Ep. 343. Hebrews 5-6 | Meet Melchizedek

EPISODE 343

MEET MELCHIZEDEK: HEBREWS 5-6; GENESIS 14:17-20

For those of us who grew up in church, the idea of Jesus as a high priest is not foreign. For the Jews, the idea of a high priest was paramount to their religious system. So, for the author of Hebrews to argue that Jesus is a high priest is both understandable to the Jews but also offensive. The priesthood of Judah had always been run through the tribe of the Levites, though in the northern kingdom of Israel, people were appointed as idolatrous priests at will. The Jewish audience of the Hebrew letter would understand their need for a priest but would be thrown by the idea that the "new" high priest would arise from the tribe of Judah. But I'll address that more tomorrow. 

Here, we see the author of Hebrews point out that "Every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God." And then, "No one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, 'You are my son, today I have begotten you;' as he also says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.'" These quotes originate from Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, both of which were recognized as prophetic texts pointing to the Messiah. As I have mentioned previously, Psalm 110 is the most quoted or referenced Old Testament text in the New Testament. We can stop here for now and continue this conversation about Melchizedek in more detail tomorrow.

ADDITIONAL READING: Psalm 2:7; Psalm 110:4; Colossians 2:8,20; Genesis 22:17