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The exposition of Christ's heavenly priesthood is now at length taken up and carried out. It extends to Heb_10:19, forming the central part of the whole Epistle; and in the course of it is set forth also how the whole Jewish economy did in fact only prefigure and prepare for this one availing priesthood of the true High Priest of mankind. The peculiar thesis of Heb_7:1-28. is "after the order of Melchizedek," the question being—What is signified by this designation of the Messiah in the hundred and tenth psalm? The remarkable import of that psalm, in that it assigns priesthood as well as royalty to the Son, was noted under Heb_5:6. His being Priest at all implies a different order of royalty from that of the theocratic kings. But what further is meant by his priesthood being after the order, not of Aaron, but of Melchizedek? Is it that Melchizedek, being King of Salem as well as priest of the most high God, is therefore selected as the most suitable type of the great Priest-King to come? Yes; but there is more in it than this, as the writer goes on to show. To get at the full import of the expression in the psalm, he analyzes what we are told about Melchizedek in Gen_14:1-24. (the only other passage from which anything is known of him), and considers what could be meant in the psalm by "a priest after his order," and that "for ever." Both the actual history and the ideal of the psalm are in his view together; and from the two combined he deduces the intended idea of "a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
Bearing this in mind, we shall have no need to understand anything implied as to Melchizedek himself beyond what we learn from Genesis. Some commentators, on the strength of what is here said of him, have supposed him to have been some superhuman being; and many theories have been propounded as to who and what he was. All such views have arisen from a misconception of our writer's drift; from regarding the representation of the ideal which Melchizedek typified as part of the account of what he actually was, the actual and the ideal being, in fact, somewhat blended in the exposition. That no more is implied about the man himself than what is recorded in Genesis may be concluded, not only from the purport (rightly understood) of the passage before us, but also from the analogy of the rest of the Epistle, throughout which the arguments are based on the contents of the Old Testament itself, as it was read and received by the Hebrew Christians. For example, neither David, nor Solomon, nor Isaiah are adduced as having been other than what the sacred record represents them to have been, though it is shown that what is said of them in the spirit of prophecy points to an ideal beyond them.
Heb_7:1-3
For this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (this description belongs to the subject of the sentence, being merely a recapitulation of the facts recorded in Genesis, the language of the LXX. being used; what follows belongs properly to the predicate, being of the nature of a comment on the facts recorded); first, being by interpretation King of righteousness (which is the meaning of the name Melchizedek), and then also King of Salem, which is, King of peace (the very names of himself and his kingdom are significant (cf. Psa_85:10; Psa_72:3; Isa_32:17; Rom_5:1); where righteousness and peace are the characteristics of the Messiah's kingdom; this significance, however, is not afterwards made a point of, being merely noticed by the way); without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. It is this language especially that has been supposed to involve something more than human about the historical Melchizedek. But we have only to enter into the mind of the writer to see that it is not so. For it is the ideal of the psalm, conceived as suggested by the historical type, that gives its color to the language used. And, indeed, how strangely suggestive is that fragment about the priestly king (Gen_14:18-21) so unexpectedly interposed in the life of Abraham! In the midst of a history in which such a point is made of the parentage and descent of the patriarchs of Israel, at a time of peculiar glory of the first and greatest of them, one suddenly appears on the scene, a priest and king, not of the peculiar race at all, his parentage and ancestry unrecorded and unknown, who blesses and receives tithes from Abraham, and then as suddenly disappears from view. We hear no more of him; as about his origin, so about his end, Scripture is silent. And so he "abides" before the mind's eye, apart from any before or after, the type of an unchanging priesthood. For the meaning of the word ἀγενεαλόγητος (in itself denoting the absence, not of ancestors, but of a traced genealogy), cf. Heb_7:6, Heb_7:6 ὁ δὴ μὴ γενεαλογούμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν . That of ἀπάτωρ , ἀμήτωρ , is illustrated by the Latin expression, "Nullis majoribus ortus." On "made like ( ὁμοιούμενος ) unto the Son of God," Chrysostom says, "We know of no beginning or end in either case; in the one, because none are recorded; in the other, because they do not exist." The idea seems to be that Melchizedek is thus assimilated to Christ in the sacred record, by what it leaves untold no less than by what it tells. It is not said that he is like him ( ὁμοίος ), but made like ( ὁμοιούμενος ); i.e. represented in such wise as to resemble him. It may be here remarked that, though the term "Son of God" is used in the Epistle generally to denote the Messiah as manifested in time, his essential eternal being is here, as elsewhere, distinctly intimated; also that "the Son of God" is regarded as the archetype of the comparison: "Non dicitur Filius DEI assimilatus Melchizedeko, sed contra; nam Filius DEI est antiquior et archetypus" (Bengel).
