they ended up in the Bible and were accepted as the word of God; and later it was found that they told of something that had not been thought of at the time: one of the ironies of the Word of God!