MELCHIZEDEK
(Internet links are to images which were later used in a PowerPoint presentation)
•OK, let’s start off with a little Bible Pop Quiz this morning
•Let’s find out who the Bible Geniuses are!
Q: Who is Melchizedek? (Fade in 1 at a time)
A.) Another name for the devil
B.) An Old Testament King
C.) Roman Emperor who reigned from 48 AD to 59 AD
D.) Gesundheit!
•Well, the answer is . . . B.) An Old Testament King
•And obviously Melchizedek is a name that’s not very familiar to us
•But, believe it or not, Melchizedek is one of http://walkingterrachrista.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/melchizedek.jpg
•the most interesting AND important figures in all of the Bible
•AND . . . as unknown as he may be, there’s actually enough
•information and theory about him to fill a couple of sermons
•so I’m going to have to work hard to cover as much as I can
•in the time I have this morning
•Now, let me start by explaining why http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLahN-FPn_o/UT1f7ubd_rI/AAAAAAAAbdM/VAV7ib1APvM/s320/4706-san-vitale-basilica-ravenna-offering-melchizedek.jpg
• I even chose to talk about Melchizedek today.
• First, because in a personal study I’m doing,
• and in my Community Group, AND on Wednesday nights,
• we’ve recently been covering this part of the OT –
• The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/nes263/student2007/smh72/pictures/26-%2520THE%2520THREE%2520PATRIARCHS%2520ABRAHAM%2520%2520ISAAC%2520%2520AND%2520JACOB.jpg
• And in one of those studies, we came across the story of Melchizedek,
• and it was pretty clear that this was unfamiliar territory for a lot of people.
• Well, part of my job is to help you learn and understand
• the parts of the Bible you’ve never studied before. OK?
• So that’s reason number one
• Reason number two, is that this particular Bible Study group
• then challenged me to preach a sermon on M
• and made it clear that they didn’t think I could really do it!
• So OBVIOUSLY, I had to preach on Melchizedek today, right?
• OK, so you know that I’m always up for a challenge,
• BUT, the real reason I want to talk about M today
• is that there is something so amazing, so mind-blowing in his story,
• that it could change the way you look at Scripture for the rest of your life!
• And that’s an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up on!
• SO . . . let’s take a look at the Scripture that is related to M,
• and see if we can really confuse you
• and then I’ll do my best to unconfused you. Sound good?
• The story of M begins in Genesis 14
• and centers around the first Patriarch, Abraham,
• or Abram as he’s called at this point.
• Now, just a little bit of review: After Noah’s flood,
• God is searching for a man to build a nation from.
• He chooses Abram and his wife Sarah http://tcjewfolk.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/hagar_ismael.jpg
• and sends them on a journey to find a new land
• where God will give them their first son,
• that son will become a family
• and that family will eventually become the nation of Israel.
• But first, Abraham has to settle in the land of Canaan,
• also known as the Promised Land
• because God had promised it to him
• But in this Promised Land are already http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2xtjBP5oGLk/UfloUL_WdYI/AAAAAAAADTI/mfMuZnEisGM/s400/molech_02.jpg
• other cities and nations and people groups,
• many of whom are at war with one another
• and all of whom worship other gods
• So part of Abram’s story is his struggle to live in the land
• without becoming like the people of the land
• Well, in Genesis 14, Abram gets caught up in a war
• between several of the kings in the land. http://www.scienceofcorrespondences.com/assets/images/autogen/a_Melchi7_500_396.jpg
• His nephew Lot is taken captive by one of the kings who is at war,
• so Abram gathers up his men, joins the opposing kings
• and goes to battle, basically to rescue Lot.
• And, because God is on his side,
• Abram and his allies are victorious.
• Where we’re going to begin reading in Genesis 14:17
• tells the story of what happened just after this victory.
• Here’s what it says:
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Genesis 14:17 (NIV)
• So basically, what’s happening is that Abram
• has played an important role in this military victory
• and now the kings he fought beside are all coming out
• onto the battlefield to honor him for what he did.
• Now, the king of Sodom was one of Abram’s allies in this battle,
• but you MAY remember that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
• were terrible places filled with people who did evil things.