Heb_7:4
Now consider how great this man was, unto whom Abraham, the patriarch, even gave a tenth of the spoils. The typical significance of Melchizedek is now further seen in what passed between him and Abraham, in respect to tithe and blessing. Alford's inference, that πηλίκος οὕτος , referring as it does, not to the antitype, but to the man himself, implies some mysterious greatness beyond what appears in the original record, does not follow. Of one who simply blessed and received tithes from the great patriarch, the expression is not too strong. Observe the emphatic position, at the end of the Greek sentence, of ὁ παριάρχης , equivalent to "he, the patriarch." Abraham's being this, the father and representative of the chosen race, is what is shown in what follows to give peculiar significance to the transaction. The word ἀκροθίνια (properly, "the chief spoils"), which is not in the LXX., seems introduced to enhance the picture: "Quae Abrahami proprie fuerant, ut victoris" (Bengel).
Heb_7:5-7
And they indeed of the song of Levi who receive the office of priesthood have commandment to receive tithes of the people according to the Law, that is, of their brethren, though these have come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose genealogy is not counted from them hath received tithes of Abraham. As much as to say, "Let it not be said that the tithing of Abraham by Melchizedek implies no higher priestly prerogative than the tithing of Abraham's descendants by the sons of Aaron; for there is this difference: They, in virtue only of a special ordinance of the Law, not of original right, were allowed to tithe their brethren, £ though descended from the same great ancestor; he, though not of them or of the race at all, in virtue of his own inherent dignity, tithes the whole race as represented in its patriarch." (We observe how, in place of the aorist ἔδωκε , used when the mere historical incident was referred to, we have here the perfect δεδεκάτωκε (as also εὐλόγηκε in what follows, and δεδεκάτωται in Heb_7:9), denoting a completed act, of which the effects and significance remain; Melchizedek, who represents the priesthood after his order, being viewed in permanent relation to Abraham, who represents the chosen race) And hath blessed him that hath (i.e. the holder of) the promises. But, without all controversy, the less is blessed of the better. The superiority evidenced by bestowal of blessing no less than by receiving of tithe having been thus noticed, the contrast with the Levitical priesthood is continued in the following verses.
Heb_7:8
And here (in the case of the Levitical priesthood) men that die (literally, dying men) receive tithes; but there (in the case of Melchizedek) one of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. The difference hero noted is between a succession of mortal priests and one perpetually living, who never loses his personal claim, which is inherent, in himself. But how so of Melchizedek? For it is to him, and not to Christ the Antitype, that the words evidently apply. Is it at length implied that he was more than mortal man? No, if only for this reason; that the witness appealed to ( μαρτυρούμενος ) must be that of Scripture, which nowhere bears such witness of the historical Melchizedek. The words, μαρτυρούμενος ὅτε ζῇ , are, in fact, only a resumption of what was said in Heb_7:3 : "having neither beginning of days nor end of life;" and hear the same meaning; viz. (as above explained) that he passes before our view in Genesis with no mention of either death, birth, or ancestry, and thus presented the ideal of "a priest for ever" to the inspired psalmist. The witness referred to is that of the record in Genesis, viewed in the light of the idea of the psalm.
Heb_7:9, Heb_7:10
And, so to say, through Abraham even Levi, who receiveth tithes, hath paid tithes. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. Or, in other words, "Nay, further, Melchizedek may be said to have tithed Levi himself and his priestly tribe." For, inasmuch as the whole position of Levi and his tribe, in the old dispensation, came by inheritance from the great patriarch who received the promises, the subordination of the patriarch to one above himself involved that of all who so inherited, it is not simply the physical descent of Levi from Abraham, but the peculiar position of the latter as "the patriarch," that justifies the assertion that Levi paid tithes through him. And thus, while we remember how Abraham is elsewhere viewed in Scripture as the representative of the chosen people, and also how the lives of individual patriarchs (notably so in the case of Jacob and Esau) are so told and referred to as to prefigure the positions and fortunes of the races they represent, we may recognize in this assertion no mere rabbinical fancy, but an interpretation true to the spirit of the Old Testament. Be it further observed that the original significance of Abraham's action as bearing upon his descendants is enhanced by the fact that, while it was after the receiving of the promise, it was before the birth of Isaac. He, and consequently his descendant Levi, was yet ( ἔτι ) in the loins of Abraham; on which point, "Proles e parenlis poteslate egressa in suam venit tutelain: sod quoad in parentis potestate, imo in lumbis est, illius conditionem sequitur" (Bengel).
Heb_7:11, Heb_7:12
If then perfection ( τελείωσις : cf. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐτελείωσεν ὁ νόμος ) were through the Levitical priesthood for under it (rather, upon it, on the ground of it) the people hath received the Law, what need was there that another (rather, a different) priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron. For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the Law. Here a further thought is introduced. So far the superiority of the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek to the Aaronic has been shown. The new thought is that the very mention in the psalm of a different order of priesthood implies that the old order, and with it the whole legal dispensation which depended on it, was imperfect and to be superseded. This is the general drift of Heb_7:11, Heb_7:12, though the sequence of thought in their several clauses is not easy to follow. Ideas in the writer's mind, not expressed, seem necessary to be understood. In the parenthetical clause of Heb_7:11, ἐπ αὐτὴς and νενομοθέτηται are decidedly to be preferred, on the ground of authority, to ἐπ αὐτῇ and νενομοθέτητο of the Textus Receptus. 'The meaning of the clause (whatever be the precise thought connecting it with the sentence in which it stands) is that the whole Law rested on the institution of the priesthood; not the priests only, but the whole people ( ὁ λαὸς ), received their Law as grounded on it. On the same idea depends Heb_7:12, where it is said that a change of the priesthood involves of necessity a change of the Law.
