See How Great This Man Was

Hebrews 7:1–10 – Jesus Is Better
Fifth Sunday in Epiphany – February 1st, 2026 (am)     

Melchizedek is a fascinating figure, shrouded in mystery since he was first introduced in Genesis 14, as we mentioned a few weeks ago, then wrapped in an enigma when he was mentioned by David in Psalm 110. Israel understood that both kings and high priests were appointed by God (1Sa.2:7-8; Psa.75:7; Dan.2:21; Num.3:11; cf. 5:4). But kings were supposed to come from the line of Judah (Gen.49:10; cf. 7:14) and priests were descendants of Levi (Num.3:10-12; cf. 5). So, what were they to make of this mysterious Melchizedek who was both (Gen.14), and long before Judah or Levi were even born? And especially, what were they to do with this descendant of David (whom David nevertheless called my Lord [Psa.110:1])—a king who’s going to be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek? (Psa.110:4)

They had interesting ideas about Melchizedek, ranging from his being a priest in the line of Adam’s son Seth (2En.71-72) or perhaps even Noah’s son Shem, to his maybe being some kind of ideal priest-king or [end-times] or even heavenly figure, to his being of lesser importance, if Genesis 14 is understood as his giving the priesthood to Abraham (Guthrie 2007 960). Those are some of the options. But the good news is that the writer of Hebrews is going to tell us just who Melchizedek is, why he’s important, and what we should learn from him—just why his story is even included in Scripture. Let’s ask today’s text these three questions.

Who Is Melchizedek? 1-3

Having reintroduced this mysterious man by again quoting Psalm 110:4 in his closing statement of our c.6, the author gets immediately into addressing this first question. And he begins just by reviewing the pertinent details of Genesis 14. 1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God (Gen.14:18), met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, a coalition that attacked the city-states of what was known as the circuit of Jordan—Sodom and her neighbors—and carried off a large number of captives, including Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Bruce 157). Gen.14:14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he… defeated them…. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot…. But then 1 … this Melchizedek… met Abraham… and blessed him, Gen.14:19 … and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” Then, 2 … [Abraham gave to him] a tenth part of everything. … So, Abram received a blessing from Melchizedek then Gen.14:19 … gave him a [tithe] of [all the spoils of his victory]. And incidentally, he then returned all the rest of it to the king of Sodom, [saying], Gen.14:22 … “I have lifted up my hand to (I’ve taken an oath before) the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.” That’s who Abraham was.

2 … [Melchizedek] is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, connecting zidek with the Hebrew word commonly translated “righteousness” (Bruce 158) and then he is also king of Salem, likely Jerusalem (Guthrie 1983 158), [which means], king of peace, connecting Salem with shalom (Bruce 158-9). [So], as king of righteousness and king of peace, Melchizedek is presented as the type of the messianic priest-king, the marks of whose kingdom are righteousness and peace. In Christ we see the appearance of the expected everlasting king promised to David’s line (2Sa.7:16) under whom righteousness flourishes and peace abounds (Psa.72:7; cf. Psa.97:2; 98:3, 9); he is “the Prince of Peace,” of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end (Isa.9:6f.); he is the long-awaited king who will speak peace to the nations (Zec.9:9f.), and “the righteous Branch,” whose name is “The Lord our Righteousness” and who administers justice in his glorious reign (Jer.23:5f.; 33:15f.). As king he is just, and as priest he justifies all who trust in his atoning sacrifice (Rom. 3:26; 5:8f.) (Hughes 247-8). Melchizedek brings all this into the foreground, spotlighting, anticipating, the uniqueness of Jesus.

But there’s more! In a book of genealogies, recorded births and deaths, essentially important tribal legacies and family trees, 3 [Melchizedek] is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. Now, obviously this isn’t speaking literally. Melchizedek was born to someone! He didn’t just appear. Also, he’s not still present with us today. He wasn’t around when the Law established the priesthood as belonging to the tribe of Levi. But in the text, no mention is made of his genealogy, birth, death, or family tree, his father or mother. So, the mysterious aspects of who he was—what’s not recorded in the text here—just adds to his resembling the Son of God (3).

We also don’t know how he became a priest of God Most High (1; cf. Gen.14:18). But we do know that 5:4 … no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. Not even Christ exalted himself to be made a high priest (5:5). So, this is who Melchizedek was.

Why Is Melchizedek Important? 4-6

And he truly is assigned an important role in salvation history. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! Back in the day he was recognized, even by Abraham, as greater than Abraham! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. The priestly tribe is supported by the giving, the tithing, of the rest of the nation (cf. Num.18:21).

6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. This is a key observation. It’s not just that Melchizedek is outside of the line of Abraham, the tribe of Levi. As the author will say in a moment, the descendants of Abraham had not yet even begun to accumulate. Melchizedek is king of righteousness, king of peace, and priest of the Most High God not only prior to the birth of Levi, but prior to the Law and prior to the existence of the nation!

