Our Priest in the Pattern of Melchizedek: Eight Conclusions Hebrews 5–7 Draws about Jesus the Messiah from Genesis 14:18–20 and Psalm 110:4

The Old Testament mentions Melchizedek only twice:

[1] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen. 14:18–20)

[2] The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
After [in (NIV, NLT)] the order [pattern (CSB, NET)] of Melchizedek.” (Ps. 110:4)

Here’s the context of that strange Melchizedek passage in Genesis 14: A group of local “kings” (more like small-town governors) banded together to fight another group of local “kings” (Gen. 14:8–10). One of those groups of “kings” included the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, where Abram’s brother Lot was dwelling. That group lost the battle, and the enemy took Lot and his possessions as spoil (Gen. 14:11–12). When Abram learned that Lot was taken, he led 318 of his trained men to pursue Lot, and Abram successfully rescued Lot and his possessions along with other people (Gen. 14:13–16). The king of Sodom met with Abram (Gen. 14:17) and asked for his people back but said that Abram may keep the possessions (Gen. 14:21). But Abram gave both the people and the possessions back (Gen. 14:22–24).

Genesis 14 would make perfect sense without verses 18–20. This passage sticks out and makes you scratch your head and go, “What?” The Book of Hebrews helps us make sense of all this.

Melchizedek appears in the Bible three times with about one thousand years between each occurrence:

1. Genesis 14: Around 2,000 BC, Melchizedek appears to Abraham.
2. Psalm 110: About 1,000 years later, King David writes about the Messiah as a priest in the pattern of Melchizedek.
3. Hebrews 5–7: About 1,000 years later, the author of Hebrews exults in Jesus the Messiah as our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek.

The author of Hebrews teaches us how to put the whole Bible together. He is reading Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 very carefully, and he draws at least eight conclusions about Jesus the Messiah.

1. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he is the supreme priest (Heb. 4:14–5:10).

Jesus is the “great high priest” (Heb. 4:14) who is better than “every [other] high priest chosen from among men” (Heb. 5:1):

And no one takes this honor [i.e., the honor of serving as high priest] 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” [Ps. 2:7]; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, / after the order of Melchizedek” [Ps. 110:4]. … Being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 5:4–6, 9–10)

2. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he has entered the Most Holy Place on our behalf (Heb. 6:19–20).

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 6:19–20)

The “inner place behind the curtain” refers to the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle where God’s holy presence dwelt. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and he could only do so only once a year on the Day of Atonement to atone for Israel’s sin. Jesus, however, has entered this place “once for all at the end of ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26).

3. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he is both king and priest (Heb. 7:1–2).

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. (Heb. 7:1–2)

Melchizedek was both a king and a priest. His name means king (Hebrew: mlk) of righteousness (Hebrew: zdk). And he was the king of Salem (probably Jerusalem). Shalom means peace, so as the king of Salem, he is the king of peace.

A king-priest is an unusual combination. The Mosaic law distinguished between the office of priest and the office of king (e.g., Deut. 17:8–20); priests came from the tribe of Levi, and kings came from the tribe of Judah. The same person wasn’t supposed to serve as both priest and king. Saul, the first king of Israel, tried to combine those roles by offering a priestly sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel the priest, and God severely judged him for it (1 Sam. 13).

David recognizes in Psalm 110 that there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the same person serving as both king and priest. God created Adam to be a royal priest,^[1] and that’s what Melchizedek was. David knows that he isn’t supposed to do that under the Mosaic law, but he recognizes that before the Mosaic law there was a king-priest, and David sees himself as part of a pattern that culminates in the Messiah, who is both king and priest—in the pattern of Melchizedek.^[2]

1. See Matthew H. Emadi, The Royal Priest: Psalm 110 in Biblical Theology, New Studies in Biblical Theology 60 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022), 25–38. Emadi summarizes, “The union of kingship and priesthood in a single person began with God’s purpose for Adam at creation. Adam bore God’s image. He was God’s covenantal son, worshipping God as a priest-king in the sanctuary and commissioned to establish God’s kingdom on the earth. After Adam’s fall into sin, his office of priest-king found expression in key covenantal figures: Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek and Israel. Melchizedek is unique because of his connection to Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant” (206).

2. Cf. D. A. Carson, “Getting Excited about Melchizedek (Psalm 110),” in The Scriptures Testify about Me: Jesus and the Gospel in the Old Testament, ed. D. A. Carson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 153, 155–64.

4. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, his priesthood is eternal (Heb. 7:3).

He is without [record of] father or mother or genealogy, having [no record of] neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. (Heb. 7:3)

All the important humans in the Book of Genesis have a genealogy. Melchizedek stands out because Genesis doesn’t say anything about his genealogy. He just shows up out of nowhere. The author of Hebrews is picking up on this pattern to illustrate the reality that Jesus is an eternal priest. (You could call this pattern picture prophecy or typology.) Whom would you say is Jesus’s father? Joseph? Not biologically. As the eternal Son of God, he is a priest forever. (I do not think Melchizedek is a preincarnate appearance of Jesus. I think Melchizedek was a man whom God designed as picture prophecy that climaxes in Jesus.)^[3]

3. Cf. Carson, “Getting Excited about Melchizedek (Psalm 110),” 162–66; Thomas R. Schreiner, Hebrews, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2020), 40.

5. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he is greater than both Abraham and Levitical priests (Heb. 7:4–10).

⁴ See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 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. ⁶ But this man [i.e., Melchizedek] who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior [i.e., Abraham] is blessed by the superior [the greater (NASB, NIV); i.e., Melchizedek]. ⁸ In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins [body (NIV)] of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him [NLT: although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him]. (Heb. 7:4–10)

Here’s the argument:

• Melchizedek is greater than Abraham because Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.
• Melchizedek is greater than Levitical priests because Levitical priests are descendants of Abraham.
• In a sense, the Levitical priests paid tithes to Melchizedek since they were in the body of Abraham.
• Since Jesus the Messiah is after the order of Melchizedek, he is also greater than Abraham and Levitical priests.

6. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he is better than Levitical priests, and he fulfills the Mosaic law (Heb. 7:11–17).

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? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵ This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.” [quoting Psalm 110:4] (Heb. 7:11–17)

The Mosaic law as an indivisible unit is not the eternal standard for God’s people. It was temporary. Abraham and Melchizedek lived before the Mosaic law; Jesus is from the tribe of Judah (not Levi), and Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Mosaic law.

7. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he guarantees a covenant that is better than the Mosaic covenant (Heb. 7:18–22).

¹⁸ For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹ but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’” [quoting Psalm 110:4]

²² This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Hebrews 7:18–19 are the conclusion to a syllogism about the Levitical priesthood that begins in verse 11:

• Major premise: God establishes a priesthood to perfect people (Heb. 7:11).
• Minor premise: Another priest has replaced the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:11).
• Conclusion: Therefore, the Levitical priesthood did not perfect people (Heb. 7:18–19).^[4]

4. This syllogism paraphrases Jared Compton, Psalm 110 and the Logic of Hebrews, Library of New Testament Studies 537 (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015), 89.

We need a priest after the pattern of Melchizedek. The law couldn’t perfect anyone; it only condemned. But Jesus as the mediator of the new covenant perfects his people.

Further, Levitical priests under the Mosaic covenant became priests without an oath, but God makes Jesus the Messiah a priest with an oath.

Therefore, Jesus guarantees a covenant better than the old one. The new covenant is better than the old, Mosaic covenant.

Here’s another connection between Genesis 14 and Jesus the Messiah that I can’t definitively prove by citing a passage in Hebrews. But I think it’s right in line with how the author of Hebrews reads Genesis 14 and Psalm 110.

The passage about Melchizedek in Genesis 14 begins, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High)” (Gen. 14:18). What does “bread and wine” remind you of? I think God, the divine author of Scripture, intends that it prophetically pictures what 1 Corinthians 11:23–25 celebrates:

The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Why is this significant? Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, and bread and wine symbolize the broken body of the new and greater Melchizedek. I think this is another example of picture prophecy (i.e., typology) that God intended all along.

When Jesus the Messiah died, he inaugurated the new covenant—the better covenant. And we remember that with bread and wine. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Melchizedek “brought out bread and wine.” I think that’s another example in which Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek.^[5]

5. Cf. Emadi, The Royal Priest, 166.

8. Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek, he can save his people completely (Heb. 7:23–28).

²³ The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost [completely (NIV, CSB, NET)] those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all [time] when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The priests of the Mosaic covenant were numerous, mortal, and temporary, but Jesus, the great high priest of the new covenant, is unique, immortal, and eternal.

The priests of the Mosaic covenant were sinners who first had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before offering sacrifices for others, but Jesus is sinless and perfectly righteous.

Jesus is exalted above the heavens at the right hand of God, and only Jesus can save God’s people completely.

Summary

Because Jesus the Messiah is our priest in the pattern of Melchizedek …

1. he is the supreme priest (Heb. 4:14–5:10).
2. he has entered the Most Holy Place on our behalf (Heb. 6:19–20).
3. he is both king and priest (Heb. 7:1–2).
4. his priesthood is eternal (Heb. 7:3).
5. he is greater than both Abraham and Levitical priests (Heb. 7:4–10).
6. he is better than Levitical priests, and he fulfills the Mosaic law (Heb. 7:11–17).
7. he guarantees a covenant that is better than the Mosaic covenant (Heb. 7:18–22).
8. he can save his people completely (Heb. 7:23–28).

Application: Draw near to the throne of grace.

Since Jesus the Messiah is the supreme priest, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Would you dare interrupt the President of the United States at 3:00am (if you could) merely because you were having trouble sleeping and weren’t feeling well? No, but my seven-year-old daughter wouldn’t hesitate to come into our bedroom to seek comfort. You have that kind of access to the supreme Priest in the pattern of Melchizedek. Draw near to the throne of grace so that you can find help in time of need. Are you anxious and afraid? Draw near to the throne of grace. Are you weak and needy? Draw near to the throne of grace. You have direct access to the supreme Priest.