The verses next following serve to remove all doubt that there is a complete change of the priesthood; the proofs being, not only the patent fact that the Messiah is of the tribe, not of Levi, but of Judah (Heb_7:13, Heb_7:14), but also, for mere abundant evidence of the Divine purpose, that significant utterance, again adduced, about his being after the order, not of Aaron, but of Melchizedek (Heb_7:15, Heb_7:16, Heb_7:17).
Heb_7:13, Heb_7:14
For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to ( μετέσχηκεν : literally, hath partaken of; cf. μετέσχε , Heb_2:14, with reference, as there, to Christ's assumption of humanity) another tribe, of which no man hath (ever) given attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood (or priests; ἱερέων being a better-supported reading than the Textus Receptus ἱερωσύνης ). This is spoken of as evident (i.e. plain to all, πρόδηλον ), not only because of the well-known prophecies that the Messiah was to spring from David, but still more (as is shown by the perfect ἀνατέταλκεν , pointing to an accomplished fact, and by the expression, ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ) because Jesus, recognized by all Christians as the Messiah, was known to have so sprung. For it is to Christian believers, with whatever Jewish prejudices, not to unbelieving Jews, that the Epistle is addressed. It is important to observe that the Davidic descent of our Lord is spoken of as an acknowledged fact, not merely as an inference from prophecy. "We have here a most significant proof that the descent of Jesus from the tribe of Judah was a well and universally known fact before the destruction of Jerusalem" (Ebrard). "Illo igitur tempore nulla difficultate laborabat genealogia Jesu Christi: et hoc ipsum difficultatibus postea exortis abunde medetur" (Bengel). The verb ἀνατέταλκεν may have been specially suggested by the prophetic figure of the Branch from the root of Jesse (see Isa_11:1; and Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12, where the LXX. has ἀνατολὴ for 'Branch:' Ἀνατολὴ ὄνομα αὐτῶ καὶ ὑποκάσωθεν αὐτοῦ ἀνατελεῖ ); though the figure of the sunrise is more frequently meant by the word when applied to Christ's appearance (el. Num_24:17; Isa_9:1; Ma Isa_4:2; Luk_1:78).
Heb_7:15-17
And it is yet more abundantly evident (i.e. the proposition of Heb_7:12), if after the likeness of Melchizedek there ariseth another Priest, who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless (indissoluble) life. For it is testified (of him), Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This is a resumption of what has been already seen, put so as to be effective for the present stage of the argument. The old priesthood, and consequently the Law, is changed and superseded, not only because the Priest of the new order of things is of the tribe of Judah, but still more evidently because his priesthood is witnessed to as being one of a different kind, and of a kind so much higher and diviner. It is evident that the Antitype of Melchizedek, the subject of the hundred and tenth psalm, rather than Melchizedek himself, suggests here the language used. (Observe the contrasts between νομόν and δύνμιν σαρκικῆς and ἀκαταλύτου , ἐντολῆς and ζωῆς . The idea of Heb_9:8-15 is in Chose few pregnant words briefly anticipated, after the manner of the Epistle)
Heb_7:18, Heb_7:19
For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof (for the Law made nothing perfect); but [there is on the other hand] a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God. Such is certainly the construction of the sentence (not as in the A.V); οὐδεν γὰρ , etc., in Heb_7:19 being parenthetical, and ἐπεισαγωγὴ depending on γίνεται in Heb_7:18. We have here the conclusion of the argument of the Heb_7:11-18, with a further expression of the inherent insufficiency of the Law, given as the reason of its supersession; reminding us of similar views of what the Law was worth frequent in St. Paul's Epistles (of. Rom_8:3; Gal_3:10, etc). The final clause, δἱ ἧς ἐγγίζομεν τῷ Θεῷ , leads directly up to the main subject in the writer's view, viz. the exposition of Christ's eternal priesthood. But two proofs are first to be given of Christ's priesthood being, unlike the Aaronic, thus eternally availing to bring us near to God. These proofs are to be found in the Divine oath which established it, and the expression, "forever," in Psa_90:1-17., once more adduced.