• So joining up with the King of Sodom was kind of sketchy for Abram
• but, again, he did it to rescue his nephew Lot.
• So the King of Sodom is the first to honor Abram,
• but then we meet our main character. V. 18
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
• Now that’s it as far as M goes in Gen 14,
• but let me read just a little bit more to kind of complete the story. V. 21
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’
• IOW, Abram is saying: Look, I am beholden to God,
• I do NOT want to be beholden to you
• OK, so, again, that’s it for M.
• That’s all we learn about him in Genesis.
• And there’s no more mention of him
• through the next book of the Bible, Exodus.
• No mention in Leviticus or Deuteronomy.
• In fact, M isn’t mentioned again until the 19th book of the Bible,
• the Book of Psalms. Specifically, Psalm 110:4
• Now Psalm 110 is actually a prophecy of the coming Messiah
• IOW, it’s a preview of who the Son of God would be
• and what kind of person the Son of God would be.
• So in Psalm 110:1-3 God says to the coming Messiah things like:
• You will sit at my right hand until I’m ready to give you victory
• And talks about the Heavenly armies
• that the Messiah will one day command.
• THEN . . . in v. 4 it says . . .
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Psalkm 110:4 (NIV)
• Now, here’s what’s going on: God is using the OT character M
• to give a preview of the coming Messiah, and that’s VERY important!
• I mean, he could have picked anybody from the OT,
• but he specifically chooses M and says:
• The Messiah is going to be a person like him
• M is the kind of person you can compare the Messiah to
• So that’s M in Psalm 110
• Then, finally, we have Hebrews 6 and 7
• Let me read to you some of the passages that specifically mention M
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20 (NIV)
1This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Hebrews 7:1-3
6 . . .(Melchizedek) did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. Hebrews 7:6-7
11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. Hebrews 7:11-15
26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Hebrews 7:26-28
• So basically, what the author of Hebrews is trying to communicate
• is that Jesus is a high priest along the same lines as M
• And then a whole bunch of other confusing stuff, right?
• Now, as I said, there’s a lot to absorb here
• and a lot to understand about M
• So, this morning I’m just going to try to answer 2 basic questions:
1.) WHO was Melchizedek?
2.) WHY is Melchizedek important to us?
• And by the time we’re finished,
• you’re going to be throwing M references
• into your casual conversations this week
• and people are going to think you are SO smart! OK?
• So let’s start with the first question
1.) WHO was Melchizedek?
• Well, here’s what we know:
• We know that he lived during the same time period as Abraham
• We know he lived in the Land of Canaan
• We know that he was the “King Of Salem”
• Now, “Salem” was another name for “Jerusalem”
• so M was the king of that city LONG before
• it became famous as a capital of ancient Israel
• Hebrews 7: also points out that the word “Salem” also means “peace”
• AND that the name Melchizedek means “righteousness
• So another way to describe M would be
• “the King of Peace”, the King of Righteousness
• That’s a pretty weighty title is it not?
• We also know that M was a priest of “God most High,
• Creator of Heaven and earth” according to Genesis 14:
• Now, what’s so incredibly unusual about that
• is that when Abram entered the Land of Canaan,
• with all of these nations and people groups and their “little g” gods,
• he LITERALLY thought that he and his wife
• were THE only people who believed in
• and worshipped Jehovah God.
• But it turns out that there was a man, a king, a Jebusite,
• in other words, NOT an Israelite who was also a God follower.
• The REAL God, creator of Heaven and Earth
• We also know that M was the first recipient a tithe
• Here’s what happened: When A came off the battlefield
• and began meeting with the different kings,
• the first thing he does is to take all of his spoils from the war,
• divide it up and present 10% of it to M
• Now, this is amazing because much, much later, http://www.chodesh.info/gs-files/sacrifice-1.jpg
• hundreds of years later, when God gives
• the 10 C’s and the rest of the Law to Israel,
• he will set up a sacrificial system like we talked about last week
• whereby you have one whole tribe, the Levites
• who will serve as Priests.
• 12 Tribes of Israel, right?