All through Hebrews we’ve encountered this idea of how important it is to recognize salvation history as unfolding in a certain order. This came first, then that. And this order is an important part of understanding this great salvation (2:3) which God has provided. Right at the start we heard: 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days, after all that, he has spoken to us by his Son a better Messenger, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 … After making purification for sins, not before, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, He was glorified, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

2:17 [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, first, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God later, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, first, he is then able to help those who are being tempted. … 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Remember how important it was as we moved from c.3 into c.4 that the Psalm 95 had repeated the promise of rest even after that next generation of Israelites entered the land after their parents had died in the wilderness? That’s how we know that 4:9 … there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…, because the promise was given again in Psalm 95 even after Israel had entered the land and all the promises of God were fulfilled (cf. Jos.21:45).

So, chronological order is important in Hebrews, and Melchizedek came first. Also, before Abraham received the son of promise (Gen.21:1-7), but after he’d been called by God (Gen.12:1-3), it was Melchizedek who blessed Abraham (cf. 6).

What Should We Learn from Melchizedek? 7-10

7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. So, Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, king of righteousness, king of peace, is greater than Abraham, called by God to bless [every family on] earth (Gen.12:3). 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, Levi’s descendants (cf. 5:2-3), but in the other case, Melchizedek, by one of whom it is testified that he lives; Scripture (Guthrie 1983 162) records no death. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Simply put, Levi is dwarfed by Melchizedek even though Levi came later. Why? Because the point of Melchizedek’s inclusion in the story won’t be realized until the One to Whom God intends his life to point shows up on the scene. And God didn’t intend this priest-king to point either to Aaron and Levi’s priesthood, or finally even to David’s kingship, but to David’s greater Son, the One Whom He called, my Lord (Psa.110:1), the One Who truly would be without the typical father or mother or genealogy; the One Who truly does [have] neither beginning of days nor end of life; the One Who doesn’t just resemble or foreshadow someone greater, but is Himself the Son of God [Who] will continue as a priest forever (3).

We should learn that our God is not moving us through salvation history just responding to the next crisis, redirecting His efforts with each new expression of evil that His fallen creatures invent, discovering along the way what it’s really going to take to provide a reliable salvation for all who’ll receive it. No, He’s charted His course from eternity past. He knows precisely what He’s doing. And this obscure character Melchizedek proves that with clarity. Surely he was a great man (4). But he had no intrinsic worth that exceeded Abraham or Aaron or Levi or you or me. He was a fallen sinner who needed the great salvation provided by the Great High Priest he prefigured just as much as all of us. But he’s placed where he is in the story to show that the Levitical priesthood was obsolete before it was even instituted, just like we saw with the old covenant as a whole back in cc.3-4. The OT announced its own obsolescence. Israel would be no better off in the land than Melchizedek (and the rest of us) would be if the promised Messiah never appeared to provide God’s great salvation and the ultimate fulfillment of all His great promises.

That’s what we should learn from Melchizedek. His role and placement in God’s story of salvation drive a reminder-stake in the ground alerting us that something greater is coming. A truly great salvation (an eternal or perfect salvation) would require a greater high priest than could arise from the line of the sinful Aaron or Levi. It might best be stated as a question, the one posed by the writer himself in his vry next verse: 11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? Answer: no further need. But before that priesthood even arose, God’s sovereignly planned an encounter between Abraham and Melchizedek through which we’d eventually be able to discern with greater clarity that the old covenant priesthood and law were by definition a preliminary and temporary stage in His salvation plan, each pointing to the need of a greater high priest and a greater salvation, the salvation we’ve now received—the righteousness, the peace—through our great High Priest and King.

Conclusion

But I also want to mention one more takeaway as we conclude this morning. Passages like this one are the primary ones that give me confidence in the inspiration and authority of Scripture, its undeniably supernatural origin, its elevation above all other forms of religious writing altogether. No human author could have included such meticulously careful telling of the story of a character so great but so seemingly unimportant to the essential components of the Bible’s story line, until finally the purpose for his inclusion becomes not only clear by essential to understanding arguably the most centrally important element in the story, namely, Jesus’ role as our high priest—the One Who offers the sacrifice that satisfies Gods wrath and thus cleanses us once for all, reconciling us to God for all eternity, He Himself also being the Sacrifice.

That’s how intention, how careful, God Himself has been in laying out then enacting His plan to reconcile us to Himself. This tells us of His sovereignty. It tells us of His intentionality, His foreknowledge and His divine decree. And because His great salvation expresses His love for this world (Joh.3:16), it adds layer upon layer of depth to His expressed love for all He’s saved, including you and me.

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Resources

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NEXT SUNDAY: Power of an Indestructible Life, Hebrews 7:11–25