Heb_7:20-22
And inasmuch as not without an oath [properly, swearing of an oath, ὁρκωμοσίας ] he was made priest: (for they indeed have been made priests without an oath; but he with an oath by him that saith unto him, Thou art a Priest for ever); by so much of a better covenant hath Jesus become surety. The significance of the Divine oath, in connection with the promise to Abraham, has been dwelt on above: the oath of Psa_110:1-7. is here similarly referred to, as imitating a priesthood that rests on no mere temporary ordinance, but on the immutable Divine counsels. (Observe the first occurrence here of the word διαθήκη , introducing in the way of hint (as is usual in the Epistle) an idea to be afterwards expanded, as it is in Heb_8:1-13; Heb_9:1-28. The meaning of the word will be considered below)
Heb_7:23, Heb_7:24
And they indeed have been made priests many in number, because of being by death hindered from continuing. But he, because of his abiding forever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. This second point of contrast has already been twice touched on—Heb_7:8, with respect to the claim to tithe; and Heb_7:16, with respect to the order of priesthood: here it is with especial reference to the eternal personality, and hence the perpetual and complete efficiency, of our one Priest. The repetitions are not tautological, having each time different bearings. The contrast here, as before, is between mortal men who succeed each other in the office of priesthood, and One who has the office inherent in himself forever. The word ἀπαράβατον (translated "unchangeable") is taken by some in an intransitive sense, as in margin of the A.V., that doth not pass to another, equivalent to ἀδιάδοχον . This, however, is not the proper force of this late Greek word, nor does the sense of the passage of necessity require it.
Heb_7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. We again observe how, at the end of successive stages of the argument, thoughts to be enlarged on afterwards are brought in. Here it is the perpetual intercession of Christ before the heavenly mercy-seat. In the view of his office thus arrived at there is, in fact, a transition to the main subject set forth in the three chapters that follow; viz. the fulfillment in Christ of the ceremonial of the Law, and especially of the high priest's intercession on the Day of Atonement. And thus from Melchizedek the train of thought passes to the high priest. The type of the former has been sufficiently shown to be fulfilled in the higher order of Christ's priesthood; it is now to be shown how, being of such higher order, it is the antitype of the Aaronic priesthood too, accomplishing what it signified. Hence in Heb_7:26 the word "high priest" ( ἀρχιερεὺς ) is for the first time introduced, as the key-note of what is coming.
Summary of the foregoing argument.
I. (Heb_7:1-11) What does the Melchizedek priesthood of Psa_110:1-7. signify?
1. (Heb_7:1-4) One not depending on human ancestry, and one forever abiding.
2. (Heb_7:4-11) One of a higher order than that of Aaron; for:
(1) Melchizedek, being of a race apart, received tithe from Abraham the patriarch.
(2) This denotes a higher position than that of the Aaronic priests, who tithed their brethren of the same race with themselves, in virtue only of a special ordinance.
(3) The blessing of Abraham by Melchizedek is similarly significant.
(4) The idea of an ever-living priest with a right to tithe transcends that of the temporary claims of a succession of dying men.
(5) Levi himself virtually paid tithe to Melchizedek.
II. (Heb_7:11-18) The Aaronic priesthood, and with it the whole dispensation based upon it, is thus shown to have been imperfect and transitory; for:
1. Otherwise a priesthood of another order would not have been spoken of in Psa_110:1-7.
2. Which priesthood is evidently distinct from the Aaronic, our Lord being of the tribe, not of Levi, but of Judah.
3. What has been seen (Psa_110:5 and 8) as to the Melchizedek priesthood being not "after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life," makes this "more abundantly evident."
Conclusion (Heb_7:18-20). The Aaronic priesthood (being in itself unprofitable) is therefore now superseded by an availing one, "through which we draw nigh unto God."
III. (Heb_7:20-26) Christ's priesthood is thus availing; for:
1. The Divine oath (Psa_110:1-7) established it, marking it as resting on the eternal Divine counsels.
2. It is (as shown by the same psalm) "unchangeable." The one Priest abides forever.
Conclusion (Heb_7:25). We have, therefore, in him at last, a perfectly availing and eternal interceding High Priest.
Heb_7:26
For such a High Priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Such a High Priest, it is said, for us was fitting. The same word ἔπρεπε was used in Heb_2:10, where the humiliation of Christ was spoken of. It was there said that to make the Captain of our salvation perfect through suffering "became" God—was befitting to what we conceive of the Divine nature. It is now said that our High Priest's being such as is here described "became" us—was befitting to our state and needs. That he should be both human and superhuman was in all respects fitting—the one that he might be our sympathizing brother; the other that his intercession might avail. The further description of him in this verse is suggested by the qualifications of the Aaronic high priest, what they typified being realized in Christ. The high priest was by his consecration a holy person, ἅγιος (Le 21:6, 8, etc); he bore on his miter "Holiness to the Lord" (Exo_39:30); he must be without personal blemish (Le 21:17, etc); he must keep himself continually from all ceremonial pollution (Lev_21:1-24. and 22); he must purify himself by a sacrifice for himself and by special ablutions before entering the holy of holies (Lev_16:1-34); when there, he was conceived as in God's presence, apart from the world of sinners outside. Christ was not only ἅγιος , but ὅσιος , personally and inwardly holy (Christians in the New Testament are all called ἅγιος , but not all ὁσίοι : for the use of which word, el. Tit_1:8; Act_2:27; Act_13:34, where it is applied to Christ, τὸν ὅσιον σου : and Rev 15:4-16:5, where it is applied to God as his special attribute, ὅτι μόνος ὅσιος ); Christ was actually free from evil ( ἄκακος ) and undefiled ( ἀμίαντος ). by any contact of sin; and as such he has passed to God's actual presence (cf. διελελύθοτα τοὺς οὐρανοὺς , Heb_4:14), separated forever from the world of sinners.