• 1 tribe is nothing but Priests, the Levites
• Once a year, the High Priest as I also told you last week,
• will take an unblemished lamb into the tabernacle or the Temple
• and he will go into the Holy of Holies where the actual presence of God is
• and he will sacrifice that lamb for the sins of the people
• and because of that, their sins WILL be forgiven.
• In fact, in this sacrificial system,
• that’s the ONLY way a person’s sins can be forgiven.
• You need the priest to be an intermediary between you and God.
• YOU do not go into God’s presence.
• Only the priest can do that for you.
• So do you see why the priests, the descendants of Levi,
• would be so important to the people of Israel
• Well, one of the things that God said, when He set up the Law,
• was that the other 11 tribes would own land
• and have possessions and an inheritance
• that would continue on through the generations.
• But the Levites, the priests, were NOT to share in that!
• The priests were to receive their inheritance
• and their sustenance only from God.
• The way God provided for that was THE TITHE.
• All of the other 11 tribes were to give 10% of everything they owned,
• everything they earned, everything they grew,
• the first 10% of that was to be given as an offering to the priests
• to take care of themselves, their families,
• the temple, and to provide ministry to the people.
• So that’s the sacrificial system.
• That’s the priesthood. That’s the tithe.
• But here’s the deal: None of that happens until
• nearly a thousand years after Abraham dies.
• So do you see how incredible it was that A
• would give a “tithe” to God through M,
• a thousand years before God even said to?
• It’s a big deal and the first example ever listed in the Bible
• A couple of other things we know about M:
• Jesus was considered a High Priest in the order or line of Melchizedek
• And this was also a big deal because Jesus was of the tribe of Judah,
• not the priestly tribe of Levi
• So in Jesus, you have the first priest in the history of Israel
• since the giving of the law who was NOT a Levite
• So what kind of priest WAS Jesus?
• A priest in the line of M! Again, a big deal!
• Then finally, I don’t want you to miss the fact that, apparently, Melchizedek had no parents and he didn’t die!
• Now what in the world am I talking about?
• Well, Hebrews 6:3 says:
3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Hebrews 6:3
• So again, this M wasn’t just your average, http://walkingterrachrista.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/melchizedek.jpg
• every day, run of the mill human being!
• He had no mother or father. He had no genealogy
• He had no beginning of life, He had no end of life
• AND . . . he remains a priest forever!
• Some interesting characteristics!
• OK, so that’s some of what we know about M
• but let’s try to answer the question: Who is Melchizedek?
• And here’s the best answer I can give you
• At the LEAST: He’s a PREVIEW of the Messiah that was to come
• Psalms makes it clear that there’s a
• comparison to be made between M and Jesus, the Messiah
• Hebrews makes it clear that God used M
• to help us understand WHO and WHAT Jesus would be
• So at the very least, he is this supernatural preview
• of the Messiah that Jesus would one day, thousands of years later, become
• That’s at the least. But let’s talk for a second about the . . .
• MOST: CHRISTOPHANY – A pre-incarnate APPEARANCE of Christ
• Now, what in the world does that mean?
• Well let’s remember a couple of things: (pic of Jesus)
• I think we mostly understand that Jesus, the Son
• is 1/3 of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, right?
• And we know that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary
• around the beginning of the 1st century AD
• and lived for 33 years before His death, burial, and resurrection
• We know that! We got that!
• What we may FORGET is that Jesus the Son
• existed before Jesus the man.
• Remember that John chapter 1, speaking about Jesus says:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-3
• Then v. 14 says:
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
• So Jesus, the Son, the Word existed with God
• long before He “became flesh and dwelt among men”
• Remember also that in Genesis chapter 1, v. 26
• when God was creating the earth and everything on it,
• He made this statement:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26
• Now, who is this “us”? Who is this “our”?
• Who else is God talking about besides Himself
• when He says Let US make men in OUR image?
• I believe He is talking about the Son
• So . . . what does that have to do with a Christophany?
• A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ?
• Well, some Bible Scholars, men way smarter than I’ll ever be,
• believe very strongly that Melchizedek,
• King of Righteousness, the King of Peace
• and Priest of God Most High,
• who had no beginning and no end
• and will continue as a Priest forever,
• who showed up on the battlefield and blessed Father Abraham
• and served him and his men a meal of . . .
