For it is declared:
Hebrews 7:17 NIV
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
In Genesis 14, we find the story of Abraham’s rescue of his nephew Lot, who had been captured in a war. As a part of this story, Genesis 14:18-20 records an intriguing detail. Abraham was met by Melchizedek, who was described as the king of Salem and the Priest of God Most High. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who in turn gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils recovered during the rescue. And that, apart from a brief mention in Psalm 110:4, the passage quoted here, is all that the Bible has to say about Melchizedek.
Until, that is, the author of Hebrews used him as an illustration. Hebrews says that Melchizedek was without father or mother, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, remaining a priest forever (Heb. 7:3). Was Melchizedek actually an eternal being? No, that is an attribute that belongs to God alone.
But in the story of Genesis, there is no record of Melchizedek’s ancestry. He just is. And he is pictured as greater than Abraham, blessing Abraham and receiving a tithe from him. The author of Hebrews used that, along with the quotation from Psalm 110:4, to illustrate the superiority of Jesus as our great high priest over those descended from Aaron. Jesus’ priesthood is, in a sense, like that of Melchizedek and greater than the priesthood mandated by the law.
Unlike those priests, Jesus did not need to offer a sacrifice for his own sins. Nor does he need to offer regular sacrifices for our sins. Instead, he offered himself as a one-time sacrifice for sins (Heb. 7:27). And now he sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven (Heb. 8:1), interceding on our behalf (Heb. 7:25). A priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