Heb_7:27
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. The expression "daily" ( καθ ἡμέραν ) is not in strictness applicable to the high priest, who did not offer the daily sacrifice. The reference throughout what follows being to the high priest's peculiar functions on the Day of Atonement, κατ ἐνιαυτόν might have been expected. There are two tenable solutions:
(1) that the daily offerings of the priests are regarded as made by the high priest, who represented the whole priesthood, on the principle, qui facit per altos tacit per se;
(2) that καθ ἡμέραν (as is suggested by its position in the sentence) belongs not to οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς , but only to Christ: "who has no need daily, as the high priests have yearly:" for his intercession being perpetual, an offering on his part would be needed daily, if needed at all. This view is supported by the fact that the daily sacrifices are not spoken of in the Law as including a special one in the first place for the priest's own sin. "This he did." Did what? Offer for his own sins as well as for the people's? No; for, though it has been seen above (Heb_5:7) how the high priest's offering for himself might have its counterpart in the agony, the Sinless One cannot be said to have offered for sins of his own. And, besides, he having offered himself ( ἑαυτὸν ἀνενέγκας ), the offering could not be for himself. We must, therefore, take "this he did" as referring only to the latter part of the preceding clause, while ἐαυτὸν , προσενέγκας answers to the former part; or as implying generally, "did all that was needed for atonement."
Heb_7:28
For the Law maketh men high priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was after the Law, maketh the Son, perfected for evermore. With men (i.e. a succession of men; cf. Heb_7:8) having infirmity is contrasted the one Son, for ever perfected. The absence of the article before υἱὸς does not imply the meaning "a son;" the title denotes here, as throughout the Epistle, the peculiar Son of prophecy (see under Heb_1:1). There is here no denial of his complete humanity, though he is plainly regarded as more than man. Nor is his participation In human ἀσθένεια , in the sense explained under Heb_5:1-14., denied. His implied freedom from it may mean either that he never had any inherent in himself, none due to personal imperfection, or that now, in his exalted state, he is altogether removed from it. In both these senses the implication is true; and both may be understood; but τετελειωμένον being here opposed to ἔχοντας ἀσθενείαν (as υἵον to ἀνθρώπους ), the latter sense may be conceived to have been especially in the writer's mind. It is, in fact, our ever-living High Priest, interceding for us above, after passing through human experience, and after atonement completed, that is now being presented to our view. It is to be observed, lastly, that τετελειωμένον in this verse may be intended to bear, or at any rate to suggest, the special sense noted under Heb_5:9, and strenuously maintained by Jackson, and hence to be not incorrectly rendered by "consecrated" in the A.V; and this notwithstanding Alford's protest against this rendering as "obliterating both sense anti analogy with Heb_2:10 and Heb_5:1."
I. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MELCHIZEDEK. (Heb_7:1-3)
1. As a man.
(1) From Scripture statements. (Heb_7:1, Heb_7:2) All that the sacred historian records of him is contained in three verses (Gen_14:18-20). Yet we read in these, as in the passage before us, of Melchizedek's illustrious personality, his twofold office, his double designation, his sudden appearance, his priestly blessing, and of Abraham's acknowledgment of his dignity.
(2) From Scripture silence. (Heb_7:3) It is evident that the writer believed the Old Testament to be inspired, not merely in its general drift, but also in its minutest details. He is persuaded that even the omissions from the narrative had been arranged by the Holy Spirit. From this passage, therefore, we learn our duty, not only to survey the Bible in its broad landscapes of truth, and to study its general structure as the literary record of a supernatural revelation, but, alongside of that, to subject individual passages, as we have opportunity, to microscopic analysis. The omissions about Melchizedek are so important that Heb_7:3 reads almost like a riddle.
Such omissions respecting a personage so exalted are contrary to Oriental custom. The points which the Holy Spirit has studiously concealed about Melchizedek are—his personal parentage, his priestly pedigree, and the dates of his birth and death.
2. As a type. (Heb_7:3) The brief notice of Melchizedek in the Book of Genesis has been framed so as to exhibit in him as striking as possible a prefiguration of Christ. Melchizedek was "made like unto the Son of God," at once in the events of his personal career, and in the shape given to the Bible narrative respecting him. The Lord Jesus Christ is both "King of righteousness" and "King of peace;" he dispenses spiritual peace upon a basis of righteousness. He is a royal Priest, wearing both the miter and the diadem. He had no predecessor in his office, and he shall have no successor. His priesthood is of older date, and of superior dignity to that of Levi. In all these respects Melchizedek was a type of Christ.
II. THE SUPERIORITY OF MELCHIZEDEK'S PRIESTHOOD TO THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. (Verses 4-10) "Consider" this, says the apostle. Although the theme is recondite, and "hard of interpretation" (Heb_5:11), it deserves careful study, since it concerns the dignity and glory of the Son of God (Psa_110:4).