• well, does anyone remember what he fed A and his men?
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. Genesis 14:18
• OK, so M who served A bread and wine
• That sound familiar at all?
• M, who Psalms says is a preview of the coming Messiah
• And M, who Hebrews says “resembled the Son of God”
• Many Bible Scholars believe that this Melchizedek
• is actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ,
• 2000 years before Jesus of Nazareth was born!
• How amazing is that possibility?
• Now, notice that I say possibility
• because I cannot tell you for a fact that this is the case
• I can show you the evidence that points to it
• but I can’t guarantee it for you
• BTW, did you know that there are
• other possible Christophanies in the OT?
• Yeah, this is not the only one
• Many scholars believe that “THE Angel of the Lord”
• which shows up 59 times in the OT . . .
• If you saw “The Bible” mini-series this year on the History channel,
• THE angel of the Lord was the man who would appear http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/3d/ac/3dac74727db68ffc535882c79a353fbc.jpeg?itok=XYoeDASZ
• and remove his red hood in order to speak for God
• Many scholars think THE angel of the Lord is a Christophany
• A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ
• And there are some really interesting reasons why
• but that’s another sermon for another day
• I’ll mention one more.
• If you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
• the three Israelite children who were
• thrown into the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel,
• you might also remember that not only did they not burn up and survived,
• but that a 4th person appeared in the fire with them
• And again, if you saw “The Bible” min-series, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sZn4REZ9fKw/UNq1IrdtL3I/AAAAAAAAF0s/rRUnY75fZ_8/s320/daniel-3-furnace.jpg
• it was the same actor who would later play Jesus
• who was standing in the fire with them?
• Know why? Because Many Bible Scholars
• believe this was a Christophany!
• A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ!
• OK, so back to Melchizedek
• We have some idea of WHO he was:
• At the least: a Preview of the Messiah
• At the most: a Christophany
• But now we need to answer question number 2
2.) WHY is Melchizedek important to us?
• What’s the takeaway from this story
• From this OT Biblical character
• Why does he matter to us today?
• Let me give you three reasons:
• First, Because the story of Melchizedek
• represented a faith-filled decision by Abraham
• Remember that there were 2 kings who came out
• onto the battlefield that day to honor Abram
• M and the King of Sodom
• From M, Abram received a blessing
• and in return he gave the first Biblical tithe to M
• To the King of Sodom, the king of a famously evil people, Abraham said:
“With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’
• In a choice between serving the king of an evil people
• or the Priest/King of God most high, A chose M
• and if you read on in Gen 15, you’ll find out
• that he was blessed because of that decision
• The 2nd reason M is important to us is that . . .
• He helps us better understand WHO and WHAT Jesus is
• IOW, God used M to help us get a handle on Jesus, the Messiah
• Like M, Jesus was both Priest and King that would reign forever
• Like M, Jesus had no beginning and no end
• Like M, Jesus doesn’t fit in a box the way we, as humans,
• sometimes try to make him fit
• And M helps us get a handle on that
• And then the final reason M should be important to us:
• He is a reminder of the importance of RELATIONSHIP over religion!
• Now what do I mean by that? Well consider this as we close:
• The rules said that a priest who could speak on your behalf to God
• and offer up sacrifices on your behalf to God
• and receive forgiveness for your sins from God
• HAD to be a man from the Tribe of Levi – That was the law!
• But the BIBLE says that like M, it was Jesus’ righteousness
• and His relationship with the Father
• that made Him the High Priest who would live forever
• The Bible says that once Jesus came, we as humans,
• no longer need a human priest to intercede for us
• because He helped establish our OWN relationship with the father
• IOW, Melchizedek shows us that it is better
• to have a High Priest who has EARNED his position
• (some thing we could NEVER do by the way)
• than one who has simply inherited it because
• he happened to be in the right family line
• and had the right genealogy
• And that’s what the rules say . . . .
• And THAT is relationship over religion!
• Let’s spend some time this morning in prayer
• Let’s thank God for Melchizedek,
• what he represents, what his story teaches us
• and for his connection to the Messiah, our Savior, Jesus Christ!