1. Melchizedek is superior to Abraham, the ancestor of the Levites. (Verses 4-7) No Old Testament name is more illustrious than that of "Abraham, the patriarch;" no heraldic escutcheon could boast marks of greater honor than that which bears the arms of "the father of the faithful"—"the friend of God." Yet we see this venerated founder of the Hebrew nation humbly acknowledging the superiority of Melchizedek.
(1) Abraham paid tithes to him (verses 4-6). Under the Levitical law tithes were due from the people to the priests, priests and people being brethren by race; but here we have a Gentile pontiff receiving tithes from Abraham, the patriarch offering them spontaneously.
(2) Melchizedek pronounced a blessing upon Abraham (verses 6, 7). This also implied Abraham's spiritual inferiority. The head of the chosen nation, to whom God had given "the promises," stood humbly before this Hamite priest to receive his blessing.
2. The Levitical priests were dying men; Melchizedek appears only as a living priest. (Verse 8) Aaron's sons obtained the sacerdotal dignity by descent; they died and succeeded one another. But Melchizedek's priesthood was inherent and underived. He is exhibited on the inspired page only as a living priest, in order that his office may the more. suitably prefigure the intransferable priesthood of Christ.
3. The Levitical priests virtually paid tithes to Melchizedek. (Verses 9, 10) All the sacred honor with which Aaron and his sons were invested was derived from Abraham, as the head of the nation; and so, when Abraham confessed the religious superiority of Melchizedek, the long line of Aaronical priests may in a sense be said to have done so also.
Learn in conclusion:
1. The unparalleled majesty and glory of the Lord Jesus. Abraham was greater than Aaron; Melchizedek was greater than Abraham; but Christ is infinitely greater than Melchizedek.
2. Christ's priestly benediction is more efficacious than that of Melchizedek. He has been sent "to bless us, in turning away every one of us from our iniquities" (Act_3:26).
3. If Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils, should not we dedicate to the Lord Jesus Christ, not our tithes only, but our all?
Heb_7:11-28
I. THE IMPERFECTION OF THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. (Verses 11-19) Aaron's mediation could not satisfy justice, or pacify conscience, or sanctify the heart. All that it could do was to exhibit a faint adumbration of the ideal priesthood. The words of Psa_110:4 suggest this insufficiency, for they contain the promise of the Messianic priesthood.
1. Jesus was of other descent. (Verses 11-14) He belonged to the tribe of Judah; and not, like Aaron's sons, to the ecclesiastical tribe of Levi. The fact of this change in itself proves the inefficacy of the hereditary Hebrew priesthood.
2. His priesthood is of everlasting duration. (Verses 15-17) The Jewish priests one by one succumbed to death; but Jesus Christ is himself "the Life," Life resides essentially and originally in him. So his priesthood is abiding; his official dignity remains "forever." From this it follows (verses 18, 19) that the Levitical priesthood, and the entire ceremonial law which enshrined it, have been abrogated; and in their stead has come the introduction of "a better hope"—the hope of an efficient priesthood, of a dispensation both spiritual and permanent, and thus of immediate and perfect access to God.
II. THE SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST'S PRIESTHOOD TO THE LEVITICAL. (Verses 20-28) Jesus is the true Priest of mankind, for whom the nations have been waiting. He is the Apostle of God to men, and the prevailing Intercessor with God for men. This passage reminds us how infinitely exalted his priesthood is above that of Aaron.
1. He was consecrated with an oath. (Verses 20-22) No Levitical priest was installed thus solemnly. The Divine oath shows the certainty and importance and immutability of the thing sworn. It reminds us that the priesthood of our Lord enters into the very substance of the everlasting covenant.
2. His priesthood is intransferable. (Verses 23-25) The Levitical priesthood had this defect, that it required to be conveyed from one man to another. But, although Christ died, his death did not "hinder him from continuing;" it did not even temporarily interrupt the exercise of his priesthood. For he died voluntarily. He laid himself as Victim upon the altar. And, by dying, he conquered death, through the power of his indissoluble life. So, his mediatorial authority is intransferable.
3. His character is holy. (Verse 26) The Levitical priests had "infirmity," and needed to offer sacrifices first for their own sins. Even the most pious men among them had been, of course, morally imperfect; and some of the high priests—such as Caiaphas—who were not godly men, had been notorious for their wickedness. But "the High Priest of our confession" has a pure nature. He lived on earth a stainless life. He was "separated from sinners;" i.e. he showed on every side of his character that he belonged to another category than that of sinners. And his spotless holiness was in the fullest harmony with our spiritual need; it was, indeed, indispensably necessary, and in every way most "becoming" and beautiful, in relation to us.
4. His sacrifice is perfect. (Verses 27, 28) The Jewish priests had to offer up sacrifices "daily"—"the same sacrifices year by year"—with laborious and wearisome iteration. But the one sacrifice of Christ is in itself all-sufficient to expiate guilt, cleanse the conscience, and purify the soul. His blood has virtue to atone, for it is the blood of God.
5. He ministers in the real sanctuary. (Verses 26, 28) Aaron's ministry was carried on in a moving tent of curtain-work and wood-work—a tent, too, which seems to have had no pavement but the naked ground. His successors, likewise, served in what was at best a perishable "sanctuary of this world." But Jesus now ministers in "heaven itself," the most holy place of the new covenant. (The apostle emphasizes this point in Heb_8:1-6)
In conclusion, let us reflect upon this central thought of the passage—the immortal heavenly life of our High Priest. He is a Divine person; and his Divine nature is the basis of his "endless life." Hence the perfection of his power to save.
Heb_7:25
I. HE HAS THE ABILITY OF MERIT. The Savior's merit arises from what he is, from what he became, and from what he has done. His intercession is just a continual development of the exhaustless efficacy of his life-work. Our Priest is the eternal Son of God clothed in human nature. His work on earth was both active and passive: he obeyed and he suffered. He perfectly fulfilled the Law, and he fully endured the penalty due to our disobedience. Upon the union of this doing and dying the great structure of our Intercessor's ability of merit is sustained. The infinitude of his Divine nature invests his offering with boundless value. By his "obedience unto death" he sheathed the sword of justice in the heart of mercy. And, when he had done this, he went boldly up to heaven, sprinkled the golden altar there with his blood, and took his place in the midst of the throne. The fact of his intercession as our risen and glorified Savior shows that the satisfaction which he has made for sin is perfect.
II. HE HAS THE ABILITY OF RIGHT. A true priest must receive his appointment from God. So, our Lord's session at the right hand of the Father is in itself an evidence of the validity of his intercession. We know, however, that God appointed him to his office with a solemn oath (Psa_110:4). He said to him, on the day when he constituted him Priest-King, "Ask of me" (Psa_2:8), thus expressly authorizing his intercession. We cannot fathom the mystery of the atonement; but it is enough to know that Christ's sacred blood was shed for our salvation by Divine appointment; and we are persuaded that, had it not possessed merit enough for its purpose, it would never have been shed at all. Jesus sits upon his priestly throne, and does his priestly work, by Divine right.
III. HE HAS THE ABILITY OF INFLUENCE. He possesses not only merit and right, but also power. He is "a Priest upon his throne." And it was more than a mere external statute that set him there. Christ is our Intercessor in virtue of "the power of an endless life." These words are emphatic, "He ever liveth." He conducts our cause in heaven, as our Advocate, in the strength of the imperishable life which he has possessed from eternity. Enthroned in glory, he has yet power upon earth, for he has sent down to us his Holy Spirit. This gift is the direct fruit of his sacrifice and intercession. While the Savior intercedes without us, his Spirit intercedes within us. The work of the "other Paraclete" is complementary of that of the first. The Holy Ghost within our minds and hearts bestows all the communications of grace, and conducts all the preparations for glory; but he does so as the agent of the Lord Jesus, and his work is dependent upon our High Priest's constant pleadings at the bar of God.
IV. HE HAS THE ABILITY OF SYMPATHY. Even as God, the Savior can sympathize with us; for our nature was formed in the likeness of our Maker, so that man belongs to the same order of being as God himself. But our necessities demanded more than the sympathy of God. How sweet, then, to remember that our High Priest is also a man! He is a woman's Son, and therefore in a true sense one of ourselves. His earthly life was full of experiences substantially the same as ours; so that he knows our difficulties and sorrows and temptations. He is careful to adapt his perpetual intercessions to the currents of individual experience. Believers can approach him with confidence in the spirit of the exquisite lines—
"Thou our throbbing flesh hast worn,
Thou our mortal griefs hast borne,
Thou hast shed the human tear:
Gracious Son of Mary, hear!"
(Milman)
Amidst his unparalleled exaltation, the Man Christ Jesus does not forget the humblest of his people. Our High Priest has every name that is dear to him engraven upon his breastplate—written upon the imperishable tablet of his loving heart.
CONCLUSION.
1. Let us retain Jesus as our Advocate.
2. Let us tell him our whole ease, and commit it unreservedly into his hands.
3. Let us be sure of his ability successfully to plead the cause of his clients.
Heb_7:20
I. THE HOLINESS OF CHRIST. He was born without; entail of birth-sin. His boyhood and youth were stainless. His manhood was one of sinless perfection. His friends regarded him as faultless. His enemies testified to his purity (Pilate, Judas, the devils whom he east out). Jesus himself claimed to be holy (Joh_8:46; Joh_14:30); and he never confessed sin, or begged forgiveness. The voice of his Father from heaven attested him, once and again, to be the Holy One of God. (Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5). Notice:
1. The elements of his holiness. Three adjectives are used, referring to three different departments of moral character.
(1) "Holy," i.e. pious in relation to God. Jesus lived the life of ideal godliness. He perfectly obeyed "the great and first commandment"—the four "words" of the first table of the Law.
(2) "Guileless," i.e. just and kind towards his fellow-men. Jesus perfectly observed the six precepts cf. the second table. He injured no one. He "went about doing good."
(3) "Undefiled," i.e. personally pure; uncontaminated by his constant contact with sinful men; holy in the midst of sin, temptation, and suffering.
2. The singularity of his holiness. "Separated from sinners." This phrase sustains a relation of contrast to the three adjectives. It indicates the unique character and the matchless harmony of the Savior's moral life. It expresses his solitariness in his holiness. If the human race be divided into two classes—the sinners and the holy—all the rest of mankind must take rank as sinners, while Jesus stands by himself as the one human being who was holy.
3. The reward of his holiness. "Made higher than the heavens." His supreme exaltation has set him more visibly apart from other men than before. It was conferred upon him as the reward of his pure, unworldly, self-sacrificing life. His mediatorial throne has been erected in the new heavens of the new covenant, and these are higher than any heavens formerly known to mankind.
II. THE NECESSITY OF CHRIST'S HOLINESS IN RELATION TO OUR SALVATION. "Such a High Priest became us." In Heb_2:10 we read of what in this connection "became" God; here, of what "became" man. The purity of the Redeemer was admirably adapted to the necessities of our condition.
1. That he might be a true manifestation of God. A priest is a mediator or middle-man between God and men; and it is indispensable that he should be in perfect sympathy with the purity of the Eternal. Holiness is the crown and flower of the Divine perfections; and it was needful that our priest should reflect that holiness in his own character.
2. That his sacrifice might be an adequate atonement for sin. He must be on the very best of terms with the God whom we have offended. His expiation must be satisfactory to Divine justice. It is impossible that Jesus could have atoned for us had he been himself morally infirm, like the Jewish high priest, tie could only purchase our reconciliation by offering himself as a Victim, without spot or blemish, upon the altar.
3. That he might leave us a perfect example. The Christian life consists in the imitation of Christ. Believers follow him in the three great departments of moral excellence in which he was so absolutely pure. We ought to copy him also in his separatedness from the world. Indeed, his people should already be in spirit, through their oneness of character with their risen Lord, "made higher than the heavens?
I. IN HIS REGAL CHARACTER AND FUNCTIONS. "Melchizedek, King of Salem … by interpretation King of righteousness, and King of peace." In the reign of the Christ:
1. Righteousness is the firm basis of peace. It is true in government as in other things that "the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle." Stable peace is impossible apart from righteousness. Deep craft, subtle diplomacy, strong naval and military forces, are miserable guarantees for a nation's peace. The peace and the perpetuity of the reign of Messiah are founded upon its truth and righteousness. The witness of Scripture to this is most clear and conclusive (see Psa_72:1-7; Isa_2:4; Isa_11:1-9; Isa_32:17).
2. Righteousness is joined with peace. Both these qualities characterize his administration. Righteousness is firm, inflexible, almost stern; peace is mild, merciful, gentle. In the kingdom of our Lord "mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other."
II. IN HIS SACERDOTAL CHARACTER AND FUNCTIONS. Here are several points of analogy.
1. In the authority of his priesthood. "Melchizedek, priest of God Most High … without father, without mother," etc. He was not a priest because he was descended from priests, like the sons of Aaron. He received his priesthood direct from God. It was based upon character, not upon pedigree. It was "an independent priesthood, having its root in his own person." Even so was the priesthood of our Lord and Savior (cf. Heb_7:13-17; Heb_5:4-6).
2. In the blessings which he bestowed. Melchizedek bestowed upon Abraham a double blessing, and in each portion of it he prefigures the Christ.
(1) He ministered to his physical needs. "Melchizedek met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings," and "brought forth bread and wine" unto him; bread representing the necessary food of the physical life, and wine representing the delights of life—"wine that maketh glad the heart of man." And our Lord cared for the physical needs of men. He had compassion on the hungry thousands, and fed them; he pitied the afflicted, and healed them; he sympathized with their social pleasures, and contributed to them by turning water into wine.
(2) Melchizedek blessed Abraham spiritually (Gen_14:19, Gen_14:20). Our Lord confers the richest spiritual favors upon those who believe in him. The redemption of Jesus Christ is for the whole of man's nature. It is noteworthy that Melchizedek blessed the greatest and best man of his age of whom we have any record. He "blessed him that hath the promises," etc. (Heb_7:6, Heb_7:7). Our Lord blesses the highest and holiest as well as the lowest and most sinful of men. None are so great or so good as to have outgrown the need of his blessing.
3. In the homage which he received. "To whom Abraham divided a tenth part of all … unto whom Abraham gave a tenth out of the chief spoils." He did this either as an act of homage to him as a king, and as placing himself under his authority and protection, or as an acknowledgment of his character and position as "priest of God Most High." To our Priest and King the mightiest and the weakest, the greatest and the smallest, high and low, rich and poor, shall pay heartiest and humblest homage (see Psa_72:10, Psa_72:11, Psa_72:15, Psa_72:17). "At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow," etc. (Php_2:10, Php_2:11).
4. In the duration of his priesthood. "Abideth a Priest continually." This is not to be taken literally as to Melchizedek. Of him it is true in this way, there is no record of the termination of his priesthood by death or otherwise. As he did not receive it from his ancestors, it was not transmitted to his descendants: he yielded "up his priesthood to no one." But in a higher sense his great Antitype "abideth a Priest continually." He is "a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." "He ever liveth to make intercession for them that draw near unto God through him."—W.J.
Heb_7:16